New York State medical database aids doctors, patients

Recently a Buffalo News article http://www.buffalonews.com * noted: “New York is quietly building one of the nation’s largest computer databases of medical records, a system that when finished will allow patients and doctors alike to see complete health histories in one place and promises to save millions in costs by avoiding redundant tests and unneeded hospital admissions.”
“People who visit emergency rooms are less likely to be admitted when they’re enrolled in the program, and repeat radiological scans and hospital readmissions are also less likely, according to initial limited studies done around Rochester, New York’s third-largest city.
“The value to society is also tremendous in avoiding unnecessary and redundant health care,” said Dr. Rainu Kaushal, chairwoman of Weill Cornell Medical College’s Department of Healthcare Policy and Research, who conducted the Rochester studies on the system, known as SHIN-NY — which stands for the State Health Information Network for New York and is pronounced “shiny.”
“Centralized records can be useful because patients with complicated conditions may be unable to accurately recall all their treatments and medications from various doctors, or they may be in the throes of a medical crisis and unable to communicate….”
“…. an emergency room doctor at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, said that she and her residents typically use the regional exchange once or twice per shift, and that the hospital’s internal medicine doctors use it frequently, saving time they used to spend faxing permission slips and waiting for another hospital to send patient records in response.”
* to read the full Buffalo News article “New York State medical database aids doctors, patients” by Michael Virtanen, highlight and click on open hyperlink http://www.buffalonews.com/associated-press/ap-state-news/new-york-state-medical-database-aids-doctors-patients-20140601

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Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H., is Clinical Professor, Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Adjunct Professor, Baruch College ( C.U.N.Y.), Rutgers School of Public Health, and Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration.
This blog shares general information about understanding and navigating the health care system. For specific medical advice about your own problems, issues and options talk to your personal physician.

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