| 
				 Family Practice News 
Jan 15, 2000 
by Christine  Kilgore 
Family physicians and other  doctors are starting to put their patients' records on the Internet in a move  that some predict will boost quality of care and patient satisfaction. 
   
  These doctors argue that  Web-based records are portable--accessible anywhere, anytime, even in an  emergency--and become more accurate and complete as patients log in to review  them. 
   
  "We want our patients to be  engaged and highly informed and our histories to be excellent. Internet-based  records empower the patient," said Dr. James L. Holly, a family physician  and managing partner of Southeast Texas Medical Associates, a six-physician  group in Beaumont. 
   
  Like other physicians embracing  the Internet for record keeping, Dr. Holly believes that patients can make  valuable contributions by correcting and adding to medical and social histories  as well as to lists of allergies and medications. 
   
  This month Dr. Holly and his  partners plan to put their patients' records online except for any sensitive  information such as HIV test results. Patients with access to the Web and a  password will be able to check their records and do other things such as  request referrals and prescription refills. 
   
  At least a half-dozen companies  are marketing Internet-based electronic medical records (EMR) services to  physicians. MicroMed, the Horsham, Pa.--based company that Dr. Holly and his  partners selected, reports that it has 200 clients for its Internet-enabled  EMR. 
   
  Elixis, another vendor that is  based in Seattle, says that it has sold its Internet-based EMR to 750 groups  and clinics. Other companies report steadily increasing sales. 
			 |