It?s an important lesson. In medicine change comes from the top down.
Here in the basement, we don't get any choice about what drips on our heads, either.
Did you ask her what the procedure was for you (you know, the person who is supposedly being "empowered" here) to deny access to your medical history to someone you didn't approve of?
Assuming the usual answer (you already gave permission and you're protected by HIPPAA) then what is the procedure for auditing access to your records?
I'm still waiting for an answer to that one. Fortunately I'm not holding my breath.
While on the table for my regular check-up my doctor let slip that the practice is getting an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system early next year.
What kind, I asked? NextGen, she said. How, I wondered? The hospital, she answered.
The key point here is the second one. Hospitals are driving the adoption of EMRs in most medical offices. Alliances between vendors work only when they can move down the chain, from the big boys to the smaller.
Key customers are key.
In the case of my doctor, I did some research and found she’s going to be a Windows shop. While offering a nod to platform independence, the Philly-based company (a unit of QSI) generally builds on Microsoft tools.
This means there will be Microsoft HealthVault interoperability and a Microsoft-centric architecture.
I don’t think this matters to her. What matters is that the hospital her practice is attached to is telling her to do this. So she will do this.
It’s an important lesson. In medicine change comes from the top down.
