Medical Records

A day after it was reported that a group investigating steroid use in baseball is seeking medical records of several former Orioles, experts in the field acknowledged that it is highly possible that standard records wouldn't show evidence of the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Gary I. Wadler, one of the world's leading authorities on drug use in sports, allowed that under routine screening, it would be unusual to find telltale signs of steroids, unless the individual was "somebody in their 20s, an athlete, very fit, with a high red [blood]

After 13 brain surgeries in 25 years, Laurene West has come to rely on an assortment of medications to suppress infections and avoid meningitis. Without them, she could die.The Y2K problem for her is how to make sure a computer glitch in this country or abroad does not interrupt the flow of critical drugs.So for the past year, West has nagged and pleaded with health care providers and government officials to ensure that her needs will be met. Like millions of patients, her well-being depends on vast computerized systems that support life-sustaining equipment in case of another surgery; medical records that constitute her patient history; and the regular availability of medications to treat her illness.

Medical examiners charged with identifying remains from Sunday's EgyptAir crash will likely have to rely on finger- and footprints, dental and medical records, clothing, jewelry and possibly DNA analysis to confirm the deaths of the 217 people on board.Investigators who have worked on other air crashes said that, as in the ValuJet, Swissair and TWA disasters, recovery teams are unlikely to find intact bodies.Relatives of victims of those crashes say families of EgyptAir victims may face a long, emotional wait.

AFTER years of delay by Congress, President Clinton is taking a necessary first step to protect the privacy of medical records.The proposed regulations would restrict doctors, hospitals and health plans from using and transferring electronic medical data for purposes other than treatment or payment.Current federal law permits the exchange of this confidential information -- without patient consent -- among doctors, pharmaceutical companies, employers, the credit industry, insurance firms and telemarketers.

Medical examiners charged with identifying remains from Sunday's EgyptAir crash will likely have to rely on finger- and footprints, dental and medical records, clothing, jewelry and possibly DNA analysis to confirm the deaths of the 217 people on board.Investigators who have worked on other air crashes said that, as in the ValuJet, Swissair and TWA disasters, recovery teams are unlikely to find intact bodies.Relatives of victims of those crashes say families of EgyptAir victims may face a long, emotional wait.

What do the Intel Corp., Hallmark Cards, the Secret Service, the University of Michigan, the South Carolina motor vehicle administration, CBS SportsLine and a company that gives away free computers have in common?If you're into conspiracy theories, you could proably come up with a doozie involving this bunch. But if you're merely concerned about electronic privacy, they've all been involved in recent controversies that illustrate how easy it is for people to collect information about you and me in an age of instant, computer-based communication.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton will soon announce sweeping new federal rules to protect the privacy of billions of medical records and will assail Congress for failing to enact safeguards, administration officials said yesterday.The proposed regulations would be the first comprehensive federal standards specifically intended to protect the confidentiality of medical records. They come at a time when doctors, hospitals, pharmacists and health maintenance organizations are sharing more and more data, often without the knowledge of patients, and insurance companies are demanding more information to justify the payment of claims.

WASHINGTON -- If you want to keep a secret, it's best not to tell it in your doctor's office.Medical records routinely end up in the hands of insurance companies, employers, police officers, researchers and drug firms. It's easier to protect the titles of last weekend's video rentals than your test results.That's because Congress has protected the right to privacy when it comes to video rentals. No federal law protects the confidentiality of personal medical information.But Congress is hoping to change that.

My best shotSir Walter's perspectivepBy Lowell Repp, Bel AirThis picture was taken June 1999 on the lower level of the Elizabeth II in Manteo, on Roanoke Island, N.C. The ship is a reproduction of the type of vessel used in Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke voyages more than 400 years ago.A MEMORABLE PLACEIn search of a lost fatherBy Jack E. WinderSpecial to the SunFinding your father's grave in most families is an easy task; for my brother and me, it became a...

BOSTON -- Start with the basic scenario. You are sitting in the doctor's office, dressed in one of those charming johnnies that open ever so attractively at the back.The doctor has probed various parts of your body and history that are not generally open to public scrutiny. The doctor now knows your age and weight (well, more or less), your blood pressure, your medications, your symptoms past and present, your reproductive history and any drugs that have been prescribed.HIV statusFor that matter he or she may know what genetic tests you've had and what your HIV status is, whether you've taken Prozac and if that's your original nose.

