Health Information Technology

Does it appear to anyone else that the huge push by CMS for electronic health records might be getting somewhat out of hand?

Dr. Wes elaborates on the info tech zoo in the hospital and the multiple servers that contain specific patient information.

Patients have the option to control their personal health information through a variety of online options such as: Google Health, HealthVault, and myPHR.

Electronic medical records might be used within each practice (physical therapists included).

Professional organizations are spearheading "networks" for members to allow for secure communicating and sharing of patient information between members such as what will be occurring here in Michigan with the Michigan State Medical Society.

Let's not forget the third party payers in this movement.   Aetna has partnered up with HealthVault to allow its 17 million members to move their personal health information within an Aetna site to HealthVault.

Maybe it's just me, but what seems to be rapidly occurring appears to lead to a potential chaotic mess.  How does the hospital information get to the primary care physician?  How do the outside specialists (physical therapists included) in various locations have access and provide information?  I'm not sure if all these various health information technologies "talk" to each other.  What if they don't?  If they don't, it appears to me that the situation is as it is now (although more legible) - islands of information that will require either faxing/printing/scanning/emailing or uploading to get the information where it is needed.  If that's the case, thousands of dollars have been spent with the final product missing the objective, IF the objective is for having immediate access to patient information.

Selena