Each quarter a newsletter is published to provide Alaskans with updates regarding electronic health record and health information activities across the state.
AeHN - Letter to the Editor, Anchorage Daily News
The March 14 article on errors in Google's Personal Health record sounds concerning on the surface, but let's looks at the facts. The patient had access to his electronic record, identified gross errors and had them corrected. This is generally impossible with paper records. Further, the data supplied to the Google Personal Health Record was billing data NOT clinical health data.
There is a big difference! Physicians rarely use billing coding data for medical treatment, and the data is rarely checked for errors.
The Alaska eHealth Network is working to supply clinical health data to medical providers through a secured network of electronic records. This system will also allow patients to access the same information via a secure Web portal. Patients will also be able to set permission levels on their health data.
Data accuracy will be cross checked against multiple data sources, NOT merely received from one data source as the Google and Microsoft solutions are currently designed. Many errors will be eliminated.
In the future the accuracy of the patient's medical record can be monitored by the patient and corrected. This will be a welcome change from the past.
-- Thomas Nighswander MD MPH, Board Member
Alaska eHealth Network