[shawndimantha]

Part of this can be solved by having better care managers associated with each patient (primary care doctors), who can share relevant information with different parties. Works mainly for chronic care. In the case of acute cases, information needs to be readily accessible in a format that is interpretable by doctors when they go through the process of assessing differential diagnoses. That information is not captured well right now, hence the ask for patient's history with each new physician. Personal health records with smart annotation of key pieces of information can play a part in solving this problem, but are only part of the answer. One of the most dangerous periods in the emergency room is the transition of one care team shift to another. It takes forever, and often leads to key information loss.

[asimpletune]

I don't really understand is this concern about having to "relearn" everything when doctors change shifts, because that's not how it works. Maybe that's how patients perceive it, but generally before each shift ends, in order to be relieved of your shift, you have to sign your patients out. This is basically an hour long phone call with the next doctor, where you tell them everything that happened for all their patients.