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Portable Patient
Medical Records |
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Thousands of Patients
Have Their Own Portable Medical Records
Other Topics: Orthopedic
Templating Solution, Patient
Care Informatics, Cancer
Therapeutics
ChartWare Inc.
July 24, 2006
Thousands of patients now carry their own portable medical
records with them that can be read on virtually any computer.
"This is a breakthrough that health organizations around the
world were working toward for many years," says David
Tully-Smith MD, president of Chartware, the medical software
company of Rohnert Park, California, that produced the system.
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The ChartWare
Continuity-of-Care Record covers an individual's complete
medical history, showing problems, medications, allergies,
immunizations and comments by his or her primary care doctor and
specialists. It fits on a small-size CD or floppy disk or a USB
drive, a portable card that can be plugged into a computer. It
can also be sent as an email. Whenever patients need medical
attention, they can choose to let any health provider read it.
"If, one day, you feel ill, you can go to the nearest emergency
room and, instead of having to remember everything you think
important, just hand them the disk or card. On any computer,
they can read all the information on record that will help them
diagnose your problem," says Tully-Smith, who is also a primary
care physician. "They also know what medications to avoid
because of allergies or interactions with drugs you are taking."
For those with a complicated medical history, increasingly
common as the population ages, or who travel much, a record that
is immediately accessible can be life-saving. "If you're taking
a lot of different drugs, simply going into a pharmacy while
you're on vacation can be risky if the pharmacist doesn't know
what those drugs are," Tully-Smith says. "It's a rare patient
who remembers all of them and the dosages too."
But even someone in perfect health might need help at any time.
"If you're unconscious after a road accident, the ER staff is
often working in the dark until they contact your family doctor.
The record in your purse or wallet gives them a wealth of
information to put them on the right track."
The portable record also marks a big increase in patient
empowerment. "When patients can look at it at any time, either
on their home computer or as a print-out supplied by their
doctor, they can discuss their treatment far more
knowledgeably," Tully-Smith observes. "My patients certainly
feel they have more control."
In the last survey of electronic medical records by Family
Practice Management, journal of the American Academy of Family
Physicians, ChartWare was awarded five stars, the only system
suitable for both large and small installations given this top
rating. Since 1995 it has been used in literally millions of
encounters between doctors and patients.
ChartWare was designed by the company's chairman, Daniel Essin
MD, who is also Director of Medical Informatics at the Los
Angeles County-USC Medical Center and a world authority on
medical record keeping.
CONTACT:
ChartWare Inc.
David Tully-Smith
707-323-2298 or
800-642-4278
email: dts@chartware.com |
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