is there a universally portable EMR in our future and will it be used?
Posted By: Cary Bynum 
Date Posted: September 22nd, 2009 Category: Being a Patient
A lot is being discussed about the problem of being a patient in a health care system that doesn’t talk within itself. The technology seems to exist to allow us as patients to have THE record that follows us so that docs know how to treat based on what other treatments we’re getting…and medications are coordinated. So if we have the technology, why aren’t we using it?
Comment By: Tim Elrod
Date & Time: September 22, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Some back information… I am a senior studying Health Information and Informatics Management at SLU; I discuss the EMR every day.
To answer your question, some people just sold on the idea yet. Established physicians (especially those in private practice) are set in their ways and are resisting the change away from paper records. Some people are afraid of the security issues that come with anything Internet related.
In my opinion, the biggest problem is interoperability, or having a program that can communicate with all other programs. This problem rises from a few sources: lack of regulation, different needs for different providers, there are a lot of variables.
Part of the problem with interoperability comes from the ego's of the companies and hospitals developing these EMR systems. Basically, there are too many leaders. Each one wants to be forever known as the "original" EMR. No major progress will get made until a EMR developer bows out to a competitor and follows, and the next generation of healthcare providers demands the EMR over traditional paper records.
Comment By: Cary Bynum
Date & Time: September 22, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Tim: Thanks for the response. Interesting, eben if not exactly what I want to hear.
Comment By: Mike Capizzi
Date & Time: September 29, 2009 at 9:56 am
Interoperarbility is a huge and maybe insurmoutable hurdle; per Tim's comment above, not only is this an issue between companies/hospitals/providers, etc., but also within the same orgainzation. For example, Hosital A decides to go with Vendor X and Hopsital B chooses Vendor Y, all within the same corporation/parent company. How then can we expect to get to a level of systemness in which all providers/clinicians report data up to some type of Health Exchange?
Comment By: David Weiss
Date & Time: September 30, 2009 at 11:27 am
Health Information Exchanges (HIE) are a growing trend in today's healthcare provider world. At BJC, we are active in this space. First of all, all BJC hospitals share patient-centered electronic medical record information across our entire health system. This enables BJC physicians and clinicians to have ready access to this important clinical information when treating our patients at any of our care delivery sites. This capability has been in place for more than 12 years and is a foundational element in our delivery of exceptional medical care to all our patients. Secondly, we are committed to an electronic sharing of key clinical information among other regional hospitals and health systems. Some steps are already being taken along this path. I expect continued progress in this area while maintaining a strong emphasis on patient confidentiality. It's just the right thing to do for our community and our patients. David Weiss, BJC CIO