The purpose of the health IT industry is to bring all medical records together in a secure, online environment. This would make it possible for a doctor in California to quickly look up past medical records for someone who recently moved from Tennessee or for a pharmacy to check the prescriptions someone has at different pharmacies. In other words, the health IT regulations could make medicine safer in a number of ways.
Doctors and Patients
Doctors will be required to have all patient records in the system. This means that whenever a patient visits a doctor, or specialist, her records can be pulled to see her medical history. This makes it easier to diagnose new symptoms and treat existing conditions. This also makes it much easier than having to fax requests to obtain the information or call another doctor’s office, which could delay treatment.
Pharmacies
Another way medications will be safer is that pharmacies will be able to quickly and easily determine which medications customers have with other pharmacies. This will make it easier to detect any possible interactions between medications that are filled by different pharmacies. In many cases, this could mean the difference between life and death. Currently, it can be difficult for a pharmacy to determine every medication a patient is on unless it is filled at their pharmacy.
Emergency Care
In emergency situations there isn’t time to wait for patient records to be faxed. The new health IT regulations will allow emergency care facilities to quickly see which medications patients are currently taking and will also tell the ER staff which conditions the patient suffers from. Again, this can save the life of a patient and make medication much safer.
Out of Area Care
Last, but not least, someone that’s hurt while on vacation would be able to get safe prescriptions after the local doctor accessed the patient’s information. It can be hard for patients to remember every medication he’s on and any precautions he needs to take due to diseases and conditions. In some cases, a patient’s doctor may have used so much medical jargon that the patient is unsure of what conditions he may have. It’s easy to see that health IT regulations will make medicine safer for everyone.
Soon, the days of endless rows of medical files will be a thing of the past and healthitjobs will be even more common. Doctors will come to rely on electronic data to quickly look up patients’ records. This can not only save time, but also save lives. Not to mention that this has created thousands of jobs in the healthcare industry and will make patient data much more secure. It’s a win/win for everyone involved.