The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has explored the role health information exchange (HIE) could play in disaster preparedness and response, according to an article on the Fierce Health IT website.
Recent disasters have illustrated the need to access patient records remotely because of evacuations or damage to hospitals and clinics.
The Missouri Hospital Association issued a report on lessons learned from the deadly Joplin tornado, including the need for redundancy in records systems.
A recent report outlines potential opportunities:
• Use HIE as an intermediary between emergency responders and hospitals
• Set up a disaster response medical history portal. During a disaster, health professionals and possibly EMS workers could access vital patient records
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