Canadian doctors don't share their patients' records either

If ever a case was made for electronic health records, perhaps this is it. Researchers in Canada reviewing the records of 3,250 patients found that information from a previous medical visit was available only 22% of the time when the patients saw another doctor. So much for continuity of care. The study, examined patients discharged from the medical or surgical units of 11 community and academic hospitals in Ontario, Canada. Patients in the study saw at least two different doctors during the six months after discharge. The researchers looked at whether the information from a previous visit with another doctor was available at the current visit. The study, published today in the Canadian Medical Assn. Journal , found that family physicians and the patient's regular doctors were much more likely to receive information from previous visits but those same doctors were less likely to transmit information to other doctors. "We believe that poor exchange of information between physicians ... (link)