Electronic Access Equals Peace of Mind

"You don't always remember, 'What was the name of that drug I was allergic to?' 'When was the last tetanus shot I had?' It just simplies life a lot.'"
- Lisa Tumpowsky

Lisa Tumpowsky was diagnosed with a thyroid condition called Graves' Disease in April of 2004. At almost the same time, her doctor started using a system of electronic health records—a change that revolutionized the way Lisa thought about her health and her children's health.

This electronic system helped her when she changed to a new endocrinologist. Lisa had discovered she was allergic to a particular thyroid drug, but when she went to the new doctor, she couldn't remember the medicine's name. The new doctor simply went to her computer, looked up the information, and prescribed a different medicine. Lisa's pharmacy is also connected to all her doctors, who are able to send prescriptions directly to her local pharmacy, saving her the hassle of carrying around the paper with the prescription scribbled on it.

Lisa's dealings with her doctor were not always this efficient. Until last year, she was—like so many others—at the mercy of her doctor's office staff to get her health information. She is still at their mercy when it comes to her children's health. "I still have issues with my children's doctors, who are not on any sort of system whatsoever."

But the lack of access for Lisa's children's doctors is more than just inconvenient. It is dangerous. Lisa never knows which doctor of the four in the practice she will see, or whether they have all of her sons information available to them. Not long ago, her one-year-old son was given a chickenpox vaccine, and a short time later he came down with a virus. The doctor she saw at the time was unaware of the recent vaccine and prescribed a steroid treatment that would have reacted with the vaccine. Lisa caught this as she was reading the label on the prescription bottle, which said: "Do not administer if the child has been exposed to the chickenpox vaccine." In today's world of technological marvels and instant access, this is more than ridiculous, it is an outrage.

For Lisa, convenience—as well as safety—is the key. "If my children's doctors were on a system like this, every single time I sign my son up for school or for summer camp, I wouldn't have to fill out a manual form, go to the doctor, wait in line, wait for the receptionist to fill in the information, you know, allow human error to intervene. I would just be able to push a button and send my child's health records, or proof of immunizations, directly to the school."