Potentially, a patient getting dental care could be notified that they are overdue for a vaccine or a pap smear. One day the system might be modified to automatically send healthcare reminders to patients at home. The Center sees approximately 400,000 outpatients in a year, and electronic format is the only efficient way to evaluate the inordinate amount of data. Doctors will be able to review the rate of recovery as an outcome of certain procedures, and decide what methods are working best within the hospital. They will identify the number of patients admitted for certain symptoms and see if education programs are making a difference.
Disadvantages exist with any new system.
The on-line patient record, for example, has many worried about confidentiality. Consequently, HCFA, a healthcare financing institution of the government, has released a policy on Internet security. But the HSC is concerned with information security regardless of the mandate, Hal Scott, CIO for U.Va. Healthcare Systems, says. The electronic system will actually be more secure than a paper-based one since it can restrict access and record who sees what and when, he says.