WASHINGTON-Medical records need to be in the same electronic format before medicine can go wireless, according to a panel of transplant experts at last week’s Life-Reach Summit sponsored by the PCIA Foundation.
The United Network of Organ Sharing requires transplant centers to use a specific Internet-based system to pass information back and forth, but each center has its own method for maintaining medical records. This makes it difficult-if not impossible-to send them electronically to another center, said William Sachau, post liver and kidney transplant coordinator at Georgetown University Hospital. For example, Sachau said Georgetown still maintains all medical records on paper. The only electronic system in use by the hospital is an internal lab system that he said was very complicated.
This message was seconded by Dr. Jay Sanders, a telemedicine advocate, who noted that even if records are kept electronically, it is often impossible to send them electronically to another hospital so a person visiting another city cannot get access to necessary records.
The daylong summit featured various panels and discussions trying to examine how communications, specifically wireless, can help the medical community. Sachau participated on a panel titled “The process in the real world: Communications needs and gaps” that focused on the specific needs during the transplant process. The afternoon featured presentations meant to match communications with real-world needs. These presentations not only examined technologies, but also policy issues such as privacy and security.
The PCIA Foundation, which sponsored the summit, long has sponsored the LifeReach program that loans pagers and PCS phones to people waiting for transplants so they are not tied to their homes waiting for the telephone to ring saying that a potential organ for transplant has been donated. The foundation, which is the charitable wing of the Personal Communications Industry Association, also attempts to educate the public about the importance of transplant donation.
