Have you "built" your own Portable Health Record, on your own or based on information from this site? Do you have some experience with these records as a provider or manager? I would absolutely love to hear how it worked for you, your experiences using the record "out in the world", and suggestions for improving the "state of the art."
If you would be so kind as to fill out the short survey below (cut and paste will work well for this purpose) and email it back to me, it would really help further my research on the subject. (Any other comments regarding the subject, such as interesting articles you have read elsewhere, are also very welcome!) You can also enter brief comments here via the blog software, or feel free to email me at lauraba@pcom.edu.
User Survey:
1. I found the process of "building" my health record:
----easy
----mildly difficult
----very difficult
2. My background in computers is:
----I'm very competent
----Sort of competent
----A novice
3. I used the following hardware for my record:
_________________________
4. Response to requests to use this record at my doctor's office and other healthcare providers has been:
----Enthusiastic
----Will use if time allows
----Unwilling to use record
5. If your doctor has been unwilling to use the record, the reason provided:
__________________________________________________________
6. I have used the record in an emergency situation as follows:
__________________________________________________________
7. I would suggest the following improvements to the system:
__________________________________________________________
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Do It Yourself: Gathering Information
Below you will find a basic template for gathering information for a Personal Health Record. As you will see, the emphasis is on information that will help identify you and keep you alive in case of emergency.
Being able to find and store old images, lab results, and consults for your record would be a "nice touch", but concentrate first on things like lists of allergies, medications, and major health issues. Any emergency room physician would be thrilled to have that basic information; more detailed, historical data can be tracked down at a later time.
As far as getting your hands on data for this part of the project, start with the medications you take every day. Call or visit your local pharmacy if you need more information to round out the list.
For the history section, write down all the major issues you can remember. (Comparing them against the medications you take is a good way to start--for example, if you take blood pressure medication, it is a pretty safe bet that you have hypertension.)
If you have trouble remembering the names of your health issues, i.e. coronary artery disease versus myocardial infarction, call your primary care doctor and ask them to release a copy of your "history and physical" form from your chart (you may need to sign a release). If you have any sort of heart trouble, a scanned copy of your most recent EKG would be a great thing to include on the record.
Lab results and copies of specialty consults can also be obtained through your primary care physician. Lab results may also be available through the company that does your lab work, i.e. Quest or LabCorps.
Here is the template:
Being able to find and store old images, lab results, and consults for your record would be a "nice touch", but concentrate first on things like lists of allergies, medications, and major health issues. Any emergency room physician would be thrilled to have that basic information; more detailed, historical data can be tracked down at a later time.
As far as getting your hands on data for this part of the project, start with the medications you take every day. Call or visit your local pharmacy if you need more information to round out the list.
For the history section, write down all the major issues you can remember. (Comparing them against the medications you take is a good way to start--for example, if you take blood pressure medication, it is a pretty safe bet that you have hypertension.)
If you have trouble remembering the names of your health issues, i.e. coronary artery disease versus myocardial infarction, call your primary care doctor and ask them to release a copy of your "history and physical" form from your chart (you may need to sign a release). If you have any sort of heart trouble, a scanned copy of your most recent EKG would be a great thing to include on the record.
Lab results and copies of specialty consults can also be obtained through your primary care physician. Lab results may also be available through the company that does your lab work, i.e. Quest or LabCorps.
Here is the template:
- Name
- Address
- Date of Birth:
- Blood Type
- Code Status and the location of Living Will, if relevant (consider adding a copy here, the legality of this electronic copy will vary from state to state):
- Contact in case of emergency:
- Primary Care Provider:
- Pharmacy (include address and phone number):
- Allergies:
- Medications: (include name, dosage, frequency, and other special instructions)
- Past Medical History:
- Surgical History:
- OB/Gyn History: (number of pregnancies, number of live births, complications, etc)
- Social History: (occupation; tobacco, alcohol, and drug use; who you live with now)
Do It Yourself: Pick Your Hardware
Besides the obvious consideration of price, there are three basic things to consider when choosing the type of USB memory you will use for your Portable Health Record: storage capacity, security, and the size and durability of packaging. Decent hardware can be purchased for about ten dollars, if you are not dead set on having all possible bells and whistles.
If you do want the most high-end features, you can expect to pay between fifty and eighty dollars for your gear. Interestingly enough, no one drive that I have seen offers all the “best” features wrapped into one package, so you will be forced to choose what your priorities are as far as capacity, security, and packaging style.
