Life and Lifestyles

Island Medicine: The role of technology in health care

By ALEX HODGES


Technology is all around us. A perfect example is The Island Free Press, where islanders and visitors can get up-to-date news. It’s also remarkable to watch today’s young people send text and instant messages to each other. My daughters, Ashley and Meredith, make us look like we are using computer skills from the Dark Ages. With such a large percentage of the population using such tools as e-mail, text messaging, and instant messaging to communicate, it is understandable that many would like to communicate with their health-care provider in this manner. I know of several colleagues who do utilize e-mail to communicate with patients. However, in one journal article, I found that only 16 percent of providers are currently using e-mail with patients. I personally use e-mail to communicate with my patients at Hatteras Island Family Medicine. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as signing up for an e-mail account with one of the popular providers. You need to know that your e-mail is secure. For my office, we have established it through a secure server, and if the content I want to send is sensitive, I will ask for a return e-mail to confirm the account before sending that information, just in case. If you are communicating with your health-care provider via e-mail, be sure to ask if it is secure and how they have made it secure. There are numerous guidelines that dictate how e-mail can be used, including that it should be printed and placed in a patient’s chart, the patient name should be in the body of the e-mail, turn-around time established, and even read receipts should be sent. For those providers who are not using an electronic medical record, adhering to this may be too time consuming. I am fortunate that my entire system is electronic. Let me explain what is so amazing about my setup. The system I am using is called Amazing Charts, and it is just that. I have computers in each of my exam rooms and photographic capability immediately into the chart. We also use photos of the patient for each chart. At present, I am able to fax all my local prescriptions to the pharmacies on the island. This charting system means that when I see a patient, before they leave the office, the notes are complete and signed. I also am able to e-mail directly out of the charting system to better communicate with my patients. At present, e-mail is a great way to follow up with patients with diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. I am able to see their blood pressure records, etc., on a weekly basis and transfer them directly to the chart. This not only is accurate but it is cost effective for me and the patient. In the event of a medication recall, I can pull all those patients who are on that medication, or in the fall for flu shots, I can find all those patients who need flu shots in just a few minutes, and the list of possibilities goes on. I had a patient ask just this week about confidentiality. Let me assure you this is very secure. When I am not working at my computer, it is locked and password protected, as are all my terminals. We strive to keep monitors turned so that, in the event our schedule is on the screen, others can not see it. My assistant and I also utilize an inter-office instant message service that allows us to message each other, no matter which room I am in. This makes the flow of the office that much more efficient and secure. While not every provider will be able to make this an option for his or her patients, it will become more commonplace in the future. It will be interesting to see how it changes health care.
(Alex Hodges is a family nurse practitioner and an owner of Hatteras Island Family Medicine in Frisco. If you have suggestions for topics you would like to see covered, please visit www.HIFamilyMedicine.com and click the e-mail link for her. She will do her best to see that your ideas are addressed. She cannot address specific medical questions.)