If you have kids, you probably have experienced moving from one physician to another. That’s happened to us several times as our doctors either move on, or we change insurance and have to find a new doctor, or when we moved from one coast to the other. During all that moving, it’s always been a chore to get our medical histories to follow us. To request a copy of your records, you’d have to go to the office (that is if they don’t send you to another site that handles their paperwork), fill out a request form and maybe pay a fee for having someone find your records, photocopy them and mail them. There is usually at least a two week wait before you get your information too.
VirMedice is a software consultant that offers a way for physicians to convert their paper records to an electronic medical records system that will hopefully eliminate some of the hassle of storing and archiving your medical records. I’ve actually seen a version of this software being used at my doctor’s office and at the hospital. It makes life so much easier for the doctor and the patients. They have your whole history at their disposal without having to wait for a nurse to pull one information or another while you are having a conversation with your doctor. The software also comes with useful tools such as e-Prescribing which while convenient for the employees, it also increases patient safety by checking for possible drug interaction.
There are still late comers to this technology, but I think most medical practices will soon find that the benefits of going digital and storing their records electronically will ultimately save them time and increase their productivity.
