Hernando Today
Medical Records On Your Smartphone
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Published: May 9, 2008
SPRING HILL - A physician can access a medical chart 2,000 miles away right in the palm of his hand.
Not long ago, a doctor needed to be inside the medical center to obtain that kind of data.
That lightning-quick access is part of the latest technology being introduced to doctors at Oak Hill Hospital.
"If there was ever information at your fingertips, this is it," said Dr. Krishna M. Ganti, an ear, nose and throat surgeon.
He was one of the first to be trained on the software - PatientKeeper's Mobile Clinical Results.
Lab results and medical histories are among the data that can be accessed from any compatible smartphone - as long as there is an existing cellular signal.
Due to confidentiality laws, doctors are the only ones privy to such information. There are layers of protection to help prevent breaches, said hospital spokesman Richard Linkul.
The system went live at Community Hospital in New Port Richey in March. Oak Hill went live with it April 10.
"It collects all the information a physician needs, and it's available for him to use," Linkul said.
PatientKeeper has a deal with the Health Corporation of America (HCA), which owns Oak Hill and Community.
Physicians are still in the process of learning the system. Nine or so are up to speed while four others were expected to begin training soon. Three or four others will be trained later once they grow more accustomed to their phones, Linkul said.
"It's not any different from using a big computer," said Ganti. "It's just that everything is hand-held."
Gordon Dewhurst, a physician support coordinator for HCA, introduced the new software to the hospital and is training doctors on its use.
He also showed off a new wireless capability that will soon be used by all physicians at the hospital.
A doctor may bring a laptop computer to the facility and access any digital diagnostic image he or she has taken on a patient.
The days of taking X-rays and hanging the films over a lighted screen are over, Dewhurst said.
They can access mammograms, CT scans and magnetic resonance images (MRI) and view them on their laptops.
Wireless access has been available for patients and employees at Oak Hill for the past seven months, Linkul said.
Other advances in technology will eventually put an end to medical records rooms, said Frank Guardiani, director of cardiovascular services.
Heart doctors now can access information and view images from an electrocardiogram (EKG) on any of the department's computers.
"The physician is able to see the most current EKG for a patient instead of calling medical records and getting someone to bring it up here," Guardiani said. "(Medical records) is probably going to go away."
Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.
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