Storage Capacity: If you are putting together a basic record that will contain contact info, medications, allergies, and basic history, 512MB should be more than enough capacity, especially if the brand you choose offers a compression scheme that will allow you to crunch the data you expect to use less often into smaller files that can be stretched back out for later use (i.e. the Sony microvault series has a 3:1 compression scheme that will allow for almost 1.5 gigabytes on their inexpensive 512 MB chip).
For example, the prototype record that I put together for my grandmother contains the basic items mentioned above, plus imaging from a cardiac catheterization and echocardiogram, plus freeware that allows those images to be viewed in video format on any computer. About half the chip’s capacity remains open for items we may want to insert later, and we haven’t compressed anything yet.
However, if you are putting together a more complex record, say with several years’ worth of imaging, labs, consults, etc., consider getting hardware with at least 1G of memory. Since hardware is reasonably priced, when in doubt it is probably worth overshooting on the amount of memory needed.
Security: A few of the USB products you can buy have built in security systems. One really interesting scheme involves a fingerprint reader built onto the device that allows only the designated owner to access the information inside (although a password can be added as a secondary method for access if the user so desires, i.e. for situations when they anticipate being unavailable.)
Biometrics: The most popular of fingerprint reader drive is the one made by SanDisk, sold at Staples for about $60 and on a few cutrate websites for about $40 i.e.http://www.compuplus.com/i-SanDisk-512MB-Cruzer-Profile-Biometric-USB-20-Flash-Drive-with-Fingerprint-Recognition-SDCZ5-512-A10-1005024~.html?sid=8ne34pcp6paz0pm .
Storage Capacity: If you are putting together a basic record that will contain contact info, medications, allergies, and basic history, 512MB should be more than enough capacity, especially if the brand you choose offers a compression scheme that will allow you to crunch the data you expect to use less often into smaller files that can be stretched back out for later use (i.e. the Sony microvault series has a 3:1 compression scheme that will allow for almost 1.5 gigabytes on their inexpensive 512 MB chip).
For example, the prototype record that I put together for my grandmother contains the basic items mentioned above, plus imaging from a cardiac catheterization and echocardiogram, plus freeware that allows those images to be viewed in video format on any computer. About half the chip’s capacity remains open for items we may want to insert later, and we haven’t compressed anything yet.
However, if you are putting together a more complex record, say with several years’ worth of imaging, labs, consults, etc., consider getting hardware with at least 1G of memory. Since hardware is reasonably priced, when in doubt it is probably worth overshooting on the amount of memory needed.
Security: A few of the USB products you can buy have built in security systems. One really interesting scheme involves a fingerprint reader built onto the device that allows only the designated owner to access the information inside (although a password can be added as a secondary method for access if the user so desires, i.e. for situations when they anticipate being unavailable.)
Biometrics: The most popular of fingerprint reader drive is the one made by SanDisk, sold at Staples for about $60 and on a few cutrate websites for about $40 i.e.http://www.compuplus.com/i-SanDisk-512MB-Cruzer-Profile-Biometric-USB-20-Flash-Drive-with-Fingerprint-Recognition-SDCZ5-512-A10-1005024~.html?sid=8ne34pcp6paz0pm .
One drawback of this particular device is its bulk and somewhat oafish appearance, which makes it less appealing for some users (i.e. my grandmother wanted no part of this.) For some users, the bulk and styling of this item might not be an issue. There are also smaller fingerprint drives available from online vendors, but I have not yet seen them for sale at any retail stores.
Encryption software: Another approach to security involves built-in encryption software. One example of this is the SanDisk U3 series drive, which comes with its own encyrption scheme built in.
If you choose not to buy a drive with built-in security features, it is a fairly simple matter to add free or inexpensive encryption software yourself (see the Do It Yourself section of this blog).
Encryption software: Another approach to security involves built-in encryption software. One example of this is the SanDisk U3 series drive, which comes with its own encyrption scheme built in.
If you choose not to buy a drive with built-in security features, it is a fairly simple matter to add free or inexpensive encryption software yourself (see the Do It Yourself section of this blog).
Packaging Style: a quick online search for “USB drives” will reveal dozens of possible styles for your USB drive. You can get a drive that comes with a laser pointer, one that looks like a switchblade, or one in a neon color. Novelty aside, some pretty important things to consider are size, durability, and ease of carrying.
