Patients’ electronic health records (EHRs) should be portable and secure, and they should also be conducive to sharing information within the setting of a medical home.
According to a new American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement, “Health Information Technology (HIT) and the Medical Home,” published in the May 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online April 25), HIT is the tool that can help support these important pediatric information functions within the medical home—the place where each patient’s medical care is coordinated.
Pediatric practices have many needs and uses for electronic health records. Not only should EHR systems house the patient’s data completely, safely, accessibly and for a lifetime; they also should allow pediatricians to share information easily with patients and improve the quality of care. Using HIT as the tool for portability and accessibility between and among health care providers should help to enhance the role of the primary care practice as the patient’s medical home.
The policy statement supports development of an electronic infrastructure that promotes the following:
- timely and continuous tracking and management of health information over a patient’s lifetime;
- comprehensive organization and secure transfer of data during patient-care transitions;
- establishment and maintenance of central coordination of a patient’s health information among multiple databases (such as immunization information systems and newborn metabolic screening registries in different states);
- translation of evidence into timely point-of-care clinical decision support;
- re-use of archived clinical data for research, quality improvement and other efforts to improve child health.