HHS reconstructing medical records from databases

A range of government agencies, coordinated by the national coordinator of health information technology, is piecing together medical records of Gulf Coast residents by working with electronic records contained in the databases of health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, drugstore chains and other sources. Government Health IT reports that some records should be available by next week.

The  national coordinator, Dr. David Brailer, told a health IT conference: ""Health IT saves lives," he said. "The health IT community has a lot to contribute to what's happening. ... We think we can be very specific about at least the current meds that people are taking."

He also discussed the need for privacy safeguards and the need for a much more comprehensive electronic health records system.