When Disaster Strikes, Are Your Health Records Safe and Immediately Available?

Aug. 29, 2011 - PRLog -- Dr. Martin H. Orens, a board certified emergency room physician, sees the need for the public to understand that having an online medical file is a proactive step in disaster preparedness.   Dr. Orens warns that medical offices, hospitals and other healthcare facilities are just as subject to fires, floods, earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes as any other structure. When the staff has been evacuated, the hard copies of medical records connected to hundreds of patients are, in most cases, left to the destructive forces of nature.  

To prevent this loss of medical records, and have them readily available to any physician in an emergency, Dr. Orens points out that it makes perfect sense for the patient to have their medical history available online, on a secure and reliable server.  Despite the complicated and confusing marketplace for digital medical files, patients need to learn more about the benefits of an Electronic Health Record (EHR).

“For patients, having an EHR they can rely on is critical in life or death situations,” said Dr. Orens. “This new technology in EHRs gives patients an excellent opportunity to protect their medical records and ensure their own emergency preparedness.”

The online medical record file can be referred to as an EMR (Electronic Medical Record), a PHR (Personal Health Record), or the combination of both, the EHR (Electronic Health Record) among many other official sounding acronyms.  But which one is best for patients? Which type of record will communicate critical information, remain intact in a disaster, be secure and not cost a fortune?

“A patient-driven EHR combines a patient’s entire medical history into one source, which is available 24/7 from anywhere in the world,” said Dr. Orens. “Regardless of where the patient is in a state of emergency, their medical records are safe and accessible thanks to digital technology. The EHR is a major step in empowering patients to take control of their healthcare by allowing patients to share their records with any doctor anytime.”

Based on Dr. Orens’ expertise and research, an optimum Electronic Health Record should:

•   Provide a quick review of the entire medical and surgical history, immunizations, specialist reports and prescription records.
•   Allow physicians to collaborate and contribute to a patient’s single comprehensive medical file.
•   Be secure via the use of encrypted files, firewalls, password strength requirements and back-up systems.
•   Give access to the user only with the patient’s permission, but be capable of emergency access under extreme situations.
•   Be easy for the patient to set up and securely maintain records, anytime and anywhere.
•   Allow patients or parents/guardians to share information with multiple healthcare providers.

After researching the EHR issue for more than ten years and working in the emergency room for more than 25 years, Dr. Martin H. Orens created KARE Information Services (KIS) Electronic Health Records, a low cost solution to a very important issue. From his experience with patients, he fully understands the need for a patient-driven EHR, which can help physicians do their job effectively and deliver patients much needed peace of mind, even in the event of a natural disaster.

About KIS-EHR
KIS-EHR works to improve the lives of individuals everywhere by giving them more control over their most precious asset—their health records. KARE Information Services (KIS) offers a secure, yet easily accessible Electronic Health Records (EHR) system with the mission of empowering patients and enabling their healthcare professionals to better serve them. Launched in 2011 by Dr. Martin H. Orens, a board certified emergency room physician, KIS makes it possible for patients to allow their doctors access to their complete digitized personal health information anywhere, anytime, helping to ensure the best possible medical treatment. For more information on KIS-EHR call 1-866-KIS-INFO, become engaged on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KISEHR or follow our tweets @KISemr.