Human Nature

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

papacho — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:07:29 GMT

Microsoft is just as innovative in online medical records as they are in computer operating systems.

The Department of Veterans Affairs, which operates a "world class" healthcare system--partly thanks to its electronical medical record--has an acclaimed system already in use by thousands of veterans. It's called MyHealth-e-Vet, and allows them to access up-to-date information on medical and health topics, request appointments and prescription refills, see their medical record, and even upload non-VA-provided medical information such as test results and prescriptions obtained outside of the VA system.

If you're a veteran, it's already available to you.

Re: too much information . ..

Ransome — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:05:09 GMT

I work in the field and access EMR. In an enclosed setting it works great. I'd rather carry my doctor's name in my wallet. Google and MS are a little too curious for my tastes. There is nothing that is free. Data is worth money and they own the data. The insurance companies may know about you but they would prefer a standardized database with 200 million medical records in it. Like credit scores, you would be assigned a health score that would follow you from job to job and directly impact health insurance cost and availability. Remember, the insurance companies are there to deny coverage. I can't see any upside. They don't need personalized data to determine risk models, just lots of data. Later, your individualized data is compared to the risk models. MS is probably going to sell subscriptions to the data. It will be your responsibility to make sure the data is accurate, like credit data.

I read that credit scores are less predictive of mortgage re-payment risk. Perhaps another theory out the window. Meanwhile credit scores are used for everything. Profiling people is tricky.

too much information . ..

baltimore aureole — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:09:40 GMT

a attended a corporate training course last month where the facilitator said she didn't date men from our company because - as a human resources person - she had access to everyone's personnel file, and she felt she wouldn't be able to resist the temptation to peek and see who the rising stars were . . .

setting aside the mind boggling admission that she selects her social partners based on their promotion potential, i think the same "lure" would apply to online medical records.

would a single person automatically rule out someone because they had a heart murmur? really bad eyesight? family history of cancer? had seen a psyciatrist once for depression? an abortion (that could be a plus, or a minus, depending on if your approach was for breeding, or moralistic/religoius).

there was even a movie about this - "gattaca" - where your social and career future were constrained by your genetic potential at birth.

i prefer to reject someone (or be rejected by a future mate) based on aspects other than than my vision exam or cancer operation . ..but that's just me.

you can put yours online if you want . .. not me

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

robt44 — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:35:10 GMT

I would, sure, for my kids, if nothing else, especially as I was a sperm donor.

I have a heart/vascular problem that they should know of, as well as fungal infections from childhood and who knows if they are related to the vascular condition? So.. yes

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

jaxsearch — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 05:48:24 GMT

I've worked for several medical institutions who are in various stages of converting to EMR (electronic medical records) or have converted. As one writer indicated, a worker in a hospital or clinic, depending on access level, can see patient records going back to whenever records were converted to electronic data. Staff restrictions included not being able to look at one's own or family members' records without written permission of the physician or family member--a few staff members were fired before employees took this seriously. This ensured a certain level of privacy.

Medical records have been available for a long time--does anyone remember the Medical Information Bureau, which functions rather like an unregulated private credit service? Other than stupidities like laptops being lost or data tapes in cars that are stolen (both of which have occurred), websites with health information are very secure, just like banking sites, and most of us have been transmitting financial information electronically in one form or another for years.

So, yes, I wouldn't mind having my medical records on line and made available, especially if it were a matter of life and death. If I were allergic to, say, penicillin, and it kept a physician from administering that medication, thus keeping me from having a reaction that could cause death, you're darn right I'd like to have that information available.

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

Heleva — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:24:32 GMT

I understand the issue to be a real double, perhaps triple edged sword. I think it is necessary in some diseases that the records are available for case study but the same transparancy needed for research works agains tthe patient with regards to insurance companies denying claims. Lastly is the supposed reason the Hippa law was enacted, to increase personal privacy. Since I do have one of those diseases and I have pretty much told the insurance company sod off I am doing things my way and because I really hope for a cure I would share online forsaking my privacy if it would help.

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

jmegawarne — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:28:46 GMT

Perhaps the solution is anonymization. Patients are assigned a unique random number by the system. No personally identifiable information is stored.

To authorize a doctor to access the records, patient sets their account as visible to doctor. Patient then gives doctor their unique number. Doctor keeps minimal local records to match patient name to number.

Now, whilst patient data is centralized, patient identity is not. Of course, if you lose/forget your number before you give it to the doctor, too bad.

Yes.

auros — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:36:33 GMT

It works for the VA.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2005/0501.longman.html

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

Dana — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:44:34 GMT

I would, too, absolutely. In this day and age of HMOs and one main doctor and one main gynocologist referring us to scads of other specialists who don't always report back to the main doctor or the main gynocologist (who rarely reports to the main doctor and vice versa), having medical records in one place makes serious sense. Forcing this vast array of professional egos to check historical facts about you instead of assuming them could also save lives - and overall healthcare and prescription costs.

And as to privacy concerns, I, too, bank and shop online, so it's hard to see any issues. What a great thought: having ALL my key info at my fingertips!

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

ThompsonB — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 02:13:58 GMT

If the doctors did likewise I would. The current system leaves the patient( and all too often, cooperating physicians) out of the loop. Privacy too has its drawbacks.

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

blueshift — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 20:33:04 GMT

Two responses:

1) Sararudh, the records you were looking at were not online. They were accessible via your hospitals intranet. So they were still behind a few layers of security. To have gotten access, you had to understand and agree to compy with HIPAA rules (for what thats worth).

2) Holmstrand, I like that idea. For this system to work, that seems like an essential security precaution. You could have a separate medical identification number that only you know.

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

holmstrand — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:37:22 GMT

I would, but not for my medical treatment purposes. I'd rather doctors just ask me for my history, since I know all of it. Plus, you can and should obtain all of your medical records from previous doctors (This was difficult some years ago, but with the HIPAA changes that went into effect ~ 5 years ago, it has gotten easier). Plus, what if your info gets hacked??? The last thing I would want is for Doctor A to prescribe me some medication that I don't need, or that interacts badly with something else, because of inaccurate info. I'd rather someone come up with this application for research purposes (much like is being proposed for human genome data now), and have all my medical stats there, available to be searched - but without my name attached to them.

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

Musmatte — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:33:24 GMT

If the system they set up is really useful to doctors, then sure I would. I do my banking online, and I that's information I consider more highly sensitive.

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

San — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:09:20 GMT

Saletan, if I find out you have any allergies, guess what I'm going to try and slip into your cereal. :D

Re: Would you put your medical records online?

Sickday — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:39:47 GMT

As someone who gets denied/priced out of private coverage all the time due to an oddball disease I had when I was a kid, I have to imagine that insurers know everything pertinent about me already from hospitalization records.

So I'm not sure what kind of privacy exists as-is, at least in terms of employment and insurance. In my opinion, putting things online might spur legislators to take medical privacy a little more seriously. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but I haven't really felt like my records are solely mine at any point in my life.