Electronic Health Records? Not until...

Electronic Health Records have definite advantages. Already implemented in some countries, it has shown its advantages as well as disadvantages. There is also development of Personal health records, putting the responsibility for them to the consumer. That Microsoft and Google seem to be racing each other for this market, shows their ignorance of its complexity. Since both companies are offering the services free, it is a pity that they do not collaborate.

The danger of developing EHRs without collaboration at the international level, behoves that people will have their healthcare in one state or one country for the whole of their life. Yes, even in the same country, different states have developed their own system, based on different commercial software vendors. If a patient moves from one state to another, his wonderful comprehensive medical record becomes rubbish in the new state!

Therefore, EHR should not be developed without international collaboration. We need international open standards to ensure

• interoperability
• machine and software system independence
• free communication of information between different systems
• communication and data transfer, with and to, different hardware devices
• security
• governance
• funding and therefore cost effectiveness

Until then we will only be wasting money and resources. We need to work on a long lasting marriage and not a one night stand.