A 23-year-old Westminster woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter in the 2008 asphyxiation death of her newborn son, whose body was found by police in a trash bin behind St. John's United Methodist Church in Baltimore, where she lived while training with a Christian service organization. Melanie Beth Blevins was given a 10-year suspended sentence and ordered to perform 900 hours of community service over the next three years, as well as to continue the psychiatric care she has been under since she gave birth.

With Congress moving toward passage of an $800 billion-plus economic stimulus plan, big government is back. Unabashed. With a vengeance. The stimulus is bigger than the Pentagon's entire budget. It's more than the United States has spent on the war in Iraq. And its hundreds of provisions reach into almost every aspect of American life - from workers' paychecks and local schools to digital television and modernizing medical records. Not since the Great Depression has Congress set out to expand and redefine so drastically the government's role in the economy.

Health care reform is a divisive issue in Washington, but there is wide agreement on one solution to lower costs and improve care: health information technology, or health IT. Health IT replaces paper medical records with electronic records. This is how I run my Baltimore-based wire basket and hook company; shouldn't my doctor do the same? The power of information technology is familiar to anyone who pays bills online, buys on Amazon or downloads music on an iPod. My company and other manufacturers use IT systems to track products from assembly line to store shelf, speed delivery to customers, conduct online sales and more.

Ten days after an East Baltimore fire that caused seven deaths, the state medical examiner has at last identified all of the victims -- a process complicated by scant medical records, the severity of the burns and the ever-shifting population of the crowded rowhouse on Cecil Avenue. Only two of the dead have been buried so far. But relatives are hoping that tomorrow they can have a single funeral for the remaining victims, even as they express frustration over the prolonged grieving process that they say has made their anguish worse.

A day after it was reported that a group investigating steroid use in baseball is seeking medical records of several former Orioles, experts in the field acknowledged that it is highly possible that standard records wouldn't show evidence of the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Gary I. Wadler, one of the world's leading authorities on drug use in sports, allowed that under routine screening, it would be unusual to find telltale signs of steroids, unless the individual was "somebody in their 20s, an athlete, very fit, with a high red [blood]

The Orioles are being pulled back into baseball's steroid controversy, but it's their past, not their present, that reportedly is under scrutiny. In today's editions, The New York Times reports that the club has been asked to send the medical records of former team members David Segui, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Jason Grimsley and Fernando Tatis to the players. Those players will be asked to authorize release of the records to a group headed by former Sen. George Mitchell. Mitchell is leading a yearlong investigation into steroid use in baseball.

Lamona K. Burdusi, a medical records worker and longtime member of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, died of complications from a broken hip Dec. 7 at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Bel Air resident was 73. She was born and raised Lamona Kootsouradis in Monessen, Pa., the daughter of Greek immigrants. In 1955, after her parents died, she moved to Baltimore. In 1959, she married John M. Burdusi, who worked in the sausage-making department at Esskay meatpacking, and settled in Baltimore's Greektown neighborhood.

Kaiser Permanente again posted the top marks on the state's annual HMO report card, released yesterday. Kaiser scored above average on 10 of the 24 measures, based on medical records (whether patients got needed immunizations, tests or medications) and on patient satisfaction surveys. M.D. IPA posted six above-average scores; BlueChoice and Coventry, five each; Cigna, four; and Aetna and Optimum Choice, three each. This is the 10th year the Maryland Health Care Commission has compiled the consumer guide.

Baltimore County prosecutor James O'C. Gentry Jr. had photographs, medical records and three weeks of trial testimony about a 9-year-old girl who was starved and beaten to death, but no idea how to pull it all together into a compelling closing argument for jurors. He found the answer from an unexpected source: his sister, who worked at the time as a consultant making PowerPoint presentations to private companies. Gentry's cutting-edge closing argument in the 1998 Rita Fisher murder trial launched his interest - and then expertise - in using the computerized slideshow software to enhance his courtroom presentations.

WASHINGTON -- After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and Mississippi, thousands of evacuees with health problems faced double jeopardy because their medical records had been lost - forcing doctors in evacuation centers to rely on educated guesswork in treating patients they'd never seen before. One group was spared that risk: former members of the military whose records were available electronically from the Department of Veterans Affairs. For these patients, doctors in Texas, Arkansas and other states that took in Katrina evacuees could call up medical charts, prescriptions, lab results - even videos of medical imaging tests.