Using technology to track medical records is the next logical step in the health care industry, according to Intel Chair Craig Barrett, the AP/Providence Journal reports. In an interview on Saturday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Barrett said that patient records could easily be digitalized and made portable to allow patients to store their medical history on a USB drive.
According to the AP/Journal, Barrett emphasized that electronic health records will have an "immediate modernizing effect for a traditionally paper-based system" (Moore, AP/Providence Journal, 1/27). During the interview, Barrett also discussed efforts to increase the use of computers and other technologies in developing countries around the world (Markoff, New York Times, 1/29).