If you are like most people, you see more than one health care provider – probably your primary care doctor, maybe a specialist or two and a pharmacist. It’s unlikely that any one of them have the entire picture about your health, and they need that to provide the best care.

An electronic health information exchange offers health care providers access to the “whole picture,” with your consent. By collecting and verifying information from other health care providers from across the state and, eventually the country, the health care provider seeing you at any one point in time can make the most informed health care recommendations and decisions regarding your treatment.

Using a system to pull health care information from many sources and compile it in one place will help increase the efficiency of the system. Health care providers will know of your recent exams, tests and procedures, even if you can’t tell them or don’t remember. That means they can deliver better and more efficient care.

We use technology to make our banking and shopping more efficient, and now the technology exists to make our health care more efficient. Just like with paper records, electronic records MUST be kept private and only those who are granted permission by the patient will be able to access this information.