Southwest Medical Associates, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare, a provider of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services, has launched a portable medical record designed to give health care providers access to their patients’ health care information.
The company said that the portable medical record (PMR) is a compact disc that instead of containing the data on the disc, has a link to a portal containing a patient’s current, vital medical records, which can be accessed in real time by any health care provider, including emergency room physicians and staff.
The records contain key health care information including medications and health issues; recent hospital stays; electrocardiogram test results; allergies; emergency contact information; and more.
The company also said that the PMR also includes advance directive information. Advance directives are instructions given by individuals specifying what actions should be taken for their health in the event they are no longer able to make decisions due to illness or incapacity.
Joseph Kaufman, president of Southwest Medical Associates (SMA), said: The portable medical record provides important information to physicians, specialists and hospitals at the point of care. It helps them maintain patient records, avoid prescription-drug duplication and provide better treatment, in the case of referrals to new doctors or emergency cases when the hospital is unfamiliar with a patient’s medical history.
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