The Personal Health Record -- A Potential Hedge Against Rising Healthcare Costs

Employing a personal health record can decreasehowever, because patients have not thought
healthcare expenses because many of theabout the information in an organized way and/or
healthcare dollars go toward the generation ofbecause of nervousness, patients feel put on the
information needed to make diagnoses andspot when asked certain questions about their
provide appropriate treatment.  With passage ofsymptoms and conditions.  By recording
HR. 3590, which will expand healthcare coverageinformation pertaining to symptoms and conditions
to an additional 32 million persons by 2019, moreto be discussed during an impending doctor visit, a
patients will be establishing new doctor/patientpatient is better prepared for the visit with useful
relationships and the flow of health information willinformation which can reduce expenses by
most likely increase significantly.minimizing over-reliance on testing. Additionally, the
Although in recent years there has been a pushrecorded information is likely to be more accurate
for doctors to purchase and utilize electronicthan information which has not been recorded and
medical record programs for management ofthus more likely to maximize the quality of
patient health data in the hopes that there will behealthcare received.
a centralized database of patient healthA personal health record might therefore also
information that will minimize treatment errors,reduce healthcare expenses during follow-up visits
the truth of the matter is, most doctors haveor sick visits because a well-designed personal
not adopted the technology, and even if most did,health record software program enables the
because of the differences in styles of practicepatient to create pre-visit notes and journal notes
and documentation, a central database would notabout new and established problems, which can be
contain all of the data updated in real-time toprinted out and carried to the doctor at the time
meet healthcare needs of every patient in everyof a visit.  Additionally, the updating of entries in
healthcare setting and situation. Ergo, the bestthe personal health record by the patient tends to
repository of health information is you and youreven better prepare the patient to answer
own personal health record.questions during an impending doctor visit.
One scenario illustrating the cost of generating andAt the time of the writing of this article the
exchanging health information is the initial newduration of an average doctor visit in the United
patient visit to establish a doctor/patientStates is approximately 16 minutes which is fairly
relationship. A physician evaluating a patient forgenerous compared to a county like Holland
during an initial encounter needs informationwhere it is 8 minutes. Factors which are likely to
provided by the patient which is oftentimesresult in a decrease in the duration of doctor visits
lacking because the patient is not knowledgeablein the United States include healthcare reform
and/or because previous treatment records werewhich will increase the number of patients
not requested, requested but not received, orreceiving treatment, the shortage of physicians,
requested and received but illegible. The newand increasing medical practice overhead. If the
physician will oftentimes need approximate datesaverage duration of a visit to the doctor in the
of diagnoses, approximate dates and results ofUnited States does shorten the number of visits
prior tests, and approximate dates ofto address a set number of conditions is likely to
hospitalizations with some details of the careincrease unless more problems can be addressed
which was given.  If that information is notduring each visit.
available, some doctors will order tests that he orImplementing and maintaining a personal health
she might otherwise not order had the necessaryrecord in principle should reduce healthcare
information been available at the time of theexpenses not only at the time of the new patient
patient visit. The net result is an increasedvisit, but also during established patient visits by
expense for the patient or at the very leastshifting the diagnostic emphasis from objective
another component of healthcare inflation.date to subjective data and minimizing the
Many diagnostic determinations and treatmentnumber of required visits.  The reduction of
courses of action are made based on subjectivehealthcare expenses by the utilization of a
data, i.e. information communicated by the patient.personal health record is predicated on the
For example, in evaluating chest pain a doctor willprinciple of more efficient generation and
usually need to know when and how the painexchange of accurate health information.
started, the location of the pain, the frequency ofDisclaimer: This article is for informational purpose
the pain, the duration of the pain, the intensity ofonly and is not intended to be a substitute for
the pain, the quality of the pain (cramping, burning,medical consultation with a qualified professional.
stinging, etc.), what makes it better, what brings itThe author encourages Internet users to be
on, what makes it worse, and other symptomscareful when using medical information obtained
associated with the pain before deciding whetherfrom the Internet and to consult your healthcare
to admit the patient to the hospital to rule out aprofessional if you are unsure about your medical
heart attack or whether to treat the patient forcondition.
acid reflux outside of the hospital. Many times