What it is: A patient's health history including chronic conditions, surgeries, medications and medication allergies would all be stored on a magnetic tape or card similar to your credit card. For someone like myself it would include a DNR order as well as my health care proxy.
As the population ages, the number of people taking anywhere from 4 to 10 prescriptions a day is growing exponentially. It is not unusual for a person to be unable to tell what medications he is taking much less the dosage. Add to this the problem faced with an unconscious patient in the Emergency Room and no one to call.
As Dr. Maletz notes, it is not unusual for an emergency room to conduct tests that are completely unnecessary because there is no accurate medical history. Why suspect an acute appendicitis if the patient had their appendix removed at 10.
These cards have been the standard in Europe for years. They save money and, more importantly, they save lives. Americans have and aversion to anything that smacks of collecting personal data, yet it is happening every day on the Internet.
The difference here is that the data on these cards saves lives and avoids unnecessary procedures and testing.
Dr. Frank Maletz is a founding partner of Crossroads Orthopedics in Waterford CT, he performs orthopedic surgery at L & M Hospital in New London, CT.
Michael Quinn, Esq.
