Do security and privacy make health IT reform impossible?

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The first step is to be simple.

I just had gall bladder surgery last Wednesday and came fact to
fact with IT again.

First there was a need to review my information on file - which
should be simple as I had a heart cath last month. But guess
what? There were simple errors on basic information. they had
my daughter listed as my wife this time and my wife as my
daughter. My son was safe.

How can they screw up a simple text field?

Then there was the blood glucose test. I'm a diabetic and test
my blood at least 4 times a day. It's simple and only requires a
tiny drop of blood. Unless you have a computerized system.
Then you need 10 times the blood - which coiuld cause
problem for those on anti-clotting meds. The system requires
scanning my barcode, then the RNs barcode and then used a
huge strip to collect the blood. I could have given them a
number in a fraction of the time with a fraction of the blood.

It was also interesting that there was the traditional chart that
stayed with me from check in to discharge. Might be that
something as important as patient care and safety cannot be
risked with only using computers that can crash.

Overall health technology worked well. Outstanding ultrasound
technology used in diagnosis, the laparoscopic technology to
pull the gall bladder out with such ease that I went home a few
hours after the surgery. Lab reports from a regional lab were
available at the Doctor's office and also at the hospital. Good
stuff like that, but still a need for paper.

Maybe that is the best we can have for now. Expand the range
of information, make it more readily available outside of your
primary providers at your approval. That helps your care.

As for your privacy, make it illegal for insurance companies to
use it, consider pre-existing conditions, etc. Insurance
companies and employers (or potential employers) are the
major risk for privacy abuse. It's going to take legislation, not
programming, to solve that problem.

Posted by: Ken_z   Posted on: 06/29/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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