Electronic Health Records Going Mobile

It seems that worldwide, secure electronic health records (EHR) are finally becoming a reality. It’s been in the works for over a decade but it seems that mobility is the key enabler in making this happen! Here’s an interesting U.S. stat- half the electronic medical records systems on the market now come with Apple iPad apps for doctors. In Canada, the provinces and territories are at different stages of EHR development but there is significant progress in replacing the old paper file system for digital format.

We all know the problem- paper trails get lost, incorrect prescriptions get written, and doctors' time is wasted listening to patients explain their medical histories. But with the push in mobile, EHR records are getting a fresh relook. The whole objective is to make processes digital and connected. If a doctor's notes are entered into an electronic record, whether on their PC, tablet or smartphone, they can be accessed -- with a patient's permission -- by another medical professional. The system will alert doctors if there are problems with a dosing or prescription. Human error is reduced to near zero and doctors are able to diagnose problems faster and spend time seeing more patients.

There are some innovative mobile applications happening in Canada:

- There is an iPhone medical app, ResolutionMD Mobile, for diagnostic purposes. This is a huge step for doctors in legitimizing the use of mobile technology to make diagnostic recommendations.
- For Mom’s to Be, there’s an app for using a cell phone to track the care needed during pregnancy including ultrasounds
- In Montreal, doctors are tracking diabetes interactively with enhanced reporting on iPads, including tracking patients health conditions, viewing information from their health team and lab results, and receiving personalized advice to reduce the risk of complications
- Doctors are increasingly using messaging technologies- email, texting and blogging to communicate with patients and peers. hereiam™ goes one step further with voice to email and email to voice to speed things up even more
- There is a Parkinson’s Toolkit free mobile app in Canada developed by the National Parkinson Foundation to help clinicians diagnose and treat Parkinson’s disease at the point-of-care.
- Canada Health Infoway has recently established an Emerging Technology Group- working with provinces and territories- to evaluate and promote emerging information technologies, including mobile, for health.

There are still issues in making Electronic Health Records a reality- cost being a high concern and privacy, usability, collaboration and training also needing to be addressed. But with mobility playing a bigger part, concerns have become viewed as less of a turn-off and more of a necessary hurdle to overcome. Mobility could be the added push in the ease of use and adoption by health care workers to make EHR happen faster.