As in any sport, a professional athlete’s most valuable tool is arguably his or her health and wellness. An injured pitcher doesn’t do much good for a team, so players’ health records are reviewed and considered in these trade agreements.
In 2010, the MLB adopted an EMR that contains records for every team in the league. All players in MLB organizations have their records stored in this web-based platform. While their own coaches can access and add to information in the EMR, other teams are unable to do so.
In the context of a potential player trade, one team physician can give another team physician an electronic key to access a player’s specific record. Access to the record is generally limited to 24 hours, according to the report.
In the past, baseball teams acquired a new player only to find out the individual is fresh off a surgery and unable to play until a full recovery.
“Twenty years ago…we had our own minor-league players showing up who had surgeries,” Timothy Kremchek, medical director for the Cincinnati Reds, told Cincinnati.com. “We never knew who had what, and they’d show up and have bandages on.”
Medical records have been exchanged between teams before, but as X-rays and files were paper, the process of sharing the information was manual and took two to three days, according to the report. Now, the process can be complete in a matter of minutes.
In addition to helping facilitate player trades, the EMR also helps teams keep their players healthy.
“What makes it new and exciting to those of us in the field is the continuity of care,” Stan Conte, former medical chief of the Los Angeles Dodgers, said in a 2010 statement announcing the medical records. “When a player comes to your team, you’re responsible for them and their medical care.”
More articles on EHRs:
Dr. Karen DeSalvo says to refocus health data on people, not records
Perspective: Why physicians should let patients read their medical records
Another side effect of EHRs that don’t talk: Conflicting end-of-life directives
