HEALTH CARE RESOURCES ONLINE
“If it’s on paper, it’s probably old news. Electronics allows us to be up-to-date, moment-to-moment. In these rapidly changing times, we need to keep as up-to-date as possible with our medical information,” says Dr. Kenneth Grant, a medical informatics specialist at CHOC Children’s. This includes being able to provide CHOC patients and families with the most useful, up to date and reputable medical information available.
THE ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD
An electronic health record is a computerized collection of a patient’s health records. It includes information like age, health history, medications, allergies, immunization status, lab test results, hospital discharge instructions and billing information. These digital records can be shared among a patient’s health care providers using proper security measures and permissions, so if one doctor orders a test, for example, all the patient’s doctors can see the results. “It’s the digital age and this is the way of the future. It’s the only way you can share this information securely,” says Dr. Grant.
DIGITAL AGE CHALLENGES
“It’s critical for every member of the health care team to have access to all of the patient’s information, no matter who takes care of the patient and at what location,” says Dr. Grant. “Each provider and organization is attempting to move to electronic forms of record keeping to facilitate this process. Our challenge is to make them talk the same language and share while maintaining the privacy our patients expect.”
Dr. Grant completed both his internship and residency at Children’s Hospital of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York and served his fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. A nationally recognized pediatric gastroenterology expert, Dr. Grant specializes in the treatment and management of pediatric gastroenterology disorders, with particular emphasis in growth and development, inflammatory bowel diseases, and autism. Dr. Grant also has a great interest in communication and education. He is helping CHOC to develop tools for patients and physicians to better communicate and share healthcare information online.
Dr. Grant’s philosophy of care: “Excellence in clinical care depends on the ability to listen and understand a patient’s needs.”
EDUCATION:
Albany Medical College in New York
BOARD CERTIFICATIONS:
Pediatric Gastroenterology
Dr. Kenneth E. Grant
CHOC Gastroenterologist and Medical Informatics Specialist
CHOC Link is your connection to your child’s medical information at CHOC Children’s. It is a secure place to communicate with your child’s doctors and clinics. And it’s the most convenient way for you to manage your child’s health like you’ve always done – now with a free and easy-to-use tool.
Electronic health records (EHR) document a patient’s medical history, but its data and the technology behind it provide a multitude of future possibilities, says CHOC Children’s Chief Medical Information Officer.
CHOC Children’s began moving to the EHR in 2002, and more technological developments will be forthcoming at a rapid pace in the next few years
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