I’ve worked in a lot of hospitals. And I’ve worked in a lot of medical offices. And in each location, the services provided create a record. So who owns that record? That’s the question that is at stake as we move towards the integration of medical records.
Ask a hospital administrator. They’ll puff up their chests and tell you how imperative it is to continuity of care that the hospital own and preserve the record. Why it’s their lab that cultured the bacteria. And their scanner that diagnosed the tumor. It’s only logical that the hospital maintain the patient record. Why they’re the only entity that would be capable of doing so, right?
Or ask any doctor. They’ll tell you hands down that the record stays in their office. “How would I defend myself in a malpractice case without the original record?” And they would have a good point. But wait a minute. Let’s see. Who’s that other party that’s part of the health care equation? Oh yeah; the patient. How could I have forgotten the patient.
Ultimately, if there is to be one party who owns and is to be responsible for their comprehensive medical record, it’s the patient. Now don’t conjure up images of patients with lose pieces of paper and notebooks with test results in tatters. There’s so many web based alternatives for patients to use. And the one that will rise to the top? The one alternative for medical health records that will become the universal medical record? Google Health.
We’re going to spend the next few years hearing from the pontiffs of the major medical organizations about how they feel a universal medical record should be handled. But if you know anything about web 2.0, you know that simple, open source applications are what will prevail in the long run. And Google Health is just that. Google Health doesn’t want to take ownership of your individual medical record. It simply wants to act as the repository for your record. And quite honestly, I think Google has proven themselves over time to be pretty darned good at data management.
Google Health. It’s simple and eloquent. And just waiting for its’ day.
Jeffrey A. Oster, DPM
Medical Director
Myfootshop.com
