Guy#2: Sure, let’s carry on a loud conversation right here outside this cubicle, he won’t care

Guy#3(Me): **Losing hearing from having to turn up earphones louder and louder **

Federal health officials are working to open a database of prescription drug records to help Hurricane Katrina evacuees piece their health care back together.

The project, still developing three weeks after the disaster, underscores the glaring reality that the hurricane destroyed medical records of untold numbers of people, possibly complicating treatment decisions for years to come.

And it’s focusing new attention on the need for computerized medical records, accessible in an emergency even if the patient is far from home or their doctor’s office no longer exists.

What a wakeup call to the everyone that there needs to be a better way to store a patients information. When I look at some of these offices that have rooms stuffed full of paper records going back for years I’m amazed at the risk that is being taken. One fire, flood, hurricane or earthquake could wipe out YEARS of important data!

Companies that provide methods for storing your own health record in your own application are going to see a big increase from this.