Q&A for Press Interviews

Introduction:

Dr. Davies, tell us who you are.

Albert Davies, M.D.: I am the Chief Executive Officer of PatientCentral Technologies, the parent company of MyHealthArchive. PatientCentral is a company which was founded on the principle that technology should first serve the patient. Patients can be empowered by becoming the center of their own health information superhighway.  In my own practice, I have seen that better informed patients who participate in their treatment in real time, improves patient satisfaction, coordination of care between patients and healthcare providers, and improves the quality of care.

Dr. Davies, you are currently a practicing physician, is that correct? Tell us about your experience:

I am a board certified internist and critical care specialist. A critical care specialist is someone who treats patients with combinations of serious medical problems requiring care in an ICU.

I practice in the Texas Medical Center where tens of thousands of patients are treated every year with a variety of routine and complex medical problems. In my own practice I manage thousands of patients who require sophisticated treatment. Every day, I see the value in having timely access to patient's medical histories, family contacts, contact information for physicians who may have been involved in patients' treatment prior to hospitalization, as well as information about patients' advance directives or wishes for medical care and treatment near the end of life.  

In my practice, and in my experience with patients in the emergency room, patients who have been victims of disasters, when faced with crisis, patients tend to forget important details. When treating critical illness, time is of the essence I designed MyHealthArchive, as a tool that serves to really impact medical care by making crucial medical information available even when other systems fail.

Ms. Purcell, you are with us for today's interview. Please tell us about yourself:

I am the Vice President of Clinical Operations for PatientCentral Technologies, the parent company of MyHealthArchive. I have more than 25 years of experience as a registered nurse, hospital administrator, quality manager, and risk manager.

In addition to my clinical practice as a registered nurse, my career has been focused on efforts to improve the quality and reliability of both clinical and administrative processes which affect patient care and patient safety.  I've directed organizational effectiveness initiatives in a variety of healthcare settings, including physician practices, small and large hospitals, academic compliance programs, and legal aspects of clinical care.

Based on my experience in a variety of clinical settings, I have seen that technology can improve patient safety. I have applied my clinical experience in helping the team at PatientCentral to develop revolutionary technology which can help patients to accurate and timely communicate health history information to physicians and healthcare providers. The ability of physicians and nurses to have access to patients' health information can prevent omissions and redundancies in care and treatment and improve patient safety.

Dr. Davies and Ms. Purcell, you both have mentioned MyHealthArchive. What is it?

MyHealthArchive is a healthcare data repository which allows citizens to electively and confidentially register their health information for a nominal subscription fee as a means to make healthcare information available to healthcare providers in the event of unforeseen disasters.

MyHealthArchive safely and securely maintains patients' longitudinal healthcare history across inpatient and outpatient visits and events, and also stores information regarding current prescriptions, chronic health concerns, and emergency contacts.

Since privacy of medical records is a very important topic to most people, what mechanisms are in place to ensure the privacy and security of people's protected health information?

The medical history and health records which a subscriber may upload into an archive are securely encrypted using a CryptoEngine. This CryptoEngine utilizes the same encryption that is used for top secret communications within the United States Government, including the Department of Defense.

MyHealthArchive uses AES-256 Bit encryption, which in mathematical terms is the level of security of an online bank, SQUARED. This means the level of security of MyHealthArchive uses far exceeds the security of a typical online bank.

How does MyHealthArchive who has compiled their health history into their own archive help them to maintain security and privacy yet connect to physicians and health providers in an emergency?

MyHealthArchive's web-based technology provides protected and HIPAA compliant access to personal health information virtually anywhere in the world that a computer can connect to the Internet.

Each subscriber is given a MyHealthArchive subscriber identification card which contains a User Name and Password that they have pre-determined. This user name and password should be kept private and secure.

Anyone who is requesting access to your personal archive must be able to provide both a username and password that you have authorized. You give your physician a username and password. You may change usernames and passwords as often as you like to control how long physicians or others can access your records.

In emergency circumstances, your physician will be able to access your records by obtaining this information on your subscriber ID card.

Other than an ID card which can be kept in a wallet, are there other forms of subscriber identification available?

We are developing a variety of alternative identification tools, such as neck tags and bracelets so that you could be identified if you were in a disaster.

We will soon provide the service of downloading your history onto a CD that you can also keep with your personal effects in case you are separated from the Internet or your identification card.

If you are planning to travel or if you see that you are going to be caught in a disaster situation, we suggest that you use the perforation in your identification card to attach the card to your body so that it will not be easily lost.

So what makes MyHealthArchive unique from other medical record archiving services?

MyHealthArchive was conceived by a physician and built by a talented development team encompassing medicine, nursing, information technology, encryption science and law.

Since the clinicians on the team have seen first-hand how important it is to have their patient's health information readily available in order to make the best possible diagnoses and treatment decisions, the structure of the MyHealthArchive website was designed to provide detailed guidelines for our subscribers so that they can be as thorough as possible in providing information about their current health and prior health history.

Beyond this, MyHealthArchive provides flexibility, in terms of the amount and type of medical information that can be included in a subscribers health archive; when and where information can be accessed; and a subscriber may elect determine what information should be released and to whom.

Since we know that medical records tend to be spread between various hospitals, physicians' offices, clinics, and other locations, including the local health department and pharmacies, it is difficult to gain access to or even remember this information. MyHealthArchive solves the ability to access medical history information timely while at the same time honoring privacy concerns.

Does MyHealthArchive benefit people only if they have a chronic illness?