Size: For those who put a premium on small size and weight, the Sony MicroVault Tiny series is about one inch by one half inch and credit card thin (graphic here).
It comes in a rubberized carrying case with a lanyard for attachment to a keychain or purse. The durability of the case is questionable, but there are no reports of problems yet from anybody I know. The small size and appealing pastel color scheme of this series made it the gear of choice for my grandmother—in case you are curious, she got the purple 512MB version, shown above at its actual size.
Durability: if you are building a record for somebody you know to be “hard on gear”, the “ride it hard and put it away wet” type, consider getting a drive with a reinforced titanium or hard plastic case. These are available for a few extra dollars from most of the major brands and all of the “custom” usb websites. For example, the Cruzer Titanium model shown below claims to be crush resistant to 2000 lbs and is priced starting around $50 for a 512MB model.
Durability: if you are building a record for somebody you know to be “hard on gear”, the “ride it hard and put it away wet” type, consider getting a drive with a reinforced titanium or hard plastic case. These are available for a few extra dollars from most of the major brands and all of the “custom” usb websites. For example, the Cruzer Titanium model shown below claims to be crush resistant to 2000 lbs and is priced starting around $50 for a 512MB model.
Cruzer Titanium Drive, about 1/4 actual size
Portability: it is helpful to know ahead of time how you want to carry the record, and to buy accordingly. Some come with pre-punched holes for lanyards and keychains. Some actually provide rings or lanyards in their packaging. A few products present no easy method for carrying and are probably not good for our purposes.
Background: Academic and Other Non-Governmental Initiatives
There are several really strong non-governmental initiatives underway for improving and implementing Portable Health Records. They vary in scope and quality, but all are doing good work. Included below is information on a few of the most major projects.
American Health Informatics Association (http://www.myphr.com/your_record/index.asp) This group has taken a leading role in developing standards for both commercial and freeware Personal Health Records, both online and portable. The webpage above contains some excellent information in lay terms explaining why certain information is essential for such a record, who will use it, and how to keep it secure.
EHealth Initiatives Group (http://www.ehealthinitiative.org/) A national organization focused on improving information systems within the healthcare field, with particular focus on policy. A subsection focuses on Electronic Medical Records and Portable Health Records. Involves major players from healthcare networks, academic centers, and government agencies. Has some great conferences, unfortunately, they charge upwards of a thousand dollars to attend one, which may have the result of excluding parties with valuable input.
The Markle Foundation (http://www.markle.org/) This is a privately funded foundation with the general mission of improving society through the implementation of emerging technologies. Their "EHealth" division is doing excellent work on Personal Health Records, pushing for insurers, hospitals, pharmacies, and labs to cooperate in developing a system where any American with a computer could download their own information (see whitepaper of December 2006 and responses of February and March 2007.)
American Health Informatics Association (http://www.myphr.com/your_record/index.asp) This group has taken a leading role in developing standards for both commercial and freeware Personal Health Records, both online and portable. The webpage above contains some excellent information in lay terms explaining why certain information is essential for such a record, who will use it, and how to keep it secure.
EHealth Initiatives Group (http://www.ehealthinitiative.org/) A national organization focused on improving information systems within the healthcare field, with particular focus on policy. A subsection focuses on Electronic Medical Records and Portable Health Records. Involves major players from healthcare networks, academic centers, and government agencies. Has some great conferences, unfortunately, they charge upwards of a thousand dollars to attend one, which may have the result of excluding parties with valuable input.
The Markle Foundation (http://www.markle.org/) This is a privately funded foundation with the general mission of improving society through the implementation of emerging technologies. Their "EHealth" division is doing excellent work on Personal Health Records, pushing for insurers, hospitals, pharmacies, and labs to cooperate in developing a system where any American with a computer could download their own information (see whitepaper of December 2006 and responses of February and March 2007.)
Background: Federal Government Initiatives
In recognition of the fact that across the board standardization of electronic health records in the United States is going to be a long time in coming, the federal government actually did make an effort to fund projects involving personal, portable health records.
The legislation was part of bill S. 1418, the "Wired for Health Care Quality Act" of November 2005, and was originally sponsored by Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming. Thirty eight other senators supported the bill, which would have provided roughly $130 million dollars per year for between two and four years. Some of that money was supposed to be put towards projects aimed at providing patients with individual records they could keep or carry with them. (Official text of bill on this government website: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s.01418. Layperson's explanation of the bill in this article: http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,1892672,00.asp)
As I understand it, the money was supposed to be distrubuted through states and given as grants to hospitals, physician practices, medical schools, and other entities willing to start projects filling this objective. Sounds like a great idea, right?
