US Team will use Centricity EHR to Maintain Health Records
In the past US Olympic teams have collected, stored, and transported thousands of pallets of boxes filled with the athletes’ medical records all over the world. This year the US Olympic Team will manage the health records of their 700 athletes and 3000 staff members at the summer games in London with an EHR. They will use GE’s Centricity Practice Solution which integrates an EMR with practice management technology. Additionally the system will connect with GE’s Centricity PACS-IW software technology for medical record image viewing and storage.
An obvious overwhelming job, the US Olympic Committee and GE Healthcare have been spending the last three months moving the paper records into the EHR. All athletes who are expected to compete in London are being entered to start. Legacy records will be added eventually but currently migration efforts will include; recent athlete injuries, current laboratory results, and training results that are deemed important for treatment during the games. The system will not only allow the USOC medical staff access to the records but the athletes themselves will have access too through their patient portal.
Dr. Bill Moreau is the USOC managing director of sports medicine and a champion of the new system and project calling it a “big step forward for the USOC sports medicine program”. In a statement, Dr. Moreau is quoted, “EMR technology will allow us to better monitor and analyze the health of Team USA athletes, not only when they receive care at our facilities, but also when they are competing and training around the world. Our elite athletes have dedicated themselves to performing at the highest levels in sport and I believe this technology will help us to support them with the highest levels of sports medicine.” He also says that images and diagnostic results can now be easily shared with specialists and help with faster diagnosis and treatment. His medical team and staff are personally working on customizing the system’s forms that will allow collection of more detailed information than ever before.
Jan De Witte, CEO of GE Healthcare IT and Performance Solutions reminds us that the EHR system in not just for the summer games in London but “this is a platform that will stay with the USOC for the years to come.”