The sharing of health information across state borders is a growing and appropriate concern in the modern world in which distances between places seem less than in previous years due to increased technology and upgraded transportation methods (Nelson & Staggers, 2018). There is significant research to support the assertion that possession of appropriate medical information can and has been a life-saving tool for providers. Additionally, the potential for significant cost savings is evident when medical history information is available (Ferneding, 2009). Therefore, the availability of information is crucial in modern medical practice. As scripture states, physicians should be able to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out
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Initially, the collaboration contained 34 states and territories and by the time Phase 3 of the project was initiated the count was up to 42 states and territories. The collaboration was reasonably successful in that it was well-attended and brought together many states whose representatives were unaware of the extent of the barriers that existed. Most states, at the time, did not have a formal policy in place that facilitated the sharing of information. On the contrary, many states have laws in place that prohibit the sharing of information and therefore the members of the collaborative had a significant challenge to overcome (Dimick, …show more content…
Additionally, many residents tend to cross state borders for care and is not uncommon for residents of the states to be employed by companies in the bordering state (Leonard & Alfreds, 2010). A specific example would be to consider an individual that lives in the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and is employed by the State of Maine and works in Kittery, Maine. The State of Maine worker’s health insurance plan would likely require that the individual seek primary care at an in-network provider, which would likely be in Maine. This would not present a problem for the worker in question as the geographic proximity of their home in Portsmouth and providers in the State of Maine is reasonably close. A problem could be evident if that person needed to seek emergency care after a myocardial infarction. There are competent emergency services available in Portsmouth and it is likely that the individual would be transported either Portsmouth Regional Hospital which maintains numerous campuses in the Portsmouth area. It would be particularly important for treating providers at the emergency room to access the patient’s medical history from their primary care provider in Maine. By accessing these records, emergency room providers would be able to ascertain that the patient has a history of coronary artery disease (or some other similar
Initially, the collaboration contained 34 states and territories and by the time Phase 3 of the project was initiated the count was up to 42 states and territories. The collaboration was reasonably successful in that it was well-attended and brought together many states whose representatives were unaware of the extent of the barriers that existed. Most states, at the time, did not have a formal policy in place that facilitated the sharing of information. On the contrary, many states have laws in place that prohibit the sharing of information and therefore the members of the collaborative had a significant challenge to overcome (Dimick, …show more content…
Additionally, many residents tend to cross state borders for care and is not uncommon for residents of the states to be employed by companies in the bordering state (Leonard & Alfreds, 2010). A specific example would be to consider an individual that lives in the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and is employed by the State of Maine and works in Kittery, Maine. The State of Maine worker’s health insurance plan would likely require that the individual seek primary care at an in-network provider, which would likely be in Maine. This would not present a problem for the worker in question as the geographic proximity of their home in Portsmouth and providers in the State of Maine is reasonably close. A problem could be evident if that person needed to seek emergency care after a myocardial infarction. There are competent emergency services available in Portsmouth and it is likely that the individual would be transported either Portsmouth Regional Hospital which maintains numerous campuses in the Portsmouth area. It would be particularly important for treating providers at the emergency room to access the patient’s medical history from their primary care provider in Maine. By accessing these records, emergency room providers would be able to ascertain that the patient has a history of coronary artery disease (or some other similar