Yes it did. In conducting my own research, I was excited to hear about this legislation and to find out exactly what had come of it. Unfortunately, it appears that not much has actually happened and not much may ever happen. After calling Senator Enzi's office, and then being referred to a committee staffer, and then making many phone calls to legislative staffers within the state of Pennsylvania, what I gathered was that the bill stalled out somewhere in the House approval process. As far as reasoning, the best I could get was "You know, with the war and everything, there's not much cash to fund this stuff."
Kind of disappointing, but perhaps not an absolute dead end. As of this writing, I am continuing to attempt to ascertain the status of this legislation, and will provide an update here if I find anything.
The legislation was part of bill S. 1418, the "Wired for Health Care Quality Act" of November 2005, and was originally sponsored by Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming. Thirty eight other senators supported the bill, which would have provided roughly $130 million dollars per year for between two and four years. Some of that money was supposed to be put towards projects aimed at providing patients with individual records they could keep or carry with them. (Official text of bill on this government website: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s.01418. Layperson's explanation of the bill in this article: http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,1892672,00.asp)
As I understand it, the money was supposed to be distrubuted through states and given as grants to hospitals, physician practices, medical schools, and other entities willing to start projects filling this objective. Sounds like a great idea, right?
Yes it did. In conducting my own research, I was excited to hear about this legislation and to find out exactly what had come of it. Unfortunately, it appears that not much has actually happened and not much may ever happen. After calling Senator Enzi's office, and then being referred to a committee staffer, and then making many phone calls to legislative staffers within the state of Pennsylvania, what I gathered was that the bill stalled out somewhere in the House approval process. As far as reasoning, the best I could get was "You know, with the war and everything, there's not much cash to fund this stuff."
Kind of disappointing, but perhaps not an absolute dead end. As of this writing, I am continuing to attempt to ascertain the status of this legislation, and will provide an update here if I find anything.
Background: State of the Art for Vendor USB Products
Here are links, in no particular order, to a few commercially available USB-based medical record systems. Please note that I absolutely do not endorse or make claims about the quality or reliability of these products--they are posted here for research purposes and may or may not be a good option for any particular user.
MedicAlert system: from the company that brought us the old-school Medic-Alert jewelry, here is a USB system. The company also offers a web-based system that can be accessed via information included on a wearer's Medic-Alert bracelet or necklace.
Subscription comes with several included services, such as family notificiation. Cost is $49 for those who are already Medic-Alert users and $90 for new subscribers. Appears to be a yearly cost, and requires patients or their families to collect and input their own information. http://www.medicalert.org/E-Health/
MedInfo Chip: Links to buyer site and review article on product designed by the head of the biochemistry department at Boston University. Review article has some interesting history behind decisions as to why the product is not encrypted, etc. Also describes a follow-on product for alzheimer's patients involving RF-ID tracking. Cost is between $70 and $100 depending on amount of memory and style desired. Buyer's site: http://www.medinfochip.com/, review article: http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/item.cfm?ID=1147
Medikey: http://store.medickey.com/index.html USB system with two subscription options: for $70, you are supplied with one device and software that allows you to store as much medical information as you desire. For $200, you may obtain the Platinum service, wherein the company will help you obtain all your records, scan them for you, and store a backup of the electronic version on their server.
MedicTag: http://www.medictag.com/ (starting to spot a trend with these names...?) This system is being sold at Walgreen's drugstores and other retail outlets. Similar features to systems above, with no online back up of information. Also requires the user to have MS Word. No price available on website.
"Allergy Kids" Bracelet: product targeted at children with lifethreatening allergies, a durable rubberized bracelet containing the USB chip. $50 for bracelet and software. http://www.allergykids.com/product.php?proid=7&sub_catid
MedicAlert system: from the company that brought us the old-school Medic-Alert jewelry, here is a USB system. The company also offers a web-based system that can be accessed via information included on a wearer's Medic-Alert bracelet or necklace.
