(EMAILWIRE.COM, July 24, 2006 ) Rohnert Park, CA -- Thousands of patients now carry their own portable medical records with them that can be read on virtually any computer. “This is a breakthrough that health organizations around the world were working toward for many years,” says David Tully-Smith MD, president of Chartware, the medical software company of Rohnert Park, California, that produced the system.

The ChartWare Continuity-of-Care Record covers an individual’s complete medical history, showing problems, medications, allergies, immunizations and comments by his or her primary care doctor and specialists. It fits on a small-size CD or floppy disk or a USB drive, a portable card that can be plugged into a computer. It can also be sent as an email. Whenever patients need medical attention, they can choose to let any health provider read it.

“If, one day, you feel ill, you can go to the nearest emergency room and, instead of having to remember everything you think important, just hand them the disk or card. On any computer, they can read all the information on record that will help them diagnose your problem,” says Tully-Smith, who is also a primary care physician. “They also know what medications to avoid because of allergies or interactions with drugs you are taking.”

For those with a complicated medical history, increasingly common as the population ages, or who travel much, a record that is immediately accessible can be life-saving. “If you’re taking a lot of different drugs, simply going into a pharmacy while you’re on vacation can be risky if the pharmacist doesn’t know what those drugs are,” Tully-Smith says. “It’s a rare patient who remembers all of them and the dosages too.”

But even someone in perfect health might need help at any time. “If you’re unconscious after a road accident, the ER staff is often working in the dark until they contact your family doctor. The record in your purse or wallet gives them a wealth of information to put them on the right track.”

The portable record also marks a big increase in patient empowerment. “When patients can look at it at any time, either on their home computer or as a print-out supplied by their doctor, they can discuss their treatment far more knowledgeably,” Tully-Smith observes. “My patients certainly feel they have more control.”

In the last survey of electronic medical records by Family Practice Management, journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians, ChartWare was awarded five stars, the only system suitable for both large and small installations given this top rating. Since 1995 it has been used in literally millions of encounters between doctors and patients.

ChartWare was designed by the company’s chairman, Daniel Essin MD, who is also Director of Medical Informatics at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and a world authority on medical record keeping.

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ChartWare Inc.
101 Golf Course Drive, Suite A220,
Rohnert Park, CA 94928

Contact: David Tully-Smith MD
707 323 2298 or 800 642 4278
email dts@chartware.com

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