“The chairman of the BMA, Dr Hamish Meldrum, declared this week that NHS consultants and GPs “have coped up until now without an electronic record of patient details”. And he is right – but at the expense of several high-profile deaths and countless near-misses and incidents of accidental harm, which accessible information could have prevented. These records include current medication, allergies and adverse reactions. They should in future include any significant medical event such as a hospital discharge. In some cases, patients with terminal conditions have used them to include their end-of-life wishes. For the latter this means that they can ensure they die at home rather than in a hospital ward, something that the majority of people say they would prefer.”
Article
Gillian Braunold, The Guardian, 12 March 2010
