e-Health: do as I ..., not as I ...

In light of the current alleged shenanigans at e-Health Ontario, I was doing some internalizing stuff and noticed discrepancies in my own organization -- I was preaching the EMR/EHR message but was still visiting a physician with a paper practice; you see, my doctor had moved to Toronto and I felt I had little option but to go with whoever was accepting patients locally.

What a cop-out -- I almost went to the media to expose the situation but thought the better of it since the public at large would surely call for my resignation!

So quickly and quietly before word got out, I did the right thing and made an appointment to see my former doctor who's practice had long been "EMR'd".

The experience was better than I had anticipated -- you simply announced your arrival and waited for the doctor to come get you -- something vastly different from the usual:

• presenting your health card
• sitting in the waiting room and reading 10-year old magazines until your file was located
• moving to the examining room with your file in the door slot, waiting and wondering what on earth those long tubes and gloves were used for

Instead, my doctor came out and took me to her examining room where I experienced the power of an EMR system in all its glory.

Since I had elected not to move with her as a patient, it appears my chart had not been scanned into the system, but once I had made an appointment, the basics were loaded.

We spent the encounter briefly discussing any recent health problems etc. and reviewing my EMR -- I must admit that in a very short time I was both amazed and impressed with its capabilities such as:

• prescriptions at the click of the mouse
• the capability to view historical data, both textual and graphical
• the capability for any physician (at least within the Family Health Team environment) to access my chart remotely

Rumour has it that my doctor will be moving back to her old office within the next few months so I'll be looking forward to really getting into the nitty-gritty of this EMR/EHR/PHR stuff.

Well, it seems nobody won the book prize from last month, so it looks like I'll have to renew the loan at my local library!

Please check last month's post for the rules.

Hint: You can't get there from New York!

Month: July

Good luck and remember to go boldly forth reducing the mosquito population, one slap at a time!

Ernest A. James

President/CEO

Regal Informatics Inc.