Top > Webmaster > 2005 > November > 2005-11-02

Patient Record Technology a Must

The Commission on Systemic Interoperability has stated two key recommendations for the government. A nationwide patient authentication system standard should be developed which protects individuals` information, and an effort to offer financial incentives to providers should be initiated in order to allow health information to be exchanged electronically. President and CEO of the National Alliance for Health Information Technology and Commission Chairman, Scott Wallace, says, `This report gives concrete direction on how to connect people to their caregivers and to their health information using computers rather than paper. By optimizing these technologies, we can give Americans the best healthcare possible.`

`A national system of connected health information has to be able to link patients to their data. That requires a system for correctly identifying patients and making sure they have control of their data,` says Commissioner Herbert Pardes, MD, President and CEO of New York Presbyterian Hospital. `At the same time, we need to develop stringent consumer protections and criminal penalties for unauthorized use of healthcare information.`

The issue of patient confidentiality is central to the Commission`s work and plays a dominant role in the report. To ensure only those who need to see the information and have the right to see it gain access, the Commission recommends a patient authentication system that would serve the dual purpose of connecting and protecting information.