For Team USA, racing against a digital clock is nothing new. Now it’s time for digital health records to race ahead of its paper counterpart.
In June the U.S. Olympic Committee converted to electronic medical records for the 700 athletes who will be competing in London, as well as about 3,000 other athletes who have been seen by USOC doctors in recent years.
The committee decided to transition from paper to electronic once it saw the electronic medical records could handle the unique needs of Olympians. Previously, the committee had to gather and ship its records to each Olympic host city and didn’t have access to athletes’ health information for days at a time.
Now the committee will have digital access to the athletes’ records on tablets, which will result in better monitoring of their overall sense of readiness for competition.
Bringing electronic health records to the Olympic Games is a win for our athletes and the USOC. This is also a giant leap forward for EHRs.
Good luck and health to all the athletes competing in this year’s summer Olympics.
