Electronic Health Information

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Electronic Health Information

• Pros Cons

CORP-WV-07.30 Appr. 09/2007
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Question. . .

• How many of you know whether your doctor keeps
  your medical chart on a computer?
• Known as an electronic medical record or
  electronic health record

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Paper vs Plastic
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Todays Presentation

• Pros and cons of using computers to store your
  medical records
• Importance to you
• Affects your health care, your privacy and
  security
• Know whats coming in health care

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Why Are We Here?

• Received grant from the federal government to
  educate the public about this important topic
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• We want to know what you think

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Topics

• e-Prescribing
• Electronic Health Records
• Health Information Exchange

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e-Prescribing

• Doctor electronically writes prescription on some
  sort of appliance (computer, hand-held, tablet)
  and prescription is reviewed and sent to pharmacy
  to be filled.
• Review checks for bad drug interactions and,
  perhaps, whether drug is on your formulary.

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Electronic vs Paper
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e-Prescribing Benefits

• e-Prescribing
• Legibility (Pharmacist and you can read
  prescription)
• Saves doctor and you time
• One click sends prescription to drug store
• No need to deal with formulary hassles
• Reduces adverse drug problems
• Easy to keep history of medications for you and
  doctor
• Saves money

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Electronic Health Record

• Records all of your history and procedures in an
  electronic format
• Includes all your test results, all drugs
  prescribed, any allergies or drug reactions you
  have, history of what doctor did or asked you to
  do.
• Replaces your paper medical chart

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EHRs
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EHR Benefits

• Often includes e-prescribing
• Lets doctor and office staff see all information
  in easy-to-use way (no lost or missing chart)

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EHR Benefits continued

• Improves care you receive
• Can save doctor and insurers money
• Includes alerts and reminders
• For example, if you have diabetes, record may
  alert your doctor that you need a flu shot or an
  A1c test.

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Health Information Exchange

• Definition Doctors using the Internet or a
  computer network to share information to treat you

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Health Information Exchange

• Plumbing needed to permit authorized medical
  staff to access your information when needed to
  treat you. Would link all providers together.

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Health Information Exchange
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Health Information Exchange

• Essential features of HIE
• Making sure information is really yours
• Making sure its really your doctor sharing or
  requesting
• Making sure its the most complete and accurate
  information available

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HIE Benefits

• Enables your doctor to have best information to
  treat you
• Emergency Room
• Doctor on call
• Helps eliminate time lags in information access
  (test data available quickly)
• Safety

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HIE Benefits continued

• Can make you an active participant in your health
  care. In the future, you might
• Check your own records for errors
• Get lab results over the Internet
• Check prescription information
• E-mail your doctor
• Have information to look up treatment online

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HIE Cautions

• Confidentiality and privacy of information
• Only authorized access
• Patient/consumer control over all or some of
  information (mental health, substance abuse,
  etc.)
• Anti-hacking functions
• No sale or non-medical use of information without
  consent

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HIE Cautions continued

• Many benefits may take a while to appear
• Not all providers, especially doctors, are
  wired
• Network effect takes a while to kick in
• Substantial cost to implement someone has to pay
• User fees
• Taxes

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Health Information in WV

• 2006 law established West Virginia Health
  Information Network.
• Board planning the plumbing for WV.
• 2007 law established e-prescribing

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Discussion

• What potential benefits would mean the most to
  you? Can you think of others we have not
  discussed?
• What are your biggest concerns? Can you think of
  others?

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Electronic Health Information

• Pros Cons