Electronic Medical Records Could Save Your Life

About every 6 months someone comes to LevelTen with the novel idea that online medical records are going to change the world, and their right...sort of. If the medical industry as a whole were to adapt a universal system that would allow universal communication (think XML); then that would change the world. The problem is no system has been established and as such the industry does not want to move towards a platform that may be outdated or obsolete very quickly (think HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray). This past Monday afternoon I attended Transforming Hospital Systems: The Digital Future of Healthcare, unfortunatley their focus was really on EMR or Electronic Medical Records and not necessarily online records. Some of the problems with handwritten records that could be solved by an electronic model include:

1. Illegible handwriting
2. Medication Interactions
3. Immediate access to vital data
4. Patient prescription abuse
5. Reduced medical overhead
6. Thousands of saved lives

I could go on; but clearly it's time for a change. If the medical industry won't do it on their own, it's time the government took a good look at our system and did something to start saving lives.