First community-based public health record in the country is being test driven in Tehachapi
First community-based public health record in the country is being test driven in Tehachapi
By: Bernadette Nehorai
Description: Web-based personal health records create new possibilities
Topics: myhealthkeeper, eckita, tvhd, hospital, diabetes
Posted by editor Mon Apr 23, 2007 15:04:17 PDT
Viewed 966 times
0 responses 0 comments When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005 most of the one million people displaced by the storm were left without a single medical record. Now, nearly 70 percent of doctors in the country still do not have electronic medical records for patients making it nearly impossible for doctors to work if a disaster strikes.
Tehachapi residents are being given the opportunity to avoid that fate. The Personal Health Record, known as MyHealthKeeper, is being test driven by a group of about 40 senior citizens, all members of the Tehachapi Diabetes Support Group. MyHealthKeeper is currently tailor-made to fit the needs of diabetes patients, but it is a program created to be used as a chronic disease management tool as well as an electronic medical record. The product has been in the works for nearly two years by the East Kern County Integrated Technology Association (EKCITA) and Tehachapi Hospital, with the partnership of Access Strategies.
On Thursday, April 19, the Personal Health Record (PHR) product was officially unveiled, in its preliminary stages, to the support group members. Jami Young, TVHD assistant administrator and MyHealthKeeper project coordinator, pointed out that MyHealthKeeper is still at the stage where input is welcomed and changes can be made.
“We want to work with the users of the product,” said Young of the first group to use the Diabetes Management module on the web-based record site.
Cynthia Solomon, one of the MyHealthKeeper developers and founder of FollowMe, a web-based PHR considered a pioneer of programs of this sort, said, “It is still in the Model T Ford stages and we are anxious to see the community’s reaction.”
Solomon, a Sonoma County resident, has a personal connection with the need for personal health records. Her adult child has a brain lesion, and in 1999 a medical emergency sent him to an out-of-town hospital where they didn’t have his records. It started her thinking.
“I’m not going to be around forever,” she thought, leading her to create FollowMe. “Since then we have taken this technology to other communities.”
This technology uses a limited access code, similar to the security level used on banking Web sites. A username and password allow access and all information is stored on a secure server. Information entered by a patient can be viewed by the doctors the patients choose to give access to.
“I think the technology may be over senior citizens’ heads,” observed Diabetes Support Group member George Zimmer.
But other PHRs have been successful in helping groups like migrant workers. However, none of the popular PHRs serve the community in general. MyHealthKeeper is the first public access PHR in the country, which means, according to Solomon, these initial stages are instrumental in making the program efficient for other communities.
“The whole idea is to help better coordinate care and communication with health care providers,” said Solomon.
The Diabetes Management module has electronic worksheets that can be filled out to manage glucose, diet, weight, blood pressure and even a pain and symptoms diary to help patients remember how often and how intense a problem may be when asked later by their doctor.
“If you are having problems, you don’t think straight, and if you have this program you can enter something in when it happens and then the doctor can have it. It’s great,” said Nancy Bachman, member of the Diabetes Support Group.
Solomon gives this explanation.
“If you look at how your life is going and you chart it, you can really isolate where you may need to make a change.”
Another benefit of the program is the Summary Medical Report that will be a tool available to all MyHealthKeeper users. It is a form you fill out once with pertinent family history and health insurance information and then print off to take when visiting a new doctor. The doctor can even access your PHR, if you choose, and get the Summary Medical Report before your first visit.
PHRs are becoming a hot topic in Washington, meaning PHRs like MyHealthKeeper may one day become government-mandated programs. President George W. Bush has pushed for electronic health records to be available to all U.S. residents by 2014.
MyHealthKeeper
www.MyHealthKeeper.org
MyHealthKeeper is a web-based personal electronic health record aimed to assist patients organize and maintain medical information with the ability to share information with their medical team.
MyHealthKeeper allows patients to enter, track, and archive their medical history. This tool acts as an electronic filing system for patient’s health care information and empowers individuals to be active in their health care. Health information may also be entered and viewed by physicians or other healthcare professionals if given permission by the patient, via a limited access code. For more information, go to www.MyHealthKeeper.org.
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