Subscription comes with several included services, such as family notificiation. Cost is $49 for those who are already Medic-Alert users and $90 for new subscribers. Appears to be a yearly cost, and requires patients or their families to collect and input their own information. http://www.medicalert.org/E-Health/
MedInfo Chip: Links to buyer site and review article on product designed by the head of the biochemistry department at Boston University. Review article has some interesting history behind decisions as to why the product is not encrypted, etc. Also describes a follow-on product for alzheimer's patients involving RF-ID tracking. Cost is between $70 and $100 depending on amount of memory and style desired. Buyer's site: http://www.medinfochip.com/, review article: http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/item.cfm?ID=1147
Medikey: http://store.medickey.com/index.html USB system with two subscription options: for $70, you are supplied with one device and software that allows you to store as much medical information as you desire. For $200, you may obtain the Platinum service, wherein the company will help you obtain all your records, scan them for you, and store a backup of the electronic version on their server.
MedicTag: http://www.medictag.com/ (starting to spot a trend with these names...?) This system is being sold at Walgreen's drugstores and other retail outlets. Similar features to systems above, with no online back up of information. Also requires the user to have MS Word. No price available on website.
"Allergy Kids" Bracelet: product targeted at children with lifethreatening allergies, a durable rubberized bracelet containing the USB chip. $50 for bracelet and software. http://www.allergykids.com/product.php?proid=7&sub_catid
Reason Behind the Project
Whether as a patient or healthcare provider, most people have noticed a shift towards keeping medical records electronically. You also may have noticed there are dozens of systems for doing this, and that not very many of them are compatible.
There is an effort underway to standardize electronic medical records, with the goal of making records transferrable between states, hospital systems, and insurers. This would make it possible, in theory, to easily obtain records for a patient from California who passes out on the golf course while on vacation in Florida.
However, this standardization effort is moving very, very slowly. Depending on who you ask, it may be between three and ten years before any practicable degree of standardization is in effect. For a very ill or geriatric patient, this is literally a lifetime.
A few of the obstacles involved in making EHRs standard are the protection of privacy, cost to providers who must change standards, and how to best transfer information from paper records. Imagine your worst day standing in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and then multiply this by fifty, and you have some idea how difficult this coordination effort really is.
As it stands right now, without access to electronic records, when I as a provider admit someone into a hospital system for the first time, I am dependent on the patient and their family to provide me with their history, a list of medications, etc. If the patient is not competent to give history and the family is not available, we call nursing homes, family doctors, etc. We usually figure on being able to get less than half the full history, and having less than half of that be up to date and correct. Not an ideal situation: best case, we are able to use contextual clues to give the person the help they need and maybe only end up doing a few unneccessary lab tests. Worst case, the time that is wasted results in permanent injury or death.
A few weeks ago, while admitting a delerious geriatric patient into the hospital from the ER in the middle of the night, I found myself on the phone with the nursing home cook, who was the only person available to read me the information from the patient's medical file. As this person read me the list of medications, having to spell every word as she went down the list, it occurred to me that there must be some "happy medium"that could be used between now and the time when universally accessible electronic medical records become a fact.
I began to wonder what could be used as a "patch" in the mean time. In an age where computer memory, i.e. USB flash drives, are cheap, durable, and portable, would it make more sense for patients to carry a copy of their own records rather than wait years for providers to catch up?
A few hospital systems are issuing experimental "smart cards" to patients that will contain medical records, track appointments and billing, etc. These are very good programs, but if your provider is not participating, you cannot participate.
In doing research online, I found about a dozen companies that provided individual, subscription-based versions of these systems on the kind of USB memory device people can carry on key chains or in their purses. All of these products have their own strengths and weaknesses and are reasonably good solutions to the problem at hand. However, one thing they all have in common is the need for the patient to assemble and enter their records into the system, or have someone do this on their behalf. Keeping the information on the chip up to date is also the responsibility of the patient. To my way of thinking, it is a little silly to pay for this service if you are doing all the work yourself anyway, right?
This blog contains information on putting one of these records together for yourself or a loved one, at a very low cost (you can get a USB chip for about ten dollars at your local office supply store.)
There is an effort underway to standardize electronic medical records, with the goal of making records transferrable between states, hospital systems, and insurers. This would make it possible, in theory, to easily obtain records for a patient from California who passes out on the golf course while on vacation in Florida.
However, this standardization effort is moving very, very slowly. Depending on who you ask, it may be between three and ten years before any practicable degree of standardization is in effect. For a very ill or geriatric patient, this is literally a lifetime.
