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The Mouse that Roared
by David Stern
Remember when a bite wasn't
a byte and ram was either an active verb or an animal, not
your computer's memory? All this is changing and changing
for everyone, not simply the "younger" set.
According to research data, over 157,000 million Americans
use the Internet. Of these Internet users, 21.2 million
are age 50 or over and are the fastest growing segment of
Internet users.
According to the Pew
Internet & American Life Project almost 70% of all "wired"
seniors use the Internet daily. The Internet not only
provides seniors with access to email, allowing them to
keep in touch with friends and family throughout the world
with more ease and at less cost, but also provides a vast
amount of information on countless subjects. The Pew
Project also found that 55% of all Internet users said
they had sought health information on the web.
While seeking medical information on the Internet may
allow someone to gain knowledge about diseases and
treatment or the latest diets, it does not address the
single most important piece of medical information-your
own medical records.
"Electronic medical records that could instantly supply a
person's blood type, allergies and past treatments could
help save lives in an emergency, many experts agree."
Health Journal-Wall Street Journal-September 24, 2001
In today's uncertain, mobile and extended family
environment, making information readily available is
essential. online-registries
offers personal healthcare record-keeping services that
provide members
with "peace
of mind - online"®
online-registries stores essential medical
information using state-of-the-art 128-bit encryption that
limits access only to those who need to know: emergency
physicians and those specifically designated by members,
such as family, friends and caregivers. The
online-registries family
of websites also provides an extremely useful
organizational tool for basic family health information
including dates and types of immunizations, illness or
allergies.
medproxy.com
offers members the security of knowing that their wishes
will be respected even if they are incapacitated and
unable to participate in treatment decisions. Members with
a medical proxy or health care power of attorney, also
known as an advance directive, can register the
information with
medproxy.com
to make the name(s) and location(s) of their designated
agent(s) available to those with a need to know.
Twenty-four million Americans already have advance
directives, but the records are often stored away in
personal or hospital files not readily accessible to
physicians when most needed...in an emergency.
A medical proxy, healthcare proxy or medical power of
attorney is not the same thing as a living will, which
does not authorize anyone to act as Agent. Living wills
are used in cases of terminal illness, and do not delegate
legal authority to an Agent for healthcare decisions.
senior-records.com gives its members a safe, simple, secure
and affordable way to organize their medical histories,
including:
-
dates and types of
illnesses, injuries, surgeries
-
medications, allergies,
blood type, and special needs
-
name(s) and contact
information for your physicians and other healthcare
providers
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information relating to
healthcare insurance
-
persons to contact in the
event of an emergency
-
family medical history
Tailored to the needs of
seniors, the site provides them a valuable tool by making
information available to designated caregivers and
emergency medical personnel right away, whenever and
wherever it is needed.
Information on all OLR sites is available to hospitals
accredited by the Joint Commission for Accreditation of
Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the nation's leading
organization for accreditation of hospitals and healthcare
organizations of all kinds.
Although many people are concerned about privacy, current
state-of-the-art technology makes the Internet at least as
safe a place for your medical records as your physician's
office with the added convenience that these records are
available to you or those you designate 24 hours a day, 7
days a week.
"Patients have to get over their privacy fears" the Wall
Street Journal quotes Dr. Todd Taylor. "People get so
concerned about having their medical records on a
computer, but don't give a second thought to handing their
credit card to a restaurant", he goes on to say.
The 21st century is posing many challenges, but is
providing many tools. In the event of an emergency, "the
most pressing need is to inform doctors of a patient's
medical condition or drug allergies..." Having medical
records and medical proxy information online, empowers the
patient and provides critical data when every second
counts.
April, 2002
1 Health Journal-Wall Street Journal-September 24, 2001
2 Health Journal-Wall Street Journal-September 24, 2001 |
