The lock box idea also has a lot of merit. I would take the ‘notification’ one step further and have them send one to the ‘doctor who ordered’ the test. Once a day an electronic update would be sent to the doctor’s office and they could then click on the line and get an update for that test. This way we continue with the paperless office.

To clarify my point a bit better, I was not suggesting that the insurance company/bank be assuming the role of a care provider. I meant that they would be the custodian of the electronic health record since everything has to go thru them anyway. My doctor has to get a test OK’d prior to writing a prescription for it. The contact my insurance company and get an authorization for it and I go get my test. The test center will send electronically the films and results to the insurance company’s ‘bank’ where my EHR resides and my primary care physician will access the results from her office. She can then create a course of treatment based on those results, which is entered into her practice management application, which will also upload to my ‘bank’.

I know all of this is a bit on the simplistic side, but we have to start somewhere. Someone coming up with an idea or template and then having other people make suggestions to refine it is what we need to do.

I don’t want to restrict the right of any practice management software company. What I do want is for them to be able to all include a feature that would allow what a doctor enters to be uploaded (without any additional costs to the doctor)to the bank. Call this a part of doing business.

Lastly, we need one standard, not multiple, expensive, confusing versions.

Thanks for the feedback and feel free to pass this on and continue the discussion.