Electronic Health Records Now In All US Military Hospitals 86
smitty777 writes "Information Week is reporting on the inclusion of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in all US military hospitals. This is significant in that it allows the sharing of patient information on a worldwide scale, improving care. This is leading a national trend currently motivated by HIT Meaningful Use legislation, which provides incentives for civilian physicians to adopt EHRs. Not that the adoption is without challenges. The usability of EHRs is also an ongoing concern."
TFA does not tell the whole story (Score:2, Interesting)
The DoD MHS (military health system) already has an EMR in place called AHLTA (previously known as CHCS-2). TFA just talks about a new vendor product (from CliniComp) that's being installed in about 50 hospitals, whereas MHS has more than 100 hospitals all running AHLTA already, along with a few other EMR systems. Bad reporting from InformationWeek, it almost reads like an advertisement.
All I can say is WOW (Score:0, Interesting)
All the healthcare records in the military were electronic (with paper copies upon request) as of 2003 when I joined the US Army - this is nothing new - just some dirty liberals trying to take credit for something under Obama they didn't even have a hand in.
Privacy Vs Saving Lives (Score:3, Interesting)
I work in Biomedical Science, and see first hand the importance of accurate patient information. Not just for the obvious emergency where its important to know an unconscious person is a diabetic, or for doctors to know allergies etc.
It is also important to know what diseases are prevalant in population, what diseases need management, where resources are needed etc. These are things that are very difficult to do at the moment because of the lack of centralised up-to-date information. A national study needs to be compiled from data from different states, countries, small departments within systems within states...its a nightmare! It could be so much better if we availed of the technology available today.
People are worried about their privacy, but from whom exactly? Who does the common guy on the street fear with their information? Surely it is a good thing your attending doctor has your history? And nobody else is allowed access. And nobody else cares! What about celebrities? Fine, have an opt out. Easy.
People are going to get into a frenzy about privacy, politicians are going to tip-toe around the issue for fear of public outrage over privacy, pathetic journalists are going to stir up peoples fears, and lives are going to be lost. Privacy is fundamental to the system, and needs to be designed in, but the benefits (lives saved) are too great to ignore.
Re:military hospital? (Score:5, Interesting)
No, because military doctors make less, and don't need malpractice insurance. Now, speaking as one who has been on Tri-Care: you get what you pay for.