Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath did not prompt most readers who responded to an online Healthcare IT News poll to take measures to digitize, back up or share medical records.

Many paper medical records were lost or destroyed after Hurricane Katrina.

However, 62 percent of readers who responded to an online poll said they were not taking new steps to secure patient records in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Thirty-eight percent of the 50 readers who responded said they would take new steps to guard their patient records.

“We were already digital and had backup,” said Pamela O’Flynn director of cardiology, radiology and safety at Highland Community Hospital in Picayune, Miss.

“Our facility is in one of the six Mississippi coastal counties and were greatly affected by Katrina,” she said. “We did not, however, lose any data,”

Other readers said their region is not affected by hurricanes.  

Many had already started an EHR project prior to last year’s disasters, and would continue the work, they said.