Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 25 January 2023
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health
Electronic Health Records: Discussion
Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source
Dr. Kennan mentioned a lady in the midlands. Thankfully, she was in a position to hand over her phone and to give the code of her phone to someone to open it and access her information. That same lady could have been in an accident, maybe unrelated to her incident. If she fell and banged her head, and was unconscious, she would not be in a position to do the very basics. What do the witnesses see as the gold standard in this regard? Is it the case that somebody should be able to voluntarily have a bracelet, a pendant or a chain around his or her neck, if he or she wishes? This would mean that if such a person were in an accident outside of his or her own area and if there were no records available in the local hospital - for example, if the person was from Galway but had an accident in Dublin - his or her information could be voluntarily accessed from the bracelet or pendant. Is that the gold standard for accessing all the information about a person, including any prior health conditions? For example, the person may have suffered a stroke, or may have respiratory issues. Is that the gold standard? If Dr. Kennan were designing this, and it could be designed, how would she see it?
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