| States have struggled with it. Hospitals pray it | | | | of a therapists' time filling out forms after each |
| won't fall over it. Software makers are grinning | | | | session. Stone has managed to reduce the |
| over it like the Cheshire Cat. | | | | hand-driven process of jotting down billing codes |
| The massive rock paperweight that keeps our | | | | and treatment notes down to mere minutes by |
| medical records in an ever-growing stack is | | | | designing a simple interface of drop-down and |
| fossilizing. Fast. As a result, Congress, President | | | | text boxes, key shortcuts and the like. That was |
| Obama and insurance providers are shaking hands, | | | | w-a-y before big Goliaths like Siemens, SAS and |
| creating partnerships and evaluating vendors to | | | | open-source companies jumped into the tepid |
| send our medical records into the cloud. Poof! Just | | | | waters of paperless healthcare. |
| like that...Up, up and away goes the latest results | | | | Now that the President has essentially mandated |
| of your cholesterol test to that great big server | | | | paperless medical practices, the Cloud is gonna get |
| in the sky. Paperless healthcare is supposed to | | | | a lot more crowded now. But how soon is now? |
| create lower healthcare costs for consumers. But | | | | Depends on who you ask. Software companies |
| will it? | | | | are courting their respective Congresspersons and |
| "We've proven that paperless documentation can | | | | the President is waiting for the sky to open up |
| save costs for one of the most documented | | | | and accept the first pile of medical paperwork. So |
| segments in the healthcare industry," says Gerry | | | | far, there doesn't seem to be any protocols |
| Stone, founder of Redoc, an electronic medical | | | | drafted to guide how the information is |
| records software company that specializes in | | | | documented, where and how it's shared and who |
| documentation for physical and occupational | | | | backs it up and how often. By the time the |
| therapists. "Believe me, if it works for Physical and | | | | paperweight is finally lifted, the ACLU and other |
| Occupational rehab, it will work for the rest of | | | | privacy advocates will have their say on how |
| healthcare." | | | | private medical information is managed.Until then, |
| Stone has a point. He built his software platform | | | | we should all look to the carriers for more |
| from scratch 14 years ago, when electronic | | | | affordable health insurance quotes. |
| medical records were but just a glint in Bill Gates' | | | | And what about HIPPA (Healthcare Insurance |
| eye. Since physical and occupational rehabilitation is | | | | Portability and Accountability Act)? When the |
| usually prescribed by those who injure themselves | | | | medical records pile shifts to the servers, we'll |
| on the job, Workers Compensation claims (and in | | | | probably have an even L-O-N-G-E-R paper form |
| the case of post-65-year-olds, repeated Medicare | | | | to read and sign at the pharmacy counter. Figures. |
| reimbursements) require an average of one hour | | | | |