A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed the CEO of the EHR/PHR tech company MediConnect, Amy Rees Anderson. What follows is the second half of that interview here on Doctor Pundit.

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DP: How important is portability of the health record for patients beginning to benefit from EHR adoption?

Ms. Anderson: The cheapest way to facilitate the portability of the records is to have the doctors adopt electronic medical records at point of care. Once this occurs the ability to retrieve and transfer records will become substantially more affordable. Again, I don’t think we will see this adoption for doctors really start to boom until we incent the current providers to do so. I do, however, believe that the rising generation of physicians who grew up with their handhelds and tablet PCs will come right out of school using these systems already. But it’s the physicians who have been practicing for years that we need to incent to switch over. Without electronic health records we can still retrieve and digitize the paper records like MediConnect has been doing since 1996, it just comes at a higher cost than if we dealt with all electronic records.

DP: Do you see any immediate barriers to adoption with respect to hospitals, vendor interface, or broadband availability in resource-poorer regions of the country?

Ms. Anderson: I don’t think broadband availability is the barrier to adoption today. The majority of records are stored in offices in the metropolitan areas of the country where the highest numbers of people live anyway, which has ample availability for high speed. In the smaller areas, where the Internet is slower, the doctors can keep records on a local server that can connect and upload to secure online storage in batch mode, so it won’t prohibit them from the changeover to electronic records. With regard to vendors, I think it’s important to let doctors choose whatever electronic records software works best for them in their own practice. Trying to force everyone on to one system is just not practical. That said, every system should allow for the transmitting secure health data to other systems as requested by the patient controlling that data.

DP: What is your commitment to patient privacy in this bold new world of healthcare informatics?

Ms. Anderson: Patient privacy is of the utmost importance. I don’t think there is a patient out there who would want their medical information on display for the world to see. That wouldn’t be right. A patient’s healthcare data is as personal as it gets, and should be protected as such. I understand the desire and need to get information delivered to patients that would benefit them, but I believe that it can be done in a manner that is blind to the content provider, yet targeted to the patient that benefits from receiving that content. That is why MediConnect has stepped in between patient and insurer or employer or whomever. We will protect the patient’s privacy but still allow a way for important information to be delivered to that patient that could benefit their own overall health.

DP: Are web-based solutions the ultimate in EHR technology on the provider (physician)-side? Or will the mobile market be tapped? Given the inertia many physicians have shown toward adopting health information technology in general, will it be a while before moving beyond the Web?

Ms. Anderson: I am a huge fan of web-based solutions for the simple fact that it stores the data securely, it keeps the data backed up, and it provides access from anywhere in the world to any authorized person. I think handheld devices play a part as well for certain “mini-apps” within a full EHR system, such as prescription writers, lab result viewers, etc. There are so many components to a true EHR system that it takes more of a tablet PC to view the entire records data for the exam room, etc., but there are so many advances in mobile devices that it’s hard to predict what devices will come out next that could work great for healthcare providers.

DP: Finally, what will MediConnect’s influence be in 5 or 10 years within the realm of healthcare informatics?

Ms. Anderson: Our purpose as a company is: “We improve healthcare… by providing global access to medical information… which empowers our customer, improves patient care, and reduces the cost of treatment; making quality, affordable healthcare more available for everyone, everywhere.” Our vision for MediConnect is “We want to be the leader in advancing global healthcare transformation”. We want to get patients everywhere to take ownership in their health, which starts with taking ownership of their healthcare data. Five years from now we want every patient to have their PHR system loaded with all of their medical records and healthcare information that every patient keeps on a biometric USB keychain with them at all times, so now matter where they are they will have their data with them so that they can be treated anywhere in the world at any time necessary. We want every patient to join in on our “It’s Your Health…OWN IT!” campaign to live healthier lives and have a better understanding of their own health. We see MediConnect as the most effective facilitator of the transformation in healthcare through maintaining the largest repository of medical records and information globally.

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