Claire Landsman, who also lives at Cedar Crest, opted to register with the RHP because it allows her to print copies of her medical records, especially medications. “It is very easy to use, and I really like being able to print my report out when I travel,” she says.
Portable records
Besides offering the ability to print a hard copy, the RHP provides another convenient way for a people to carry their medical records with them when traveling: a pocket-sized, portable flash drive.
“Instead of printing their report, a person can download it onto a thumb key. They can take it with them and plug it into a computer wherever they travel,” Harris says. “It’s in PDF format so they don’t even need the Internet.”
Harris says this unique portable function is most used during the holidays because people travel more and want to bring their information with them in case of emergency.
Delegate a loved one
Another unique feature that gets more use during the holiday season is the delegate function. A person can appoint access to a loved one or specialist from outside the Cedar Crest medical center by giving them his or her log in information.
This function provides an additional emergency safeguard. “In the event that Mom or Dad needs additional help managing their medications or appointments, it’s like a double set of eyes,” Harris says.
“When people are traveling and visiting family members, if something happens and they have to go to the hospital, they at least have records of their medications, medical history, allergies. These are all things a new doctor needs to know,” she says.
Gelb appointed his wife as a delegate when they first registered. And Harris says among all Erickson communities, the RHP has more than 1,900 active accounts and 320 delegates assigned as of November 2006.
Customized design
Involving delegates and growing the number of active accounts is exactly how Harris and the Erickson information technology department hopes to carry out the original idea envisioned by John Erickson, president and CEO of Erickson Retirement Communities—to provide a way for people to participate more with their health care.
“By creating the RHP ‘in-house,’ meaning we use Erickson’s own developers to design and modify it, we are able to give people information they want to see, like lab results, medications, and appointment calendars.”
Similar products exist, like VistA (www.hardhats.org), software developed for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and CareCatalyst developed by Kryptiq (http://www.kryptiq.com). But only the Erickson RHP is constantly customized to meet its users’ needs.
“The Resident Health Portal is very comparable to similar products, but the difference is that it’s customized to our residents’ needs,” Harris says.