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Personal health care record saves time, improves doctor-patient communication
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LAS VEGAS – The personal health care record, one of the menu set objectives for the meaningful use requirement, is “an up-and-coming element that will affect all of our practices,” according to a speaker here at Vision Expo West.
“There are aspects of our PHR [personal health care record] system that are almost like a virtual employee of the practice,” Kelly Kerksick, OD, told attendees.
The requirements of the PHR, as outlined by the meaningful use rules, are that the information can be accessible, portable, lifelong, comprehensive and managed by the patient, Kerksick said.
She said it will fulfill one of the menu set objectives for meaningful use requirement: “Provide patients with timely electronic access.”
The information must be available within 4 days and must include lab test results, the patient’s problem list, medication list and medication allergies.
Kerksick said the pediatricians in her area seem to be driving the concept; some of her patients in Missouri have requested it. “In areas with a more tech-savvy population, they may start asking for it,” she said.
The PHR can manage the entire family’s health information and make the check-in process faster, Kerksick said. It will also provide better communication between the patient and doctor.
The PHR has tracking capabilities, such as with weight loss management; online prescription management; blood pressure monitoring; blood sugar monitoring.
“Depending on how the patient answers questions, it will prompt certain follow-up questions,” Kerksick said. “It captures information so you don’t have to necessarily ask certain questions. At the end it will tell the patient what they should bring with them to their appointment.
“The information then dumps into a patient record,” she continued. “The patient is not filling out the information in the office, and a technician doesn’t have to spend time on it during the visit.”
A number of companies with electronic medical record software also offer PHR services, Kerksick said, and the two can be integrated.
“It helps eliminate a lot of user error,” Kerksick concluded. “It takes a lot of the guesswork out of the questions the techs should be asking. I find I have to add very little information; it’s usually all in there.”