WASHINGTON - Patients will be able to see, change and share medical records on the internet through a company set up by a coalition of professional medical groups.
They say the service, called iHealthRecord, will let patients control their own records, while allowing doctors vital access when they need it,
eventually reducing the risks of mistakes such as prescribing errors.
They also hope it could provide a way for doctors and patients to replace thick medical charts and swap information without the need for costly and time-consuming office visits. The system is being provided by Medem, an online medical services company set up in 1999 by medical societies such as the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and American Academy of Pediatrics.
"We believe that electronic personal health records are an important service for physicians and patients, and a key element of the national information technology infrastructure," said Dr James Rohack, chairman of the American Medical Association.
The medical groups backing the iHealthRecord, which include the American Heart Association and American Cancer Society, said it could be a first step to transforming the ponderous and mistake-prone paper-based US medical records system into an efficient, digital structure.
"Ultimately, we know these systems will reduce medical errors and save lives," said Rohack. "It doesn't matter whether [patients] move, switch health plans or switch doctors."
The online service is free to patients who access it directly.
- REUTERS
