Kentucky has some of the worst rankings in the nation for chronic diseases, but the Commonwealth is a leader for the use of electronic record-keeping.
That’s what Kentucky’s Public Health Commissioner told medical providers and administrators in Bowling Green on Tuesday (September 17), who gathered for an E Health Summit.
Dr. Stephanie Mayfield said one of the benefits of electronic records is more immediate patient care.
“When a patient comes into a hospital or into a private provider’s office, not having to actually call or try to search where that patient’s been, or if that patient is not in a position to be able to tell you where they have been, it’s such a medical efficiency to be able to look-up that information through the health information exchange.” –Dr. Stephanie Mayfield
Electronic record-keeping is also intended to increase the accuracy of patient records and reduce medical errors. Dr. Mayfield said every Kentucky hospital now utilizes electronic records and more than 400 individual providers have signed on with the program.