ADVANCE Perspective: HIM : Personal Health Records

Veterans Health Care

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:51:00 GMT

No matter your stance on war, it's only right to honor and thank veterans who put their lives on the line for our country. Military personnel witness firsthand what most of us find too hard to watch through a camera lens, and it's bound to have an impact....(read more)

PHRs Go Overseas

Cheryl McEvoy — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:26:00 GMT

If you've been following Jay's blog, " XY Files in and MT World ," recently, you know there have been some frightening reports of medical records being sold overseas. It's enough to make you hunker down in the States and demand your records stay local....(read more)

Health Care Nation?

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:40:00 GMT

Theory: health care is going the way of the fast food industry. A bit counter-intuitive, I know, given the usual wars between those factions over nutrition facts, whole grains and "lighter" meal options. But I'm talking about the business model. More...(read more)

HIMSS 09: Visualizing Solutions

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 03:01:00 GMT

Today was my final day of coverage at the Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) Convention. The conference officially wraps up tomorrow, but alas, the ADVANCE office calls. I must say I'm bummed to be missing tonight's soiree at...(read more)

Soapbox Shenanigans and PHR

Cheryl McEvoy — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:46:00 GMT

This Saturday, the Red Bull Soapbox Race is rolling into Philadelphia. Daring individuals will get to live out their engineering dreams and ride homemade vehicles down an excessively vertical hill. Basically, Homecoming floats will be careening down the street and, oh so conveniently, I will have the perfect vantage point from my friend’s front porch.

The contest rules require that the vehicles have brakes, but this is a big hill and, mind you, the race is scheduled for the exact time that the weatherman has predicted a deluge from Hurricane Hanna. So we have homemade contraptions manned by inexperienced racers amid high winds and heavy rain. Oh, and I’m sure the beer will be a-flowin’, too.

In other words, someone’s going to get hurt. This ludicrous, though highly entertaining, race would be the perfect time to call upon personal health records (PHR) accessed through health information exchange (HIE)—if only such systems were in place.

As I ruminated over Saturday’s inevitable crashes, my mind flashed back to my last doctor’s appointment; actually, my first appointment with a new doctor. She carried a laptop into the exam room and, with a few clicks, my patient history was in the system. I had never seen an EHR in person, and having just scored my position at ADVANCE, I was dazzled by the technology.

Now if only the medical staff (at least, I hope there’s a medical staff) at the soapbox derby had a similar laptop that could access anyone’s health record in seconds. A soapbox car flipped, and the driver’s from out-of-state? No problem. Click. Click. Looks like he’s allergic to latex; plan accordingly.

If PHRs ultimately arise from EHRs, however, necessary precautions must be taken to not only ensure security but also patient accountability. Do we really trust the guy driving a tipped-over porta-potty (I kid you not) to assume the countless responsibilities of health care documentation? Heck, 3 weeks at the office and I’m still scratching the tip of the HIM iceberg. For PHR implementation, consumer education will be key.