Computerized Patient Records Flaw

Hurrah! I am looking forward to a makeover of our health care system. Finally! We pay more for our health care than any other country. The bad news is the quality of our health care ranks 37th in the world, just below Costa Rica. But the good news is that we rank right above Slovenia*.

I notice that part of our makeover includes streamlining patient records by computerizing them. Everyone is excited about this: the governors, our newly elected administration and the computer software companies especially.

I invented and implemented the first commercial computerized patient chart. And I was an original board member of an organization committed to bring affordable, accessible health care to Kansans. So I am entitled to point out something that has been overlooked. There is a fatal flaw in the foundation of the patient records system's architecture.

*Source: World Health Organization (WHO)