We’ve got some really power packed tweets this week. Some really important and terribly challenging topics. Although, first let’s begin with a holiday season EHR tweet:
@ehrintel we are helping deserving Self-run charity clinic’s by giving free #EHR/#EMR under our community program. community@tecnex.net
— TECNEX (@TECNEX) December 15, 2012
I always love when EHR is given to clinics for free. As long as they don’t blind side them with support fees. I’ll assume that TECNEX is doing it the right way. I’d love to hear what other healthcare IT vendors are doing to help others this Holiday season.
Sticky. Who controls/owns a teen’s EMR/PHR? The parent/legal guardian or the teenager? #HITsm #Privacy
— Elin Silveous (@ElinSilveous) December 14, 2012
Sticky doesn’t even begin to address the issues associated with a teen’s patient record. This is a HUGE problem for HIEs as well. This deserves its own post, but answering the question of who controls a teen’s patient record is ugly and complicated in our current cultural climate.
Am I alone? My doc can not email me. He can not access the hospital’s EMRs, even though he works for them. No, I can not access my EMR. #HIT
— Elin Silveous (@ElinSilveous) December 12, 2012
Elin is definitely not alone in this. Very few docs email their patients. This likely won’t drastically change until reimbursement becomes available for that type of communication. Although, if we can simplify the secure email connection enough to help doctors avoid phone calls they’re currently making, we could make some headway. I’m partially working on this problem in my new company Physia. We don’t have the details on the website now, but I’d love to talk with some doctors, practice managers, or hospitals about what we’re working on if you’re interested. Just drop me a note on the EMR and EHR contact page.
Regarding Sticky, the PARENTS have a God given right and a moral duty to know what is in the PHR – anything beyond that is stupid. It’s morons that purport “privacy” for the teens while at the same time denying them an aspirin for a headache while at school, but then driving them down to the abortion clinic to commit murder.
WAKE UP! This is not even open for debate, and should have never been questioned.