By: Herbert Pardes, MD, Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Mr. Keating makes a compelling case for patients having access to their medical records. Better-informed patients are more compliant and better advocates.
To transform healthcare, however, we need to do more than give patients access to their records. Through the Statewide Health Information Network of New York (SHIN-NY), we are building a network that will soon interconnect patients’ electronic health records across the state. The network will give doctors access to clinical information in one place, helping them coordinate patient care more effectively. Having a patient’s medical history can also help reduce hospital readmissions and avoid redundant tests and labs—all of which lower healthcare costs. Already 50,000 healthcare providers have joined the network and 7,000 New Yorkers have consented to share their records.
I concur with Mr. Keating’s statement that “Data can heal.” That’s why I urge more doctors and patients to make their records available in the SHIN-NY.
