Robert Ridge

Recently we announced that we are one the the founding partners in the Telus Health Space platform. The concept underlying Health Space is to create a community where individuals can better manage their health information by providing better tools to integrate and consolidate that information.  For instance, imagine your updated medication information seamlessly flowing directly to your MedicAlert Emergency Health Record.   Once the platform is fully operational participants can take advantage of applications to track diet and fitness information, track their blood pressure and blood sugar and move their health information from one place to another, all according to their own terms and conditions.  Eventually, MedicAlert will offer this platform to those members  as an optional service.  Watch a short video from the platform launch here and stay tuned for  further updates.

http://www.medicalert.ca/en/about/releases/2010-05-31video.asp

USB keys or thumb drives are really remarkable devices.  They are small but hold a lot of information, they are reliable, almost universally compatible and cheap.  So why not use them to store emergency medical information?   Here are the issues that we have considered.  The first may be surprising:  most intended users of the information in an emergency may not be willing or able to plug the device into their computer because of the threat of viruses or other malacious software.  In a situation where time is of the essence, the time required to access the information may simply be unacceptable to the user.  Finally, emergency responders are primarily interested in highly distilled information which is of immediate relevance in treating a patient – they are simply not interested in reviewing a lengthy medical history.

In a perfectly functioning health care system, MedicAlert would not exist. Emergency health information would flow quickly, securely and seamlessly when it was needed, the information itself would be condensed, coded and optimized so it could be interpreted quickly and only those who needed to access it would ever see it. This nirvana is actually very difficult to achieve within the confines of a national health care system.

I cannot make this point any better than Peter F. did in responding to my previous posting. As Peter quite correctly points out, taking personal responsibility for your own health information is the logical answer.

It’s a familiar comment from new members.  Although anxious to choose their MedicAlert identification, most are surprised (pleasantly, we hope!) by the thoroughness and care that is involved in creating an effective Emergency Medical Information record that forms the critical link between themselves and an emergency health professional. Yet the bracelet and emergency record are the tip of the iceberg: so much goes on behind the scenes at MedicAlert that we would like to share with you, and more importantly, to hear your views on. So the purpose of these postings is just that:  to invite you to participate in these important ‘behind the scenes’ discussions such as MedicAlert’s role in the evolution of Electronic Health Records;  how we view new technology;  how we support other health care imperatives such as organ donation and family caregiving, among many other issues.  You can expect these postings to be short and concise. My hope is that you will share your thoughts and opinions with us.