March 5, 2008
WHEC-TV 10 Rochester, NY
"Online Medical Records"
By Robin De Wind
Most doctors didn't learn about this technology while in medical school, but caring
for patients with the help of a computer has become a must. Rochester RHIO, the Regional
Health Information Organization, is launching a new service that will allow all doctors
to send and receive medical records electronically between practices, labs and hospitals.
A technology day was held at the RIT Inn and Conference Center to educate local physicians
about this new program that is currently being funded by the State Health Department. Thirty
doctors have been part of a pilot program.
The goal is to eventually connect all doctors and hospitals in an eight county area. For
you the patient this means fewer repeat tests, easier second opinions and less chance for drug
errors.
“I think the biggest value is avoiding adverse drug events avoiding adverse medical
conditions when patient shows up to a new provider that doesn't know anything about them
they’ll what kind of medications they are on and what kind of lab tests they have
recently gotten,” Ted Kremer the director of RHIO said.
Patients can choose to opt out of the service by telling their doctor. If you're concerned
about confidentiality health experts say electronic medical records are more private than paper
records. You don't know who is reading your information on paper, but they say with computers it
can all be tracked. |
