For better health outcomes, we need to connect more Iowa doctors with patients' data
Medical emergencies happen when we least expect them, but we expect first responders to arrive fast; and we expect ERs to have the information they need to make the right choices for our care. Yet it’s not just delay of arrival that determines if patients get better, it’s also the delay of critical information.
Doctors need comprehensive health information for the patients we treat, regardless of where they receive care across Iowa. The urgency of a connected health network is critical in states with high rural populations like ours. The 2020 Census puts Iowa’s rural population at 37%, nearly twice the national average.
In Iowa, half of our state’s counties are designated health care professional shortage areas (HPSA) for primary care. It is even harder to access specialty care — in fact, every county in Iowa is a mental health HPSA. Compounding this issue even further, is the lack of connectivity between health care facilities.
Think of it like this: The local clinic uses one technology for keeping health records; the mental health center uses another; and the cardiologist uses yet another. None of those systems talk to each other. Your health records are puzzle pieces straight out of the box. Never mind if you are caretaker of kids or parents or a partner — that’s a 1,000-piece jigsaw.
A statewide network capable of connecting to almost any health data technology, regardless of where you and your family seek care, can completely change the way Iowans receive diagnosis and treatment. Compiling all those pieces of a health record and putting them into what is called the “longitudinal health record” allows any doctor to have all that information at their fingertips, often in near real time. Imagine more comprehensive data, no more duplicate testing, and easier communication between your doctors. Imagine not having to fill out that same medical questionnaire you have countless times before.
The good news is Iowa already has a well-established statewide health information exchange (HIE) system called CyncHealth. It allows our community providers and patients to securely access and share medical information electronically. One study shows that practices utilizing the right HIE can decrease emergency department visits by 13% and patient readmissions by 10%. Patient wait times also decreased by 40 minutes. Patients save time and money, but also there’s less risk doctors miss critical patient data when you show up to the ER.
As providers, one of the best things we can do for our patients and ourselves — besides providing high-quality health care — is connecting to CyncHealth. The more health care organizations we have connected, the more robust and comprehensive the data available in the HIE, and the better equipped all of us will be to help Iowans achieve their best possible health outcome.
Ron Kloewer is the chief executive officer at Montgomery County Memorial Hospital in Red Oak, Iowa.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: For better outcomes, connect more Iowa doctors with patients' data
