Medical Records A Key Factor in Patient Safety

Whether it's a nursing home resident needing a procedure, or tracking medications for a hospital inpatient, medical records are a crucial component to successful treatment.

Right now, LifeBridge Health has hybrid medical records systems, which include both paper and electronic records. Eventually, all records will be computerized.

The Cerner Power Chart system is state-of-the-art and is used at both Northwest and Sinai hospitals. Courtland Gardens and Levindale work with a compatible counterpart.

“The main reason for employing electronic medical records is patient safety,” says Angela Niparko, director of Health Information Management at Sinai. “One example of this is a mechanism in Cerner to alert doctors about potentially dangerous drug interactions.”

Plus, an electronic medical record allows multiple clinicians to access the same information at the same time.

Patients may also request copies of their records for any number of reasons. A fee is usually charged for the service. The procedure for requesting medical records at LifeBridge Health centers is as easy as turning on your computer. Request forms and hospital addresses, along with privacy policies, can be found here. The forms must be printed, filled in and sent to health information management at the appropriate hospital. Requests are usually processed in about a week or so from the day the record is located.

Many people at Levindale and Courtland Gardens prefer to make requests in person. Since patients and residents are often in long-term care for years, medical records can be between 45 and several thousand pages long.

“It's best to meet with me to identify what information you want," says Carol Carder, manager of Health Information Management for Courtland Gardens and Levindale. “To keep the fee associated with this service down, I try to copy only the pages needed.”

LifeBridge Health also offers the opportunity to create a personal health record. The LifeBridge Health MySELF Personal Health Record is a safe and secure way to stay on top of all your medical information.