In this month's JABFM, Robert Taylor's The Promise of Family Medicine: History, Leadership, and the Age of Aquarius provides a wonderful overview of the history of family medicine and summarizes his view of what lies ahead. An excerpt:
Informatics
We must lead—not merely join—the information technology transformation of health care. If we are to continue to be the leaders in offering continuing, comprehensive, and coordinated health care, then we must become the trailblazers in health information technology. The FFM report mentions the electronic health record (EHR), which should not only increase health care efficiency; it should allow us to monitor the quality of that care. We also must be the innovators in e-mail contact with patients, electronic prescribing, on-line group visits, and virtual office visits and house calls. Today the technology exists for the family physician to record a patient’s blood pressure and pulse, examine the skin, peer into the throat, and listen to the heart—all without being in the same room. Although I enjoy seeing my colleagues at medical meetings, modern information technology can allow me to maintain my CME without getting on an airplane or sleeping in a hotel bed. We must find groundbreaking ways to bring tomorrow’s information technology into our residency training curricula, our CME programs, and our community practices today.
So right, Uncle Bob. So Right. The EHR of tomorrow will need to help us to provide this integrated care - building a strong foundation for collaboration between patients and providers.
Speaking of blogging .. (right?) I have been a bad blogger lately - so apologize to my reader (hi mom) for the absence. With my recent travels to HIMSS and working with the EHR project and now HIXNY heating up .. things are exciting and busy.
I'll try harder to post now and then ..
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