Even if you are not ill, MyHealthArchive is a very useful technology tool that can help you keep track of your health care information so that your visits to your physician are more effective and efficient.

MyHealthArchive can help you record important measurements such as your cholesterol, weight, blood pressure, and other parameters which can indicate how well you are doing on a particular treatment plan.

And because you never know when disaster may strike, MyHealthArchive can help you prepare for an unforeseen health event so that your physicians have rapid access to critical medical information which may be necessary to optimize your treatment.

What are some of the circumstances where MyHealthArchive can benefit anyone?

MyHealthArchive is a web-based tool that is invaluable for anyone because web-accessible health information can be securely stored anywhere, anytime.

•      For patients with a chronic disease, MyHealthArchive can provide valuable information in the event of a medical emergency to prevent delays in diagnosis and treatment. 

•      MyHealthArchive is also a valuable tool for people who must keep track of important measures such as weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and heart rate to evaluate how well their treatment is working.

•      For people who travel, MyHealthArchive can provide valuable information to physicians and health care providers in the event you cannot remember critical health information or are unable to communicate effectively when you are away from home.

•      Families, as well, find that MyHealthArchive can help keep track of various appointments, physician contacts, medications, allergies, and immunization schedules.

Is MyHealthArchive available to anyone?

Yes! MyHealthArchive is available on a subscription-basis for patients who want to a safety net of having their medical records for routine use, as well as medical emergencies.

MyHealthArchive is available to physicians' offices and clinics who are interested in encouraging their patients to maintain better medical records across different clinics or hospitals. 

MyHealthArchive is also available for hospitals and healthcare systems who want to improve medication reconciliation and integration of medical records, particularly for patients that may go to various hospitals or clinics for care and treatment.

For people who travel, MyHealthArchive can provide valuable information to physicians and health care providers in the event you cannot remember critical health information or are unable to communicate effectively when you are away from home.

 Dr. Davies, you have some very significant experience in caring for patients who have been affected by hurricanes and other disasters, is that correct?

I was the Medical Director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at The Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center when Tropical Storm Allison decimated the Texas Medical Center in 2001. Several major hospitals were severely damaged and The Methodist Hospital was very nearly closed, leaving only a handful of critically ill patients. 

Among problems encountered during Allison was the flooding of the medical records department which at the time was a paper-based system. Not only were medical records difficult or impossible to retrieve during the acute crisis, for up to a year it was common to not be able to access medical records on patients admitted to the hospital. In the first days of the disaster, patients were emergently moved to outlying hospitals with a bare minimum of medical records

Later, Hurricane Katrina sent sick victims from Louisiana and Mississippi to Houston. The first wave of victims arrived literally still wet from floodwaters without any medicines or medical records. Their local physicians' offices were flooded and the physicians were also scattered, and their local hospitals were out of commission, so the only information available was what the scared, exhausted patients could remember. Some patients arrived confused or unresponsive, so no information was available. The evacuating diabetics usually had no insulin, so their diabetes was often out of control.

A major tragedy in Katrina was the isolation of patients from their families. One patient lay dying in Houston while her husband was stranded in a farm in Mississippi. Reuniting patients with their families was heart wrenching, and in some cases delayed by weeks.

Then there was the second wave of Katrina patients, people who were not initially injured or sick but who were put up in Houston because they had no homes. That also meant they had little or no medical records, including no records from pharmacies or physicians or hospitals or clinics.

Based on your experience in caring for patients, MyHealthArchive benefits anyone who may need medical care?

Absolutely. The problems of limited access to medical records, medication lists, and family contact information are not found solely in disasters.

In fact, a much more common problem occurs every day in medical care. Patients come to ICUs unable to tell their histories, unable to remember their medications or allergies, and unable to contact family members.

Sometimes a family member comes in with a tattered paper list of medications or diagnoses. It is very uncommon for someone to keep these lists comprehensive and up to date. People need a convenient way to keep their medical records so they are available, updated, accurate and useful.

Since this is a very mobile society, often patients who have medical emergencies may live somewhere else. People get sick on airplanes and have to receive care where the plane lands, not at home. People driving across country get into accidents or become ill. Sometimes it is as simple as being in a routine outpatient visit, and not being able to remember medicines, physician's names, diagnoses and so forth.

Any advice to helping our listeners get started?

All you need is access to the Internet. Visit http://www.myhealtharchive.com/  and we will guide you in compiling your medical history.

For an annual (12 month) subscription fee or quarterly payments you will be able to access your personal medical information anywhere, anytime through a combination of a guided interview and information that you have uploaded, including labs, x-rays, and hospital or clinic visit records.

Are there any benefits to family subscriptions?

Absolutely! First, family subscriptions are offered at a substantial discount. Second, it is helpful to designate friends and family with either complete or limited access to your personal health archive because they can provide useful information to your physicians and health care providers in the event of an emergency and/or your inability to communicate your history yourself. Third, family subscriptions are a way to ensure that your family is always protected when away from home with the ability to have personal and professional access to medical history for routine medical care or emergencies.

What is your final message to people who are considering the benefits of MyHealthArchive? Why should they subscribe to MyHealthArchive?

A major message here is that medical records may not be immediately available.  Everyone has a responsibility to ensure their own safety. One way to do this is to provide a means to communicate effectively with physicians and healthcare providers in the event you cannot remember critical health information or you become unable to speak for yourself.

Time is of the essence when a person is critically ill. Dr. Davies has been in the trenches when good medical information was not available and medical care was impacted. Thus, Dr. Davies conceived of MyHealthArchive, a tool that serves to really impact medical care by making crucial medical information available even when other systems fail.