Google's lengthening shadow

Occasionally I criticize your editorials.

I like this one since it stimulates forward thinking. Where will hospital applications systems come from in the future?

Most current systems are adequate at best.

Scott Holmes

Google is going there because
1. they may want to add a way where patients can participate in the maintanance of EMR and if the patients are there then they can pffer them drugs, recreational equipment etc.
2. They may want to host the EMR data at their servers and then able to analize it

I have believed for some time that a Google inspired solution could make the move to electronic patient records much quicker than following the current direction proposed by the government.

My solution would be to have all providers, carriers, etc. make selected information available for access by Google spiders. Then providers, using Internet 2 (currently used by many universities and hospitals) could utilize a specialized Google search to access patient information.

The simplicity of the solution is that the data remains with the provider (Google linked) and access is limited to a controlled (authenticated healthcare providers) audience with a controlled (authenticated Internet 2) access. The problem remains that the standards for documentation in health care are myriad. Some accepted standards, such as HL7, Snomed, and Loinc are forming the foundation for interoperability. However, the industry is slow to adopt and change. Although some data issues remain, there is much information that could be made available now without waiting for the ideal solution sometime in the distant future.

Data from the source means that it remains current with no intermediate steps. Using Internet 2 takes the rest of the web users out of the equation allowing for greater immediate security because access is already limited. Using the combined health care community of providers (hospitals, physicians, clinicians, clinics, dentists, optometrists, etc.) and payers could finally move the groups away from the "mom and pop" mentality that continues to plague the healthcare industry.

I do not underestimate the work involved to set up this type of solution, but it could potentially save billions of dollars compared to the current proposals. Adding layers of regional RHIOs management and oversight is a waste of time, dollars, and manpower, not to mention the complexity and overhead of regional politics and competition for funds.

Obviously vendors should be brought in to do some file manipulations, but this solution would allow them to maintain their operating product individuality that they so closely guard while still contributing to the good of the whole.