In May, Sue Kamm suffered a bad fall, and her injuries required her to spend about 10 days in two hospitals. Coupled with ongoing treatment from several doctors for diabetes, her medical records are scattered in various filing cabinets and computer systems around town.
"I've always been concerned that my records were never consolidated because I was treated at various facilities," said the retired librarian from Silver Lake. "It's frustrating."
Virtually all other industries, such as banking and travel, make online tools available that help consumers more easily manage their information. Not so in the healthcare business, where individual hospitals and doctors might have electronic health records but generally don't make it easy for patients to access them.