There are a lot of things in life that we would go back too… the fourth grade play,  the senior prom, the winning touchdown in the “big game,” or even graduation. But there are also a lot of things that we wouldn’t go back too… not because we don’t want to…but because through experience we now know better.  David Kibbe understands this.

After spending several years leading a team of the American Academy of Family Physicians, (AAFP) and its members to promote the adoption of electronical medical records (EMR), he and the many doctors who followed him…can’t go back.

“Between 2003 and 2007, the percentage of the AAFP’s active membership of 60,000 doctors who utilize an EMR from a commercial vendor in their practices jumped from about 10 percent to almost 50 percent. The overwhelming majority of the doctors in these practices consider this a good thing, and would never go back to paper systems,” said Kibbe in his talk “Confessions of a Physician EMR Champion.”

Not only did the doctors learn first hand about the unparalleled value of using an EMR; it opened their eyes to an even deeper problem.  The breakdown of communication required to assist patients and doctors to collaborate and make better decisions together.

“What I once thought was the end game, however, is really only the starting line… I am now recommending to physicians, their office managers, and their business partners that their health IT deployments should no longer be vendor-driven, nor should they be limited to what works best inside the individual practice. Instead, their health IT should be aligned with a business and clinical re-organization strategy that places a much higher value than heretofore on team-based care and management programs involving health data exchange… I’m encouraging patient portals, community health data exchanges, shared clinical data collection, and intelligent online tools.” said Kibbe.

Is Kibbe right? Are EMR’s only the beginning of a health care system that needs to change to get the patient and doctor on the same page?

One thing we do know is that Kibbe and his colleagues would never go back to paper records.

Shakespeare’s Romeo once stated “What’s in a name?” Well, doctors, hospitals and insurers are asking the same question in their line of work…“What’s in a Code?”

 A whole lot, according to the Wall Street Journal. Currently, doctors and hospitals use the ICD-9CM billing codes, however, the new ICD-10 billing codes which are coming in October 2011 call for more details about the patients, their conditions and their treatments. (See “Look Out, Docs: Here Comes ICD-10)

For example currently, there are 5 codes for a sprained ankle; with the ICD-10 codes there will be 45 different codes, with very specific details attached to each one. The new system will have 155,000 codes including 68,000 codes describing diagnoses, up from 13,000 currently, and 87,000 codes for different medical procedures, compared with 3,000 today. Hospitals use both types of codes, but physicians use only the diagnostic codes.

“That’s very complicated to a provider,” an official at the Medical Group Management Association tells the WSJ. A rushed doc might just check “unspecified” to describe the injury.”

Apparently, the providers of our healthcare system could be in for a shock.
For doctors and insurers the battle lines are drawn. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are pushing for this new system, because they claim it can boost claims insurers return to doctors for coding errors by 10%. However, it could become a costly headache for patients and doctors − to the tune of $1.64 billion over the course of fifteen years. 

So what is better, having more specific information on each patient or having a frustrated doctor, who just puts in an unspecified code so he can get paid?  So I start where I began, “What’s in a Code?” A lot of money and a lot of reasons for doctors and insurers to keep on fighting.

Flashlight…Check.
Canned Food…Check.
Water…Check.

How prepared are you for an emergency?  Do you think you have everything you might need to keep you and your family safe?  From flashlights and blankets, to water and canned food, are you ready for any kind of emergency, physical or financial? Do you really have the necessary things you would need in a time of urgency?

Perhaps you don’t.  Have you thought about having an updated copy of your personal health information?
One of the biggest lessons we learned from Hurricane Katrina was that thousands of people were not only left without their homes, but without their life sustaining medications. Adding to the over-arching problem, was the fact that many of these people didn’t know what drugs they were taking, or why they were taking them. 

With medical offices, and pharmacies wiped out from the storm, access to this valuable information was impossible. Hundreds of people suffered greatly, due to delays in diagnoses and treatment of  patients because they didn’t have their medical records. If they’d had a list of their medications and health providers, it would have made a world of difference.

Today it’s the patient’s responsibility to be informed and educated on their medical history.  It is vital for patients to have at least a basic updated medical history in a safe place.

Times are changing and having food storage isn’t enough.  It’s time to be prepared on all levels.
Here is some essential information to include in your personal health information:

• Your full name and gender
• Date of birth
• Your address and phone number (home, work, cell)
• Health Insurance Information
• Emergency Contact
• Name and number of your primary care health provider /pharmacy
• Name and number of your dentist
• All known allergies (list reactions that accompany the allergies)
• All medications and over the counter drugs you take (include dosage and frequency)
• Dates of all vaccinations
• All current medical diagnoses
• History of symptoms such as, chest pain, shortness of breath, hypo/hyperglycemia etc.
• All surgeries and dates
• Any broken bones and dates
• Treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, clinical trials, electric shock etc.
• Do you smoke? Have you smoked in the past? How much?
• Do you consume alcohol? (How much and how often?)
• Do you use street drugs? (What and when?)

Also list your risk of disease due to family history, for certain diseases such as: Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, arthritis, mental illness and neuromuscular diseases.

So add medical records to your list.
Flashlight…Check.
Canned Food…Check.
Water…Check.
Personal Health Records…Check.

Remember the old phrase, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” Or can it? Applying for life insurance can be more difficult and pricey than in years past.  Insurers are now scrutinizing potential client’s medical records more than before, which means if there are mistakes in your medical records it could hit you where it hurts-your wallet.

The Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 98,000 people die each year in hospitals from medical errors. If these errors are turning up in hospitals, you can bet they are turning up in medical records, which can result in being denied life insurance or at least paying higher insurance premiums.

 “You need to make sure you know what’s in your medical records and correct any errors before you apply for insurance,” says Carolyn McClanahan a certified financial planner and former medical doctor.

Medical mistakes happen all the time; they can arise from mistyped diagnosis codes or transcription errors, even inaccurate diagnosis. “Part of the problem is that the U.S. healthcare system relies mainly on paper records, which makes it harder…spot errors.” says Joy Pritts, research associate professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute.

By having your own medical records, in an electronic format, you will be aware of any errors that need to be corrected. This is a huge dividend when it comes to applying for insurance and securing the lowest premium possible.

After all it’s your health shouldn’t you own it?

    Have you ever wondered how safe your medical records really are?  Actually, the first question you should ask yourself is, are they truly YOUR medical records?  Who owns them?
    Two medical centers in Martinsville, VA suddenly closed in September, due to “economic reasons.” (See: Medical Center Closings highlight patient needs to keep copy of medical records.)
  However, what about those patient’s medical records?  Don’t they have a right to get what is rightfully theirs?
Technically the medical records belong to the provider; you can request copies but, you are not the owner of your medical records.
    “It’s not a bad idea for patients to get in the habit of maybe every couple years requesting updated medical records from their physician.  Just so they have it for their personal records in case the patient moves or the doctor moves,” said Jennifer Deschenes, Deputy Executive Director for the Virginia Board of Medicine.  If this can happen to the people of Martinsville, VA what is stopping it from happening to you?
     MediConnect can help.  MediConnect Global Inc. retrieves your personal medical records from your providers and allows you to access them online in a secure electronically, digitized format.  Just click on the MediConnect website at www.mediconnect.net to start retrieving your medical records today.
Because you shouldn’t have to worry about what happens to your health history.