Tuesday, November 20, 2012

NFL Medical Records go Electronic


It turns out that hospitals aren't the only ones who are adopting electronic health records to better serve their patients.

According to reports by Kaiser Health News and Boston.com, the National Football League just signed a deal with Massachusetts based eClinincalWorks to convert the league from paper-based medical records to electronic records.

The records will be completely transportable from hand-held devices to hospitals, and players will also be able to provide the records to their personal physicians. The records will include a player’s medical history, specific injuries, and can even incorporate game footage of specific injuries.  Records will also be able to move with the player, should they be traded.

The system will be phased into use by all 32 teams over a period of 2 seasons. Next season, eight teams (the New England Patriots, New York Jets and Giants, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos) will keep their player’s health information electronically. By 2014 the entire league will transition to electronic health records. The NFL estimates that its 10-year contract will cost anywhere between $7 million to $10 million.

The report from KHN can be found here, and the article from Boston.com can be found here

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