Editor's Note: Will Bloedow (photo and bio above) is a participant in today's National Press Club briefing on meaningful use of health IT, cosponsored by Health Affairs and the Health Industry Forum at Brandeis University. The post below highlights salient points of Bloedow's presentation and supplements his discussion.
From a patient’s perspective, the increasing emphasis on an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and meaningful use, saves time, creates better outcomes and offers a sense of comfort.
I juggle health issues including a heart condition, diabetes and asthma. My EHR is essential in connecting my care team. My primary care physician, cardiologist and pulmonologist can easily and quickly reference each others notes within the EHR. The ability to electronically communicate and coordinate has helped them deliver better treatment across my spectrum of care.
I also rely on the online patient portal available through the EHR, which is accessible from my home anytime. It allows me to schedule an appointment, confirm the date of my next check-up and review my test results, whether it is six in the morning or midnight. There’s real value in that convenience.
If I don’t understand a health term—A1C Hemoglobin, for example—I can look it up in the Medical Library through the patient portal. I am able to instantly find information about how to prepare for the test, how it is conducted and how I get results.
Not only does the EHR ensure that my physicians remain connected to each other, it also ensures that I stay connected with my physicians. If I have questions for one of my doctors, I can email him or her through the patient portal and get answers back almost immediately.
However, while the EHR is certainly an important component of my overall care, my experience has taught me that it works best when supported by caring in-person contact with expert providers and by an effective care delivery process. The elements go hand-in-hand. I am lucky enough to have a primary care physician who has been on the leading edge of applying the EHR, and as a result, I have received some of the best care when it comes to this type of technology. I can review lab test results face-to-face with my physician during my visit and I can corroborate my understanding of those results later through the online EHR. I never have to second guess myself or keep extra paper records, because everything is tracked in the EHR.
One of the most powerful examples of the value of the EHR comes from a recent experience while traveling. I had a heart incident in Minnesota, far from my local ThedaCare hospital in Appleton, Wisconsin. Because ThedaCare invested in the EHR, it was able to send my entire medical record to the Minnesota facility within 30 minutes. Years ago, the best you could do was fax a record. Now, that quick relay of information sped up my treatment and got me back on my feet. I am convinced it saves time and money, not just for me but for providers.
It gives me a sense of security as a patient to know that this record can convey my important health information, even if I cannot. I believe every health care organization in the country should be linked through the EHR, and I am glad that industry and government leaders see the continued need to move forward with this technology. The EHR provides accurate and fast communication among providers. It helps patients stay engaged in their own care and become better informed. That, in turn, will lead to dramatic improvements in our nation’s overall care and for individual patients like me.