Internet is key to improving efficiency, quality

“The recently announced merger of Kaleida Health and Erie County Medical Center is an important step in a series of critical changes needed to enhance the quality of care in Western New York. However, we need to take an important physician-driven next step: the implementation of a regionwide medical information exchange connecting physicians, hospitals and insurers.”
Article
Raghu Ram, The Buffalo News Opinion, 5 September 2008

NCR to launch patient kiosks in Europe

“A new touch-screen kiosk is to be launched in Europe by self-service specialist NCR, designed to simplify the checking in and out procedures for patients.
MediKiosk, a self-service machine which interfaces with hospital information systems and collects clinical information from patients prior to an appointment, is to be piloted by an NHS foundation trust, and one GP practice in England later this year.”
Article
eHealth Insider, 17 May 2008

Accessible Health Information Technology (IT) for Populations with Limited Literacy: A Guide for Developers and Purchasers of Health IT

“This guide and checklist are intended for developers and purchasers of health information (IT) that is designed to be accessed and used by consumers. As most health IT developers have little knowledge of populations with limited literacy and of the technical standards and aspects of accessible health IT design, this guide and checklist provide a structure, strategies, and other resources for the development of these technologies. Similarly, purchasers of health IT (e.g., heath plans, pharmaceutical companies, foundations, and other non-profit organizations) that desire to make technologies available to limited-literacy adults, can use this guide and checklist to evaluate a health IT product. For those purchasers who contract out the development of their product, this guide can be used to direct and validate the developer’s work.”
Report
AHRQ Publication No. 08-0010-EF, October 2007

Scotland launches first interactive ‘info pods’

“Patients living in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde region will be able to obtain health information around the clock, after the area became the first in Scotland, to introduce electronic ‘info pods’.”
Article
e-Health Insider, 13 November 2007

ER kiosks let patients avoid long lines

“An emergency room might be the last place you’d think would have do-it-yourself check-in. But Parkland Memorial Hospital has three self-service computer kiosks, similar to those used by airport passengers and hotel guests. And so do a handful of other hospital ERs, where the long wait in line to register and explain symptoms can be grueling.”
Article
Jamie Stengle, The Miami Herald, 14 September 2007

Patient Record Access – The Time Has Come

Dr Brian Fisher MBBCh MSc, Dr Richard Fitton, Charline Poirier, PhD, Dr David Stables MBChB
GP, Wells Park Practice; GP, Hadfield Medical Centre; Ethnography/user research consultant; Medical Director, Egton Medical Information Systems Ltd, UK

Abstract

There are now a number of systems across the world that enables patients to view their electronic health records. These include kiosks that have fingerprint authentication and also net-based access. The paper outlines the approach taken by the UK NHS and explains the legal underpinning of access.

Starting from the premise that record access is here to stay, the paper outlines the research on benefits and risks of record access, concluding that, with simple precautions, record access is safe and affords many benefits to both patients and clinicians. It goes on to consider possible impacts of record access on the way records might be written as a co-produced document and emphasizes that national standards for record sharing need to be written.

Article (reprinted with the authors’ consent)

Brian Fisher, Richard Fitton, Charline Poirier, David Stables, Medical and Care Compunetics 3, 2006, pp. 162-197