I also want to know why communication between doctor and patient has to be so slow. I call the office (after 9 am when they open), sometimes wait on hold, then give a message to the receptionist who relays it to the doctor who tells the receptionist what to say and then I get a call back. Email, anyone? Sometimes I just want a 30-second answer to a question and don't need to make an appointment.
Ever read something that says, "In case of XXX, contact your doctor immediately."? Ha.
4 comments:
LOL too true. Even in the case of an emergency sometimes its nearly impossible to get a hold of your doctor.
The Health Comm. of the COA developed a notebook in which one could record all pertinent information & keep a running update on any medical visits, etc. The problem was it was way too cumbersome. Office records should be the type that are computerized for easy access & updates. Kaiser has a great system that contains all of your data that any doctor you visit there can easily reference.
Nearly three years ago, I joined Kaiser. It was not by choice, but I discovered that the issues you raised have been addressed by Kaiser and the doctors who work there. They are encouraged to communicate by e-mail -- saving office visit time and costs. All records are electronic and accessible (ever to you).
One part of health care reform is a mandate to move all medical records to electronic format. This will help us all,
Sadly, the health care reform legislation that passed last weekend excluded any mandate for electronic health records in it. On the bright side, the stimulus bill from a year ago, provided some incentives in developing and implementing electronic health records.
In Southern California, Kaiser implemented their systems without any apparent security issues. Patients are encouraged to speak with their doctors by e-mail, saving time and office visits. They can also see results of tests, patterns and track results in nearly real time.
When patients select doctors who care about sharing information, then doctors will begin to invest.
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