News and Headlines

 

A Sign of the Times.

 

Have you ever been on vacation and were injured or became ill, needing medical care? If so, you can understand how frustrating it can be when the details of your medical history are needed in order to provide specialized care. The ability to access an individual’s medical health history can be instrumental in helping a health care provider determine the best course of action, especially if the health history is complex.

As we move toward the future, technology continues to astound us with incredible innovations that will forever impact many aspects of our lives. In our workplace, diagnostic testing and computerized charting have contributed to the way we care for our patients and, in the not too distant future, our patients will most likely have the opportunity to take a more active role too. There is a strong possibility that digitalized technology will soon allow patients to become the primary caretakers of their own medical records.

Once health records can be fully digitalized, a large amount of medical information will be contained in a relatively small space. By giving patients control of their own records (in a read-only format), they can be more empowered and better informed to make decisions about their care. In addition, records that are stored in a central server location will allow patients to provide access to their caregivers whenever and wherever they need it.