One thing that was clearly demonstrated by Hurricane Harvey's mass evacuations was the life saving advantage to having all of a patients medical records digitalized and available for access by a physician or medical personnel anywhere, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Healthcare Access San Antonio has been working successfully for years to digitize medical records not just in San Antonio, but across the state.
HASA IT Director Phil Beckett was at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston when Hurricane Harvey evacuees began to roll in, many of them suffering from a wide variety of ailments and conditions.
"People came in with problems, physicians helped them look of the records, and quickly determined their status, especially when it comes to medication," he said.
HASA and Greater Houston Interconnect, its sister agency in southeast Texas, entered into a special arrangement to speed access to medical records as patients scattered across the state. Many people from Corpus Christi and Houston came to San Antonio, others evacuated to Austin and Dallas.
"Being able to see that prescription data through the health information exchange was critical for those patients and for those docs," Beckett said.
HASA and GHI had an arrangement in place as Harvey was menacing the coast, to make sure that when people evacuated, their medical records would be available.
"If your home is flooded, you grab your pets, and your wallet and your phone and you are out of there," Beckett said, pointing out that medical records and prescriptions are not likely to be among the items evacuees reach for in an emergency.
Beckett says, especially in this era of highly specialized medications, one minor difference in medication can make a major difference for the patient, which is where digital medical records have literally become life savers.