A local patient information network in Ocala, Fla., this summer will be tested, and it eventually will connect local hospitals, physician offices, nursing homes and hospices, Dr. Mel Seek said on Wednesday at the Public Policy Institute of Marion County, Fla., the Ocala Star-Banner reports.
The network will combine electronic health records from physician offices, hospitals and other health care facilities to create a lifetime health record, which will be accessible to patients from anywhere in the country. Multiple levels of security will safeguard the records, according to the Star-Banner.
Seek and his team plan to integrate components from nationwide health IT efforts into one local system, called the Community Health Information Trust. The system will help detect disease earlier, improve patient education, and facilitate communication between physicians and patients, according to the physician team.
For the system to work, physicians must be willing to invest in and use the technology, and patients must participate and have access to the system, according to the Star-Banner.
Ocala Regional Medical Center and Munroe Regional Hospital already have electronic patient data systems and portable patient information software for their physicians, the Star-Banner reports (Sowti, Ocala Star-Banner, 2/1).