Imagine if you’re away from home and need emergency care. But the doctors who are taking care of you don’t know about your pre-existing conditions.
Luckily, the Governor’s budget includes funding for a statewide health information network.
Doctors need immediate access to a patient’s health history to provide the best care—especially in life-threatening situations when a patient may be unconscious. In this case, the fastest way to get the information is through electronic health records. I know how important access to this type of network can be. Since 2007, Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center has participated in a local health information network called the Brooklyn Health Information Exchange—one of 10 regional networks that make up New York’s Statewide Health Information Network (the SHIN-NY).
(Courtesy of the New York Daily News.)