The New Age of Healthcare

Over the past decades, American healthcare has been remarkably innovative. The days are gone when breast cancer was a near-automatic death sentence and when heart attacks killed thousands each year. These changes came from advances in science, surgical technique, and new medicines.

Despite this progress, there are major areas where healthcare has not performed as well — particularly patient access and patient information portability.

The hidden cost of a routine visit

For most patients, even a routine doctor's visit is a difficult task. First the appointment must be made and time taken off work. Then there's the drive to the office, parking, and the dreaded wait in the waiting room. All told, a routine office visit lasting no more than 10–15 minutes can require a time commitment of several hours.

Telemedicine puts patients in control

One of the major positive changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is the acceleration and adoption of telemedicine. The technology has existed for years but saw slow adoption due to a lack of interest from both patients and providers. During the pandemic — with stay-at-home rules and the need to limit patients in offices — its advantages became clear.

With telemedicine, patients can now see their physicians at their own convenience rather than the other way around. A visit no longer requires a half-day commitment, a long drive, and extended waiting-room time — it can be a simple, time-efficient video call. This is a powerful development with long-term positive implications.

The problem of medical-record portability

Being able to travel with your own pertinent medical information is still a major obstacle. It is easier for most patients to change their cell phone carrier than to move their records from one doctor to another. Patients still spend countless hours filling out the same information at each new office.

Even with the widespread adoption of electronic medical records (EMRs), sharing information between doctors remains difficult, largely because different EMR systems don't communicate with one another. So every time a patient sees a new physician, they fill out the same forms all over again.

If patient information were truly portable, patients could simply grant a new doctor access to their already-completed records — saving everyone time and speeding up the visit.

An age of patient convenience

We are entering a new age in which patient convenience matters more and more. Two developments — telemedicine and medical-record portability — will improve the patient experience and empower patients as they take greater control of how their healthcare is delivered.