A few of the obstacles involved in making EHRs standard are the protection of privacy, cost to providers who must change standards, and how to best transfer information from paper records. Imagine your worst day standing in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles, and then multiply this by fifty, and you have some idea how difficult this coordination effort really is.
As it stands right now, without access to electronic records, when I as a provider admit someone into a hospital system for the first time, I am dependent on the patient and their family to provide me with their history, a list of medications, etc. If the patient is not competent to give history and the family is not available, we call nursing homes, family doctors, etc. We usually figure on being able to get less than half the full history, and having less than half of that be up to date and correct. Not an ideal situation: best case, we are able to use contextual clues to give the person the help they need and maybe only end up doing a few unneccessary lab tests. Worst case, the time that is wasted results in permanent injury or death.
A few weeks ago, while admitting a delerious geriatric patient into the hospital from the ER in the middle of the night, I found myself on the phone with the nursing home cook, who was the only person available to read me the information from the patient's medical file. As this person read me the list of medications, having to spell every word as she went down the list, it occurred to me that there must be some "happy medium"that could be used between now and the time when universally accessible electronic medical records become a fact.
I began to wonder what could be used as a "patch" in the mean time. In an age where computer memory, i.e. USB flash drives, are cheap, durable, and portable, would it make more sense for patients to carry a copy of their own records rather than wait years for providers to catch up?
A few hospital systems are issuing experimental "smart cards" to patients that will contain medical records, track appointments and billing, etc. These are very good programs, but if your provider is not participating, you cannot participate.
In doing research online, I found about a dozen companies that provided individual, subscription-based versions of these systems on the kind of USB memory device people can carry on key chains or in their purses. All of these products have their own strengths and weaknesses and are reasonably good solutions to the problem at hand. However, one thing they all have in common is the need for the patient to assemble and enter their records into the system, or have someone do this on their behalf. Keeping the information on the chip up to date is also the responsibility of the patient. To my way of thinking, it is a little silly to pay for this service if you are doing all the work yourself anyway, right?
This blog contains information on putting one of these records together for yourself or a loved one, at a very low cost (you can get a USB chip for about ten dollars at your local office supply store.)
Monday, March 26, 2007
Introduction and Disclaimer
This blog serves as an online journal for my end-of-medical-school research project on Portable Health Records. The intent is to make it possible for anybody with a computer, fifteen dollars, and a little bit of initiative to create a portable electronic health record for themselves or a loved one.
If you are interested in the history, politics, and just plain chaos surrounding the topic of Electronic Health Records, you will find postings here that may answer some questions for you and help you to pose others. No offense if you are not interested in these details--I myself find some of it quite mindboggling, if not down right frustrating. However, if you ARE interested, I very much welcome your comments and opinions and hope that perhaps some worthwhile exchanges might be sparked here.
If you are interested primarily in creating a Portable Electronic Health Record, skip the history and start with the entry "Create your own record: begin here."
And now, for the disclaimer part of this post, which I hate having to include: the information contained on this site is for educational purposes. Although I would be thrilled if you read through it and decide to try the project for yourself by assembling a portable health record for yourself or a loved one, I can take no responsibility for how you use it or what might happen if you lose it. For many people, the benefit of having this data available in an emergency will far outweigh the risk of losing it or having it stolen. However, you should carefully weigh for yourself where you stand on this risk spectrum and remember that ultimately, this data is yours, and you should do everything possible to protect it.
Happy Hunting,
Laura
Free Web Poll
If you are interested in the history, politics, and just plain chaos surrounding the topic of Electronic Health Records, you will find postings here that may answer some questions for you and help you to pose others. No offense if you are not interested in these details--I myself find some of it quite mindboggling, if not down right frustrating. However, if you ARE interested, I very much welcome your comments and opinions and hope that perhaps some worthwhile exchanges might be sparked here.
If you are interested primarily in creating a Portable Electronic Health Record, skip the history and start with the entry "Create your own record: begin here."
And now, for the disclaimer part of this post, which I hate having to include: the information contained on this site is for educational purposes. Although I would be thrilled if you read through it and decide to try the project for yourself by assembling a portable health record for yourself or a loved one, I can take no responsibility for how you use it or what might happen if you lose it. For many people, the benefit of having this data available in an emergency will far outweigh the risk of losing it or having it stolen. However, you should carefully weigh for yourself where you stand on this risk spectrum and remember that ultimately, this data is yours, and you should do everything possible to protect it.
Happy Hunting,
Laura
Free Web Poll
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)