Real time EPRs go mobile
Medical professionals have immediate access to patients' clinical records. They are able to check results and to ask for internal consultations: This is possible thanks to the Florence Mobile which was presented at the Microsoft Iberia Meeting in Budapest.
This new device fulfils Forbes’ predictions of ‘mobile technology’ being the ‘future of
medical care’, says Luis Barcia. An article in the leading US business publication Forbes magazine recently predicted: ‘mobile technology will be the future of medical care’. The use of mobile phones to access electronic patients records (EPR) for patients in Torrevieja Hospital gives credence to this prediction. Developed jointly by Microsoft and Torrevieja Salud, the Florence Mobile makes this the first hospital to provide its physicians with real-time internet mobile access to EPRs.
‘Beyond the inherent advantages of the Florence Mobile as innovative IT, the new tool proves us with the capacity and infrastructure to develop such a technology. And this is so because we apply state-of-the-art features developed by Microsoft,’ said, Manager of Torrevieja Health Services.
The Florence Mobile
Using this new technology, Torrevieja’s healthcare professionals can access the EPRs anytime, anywhere via their own mobile phones, giving them the medical data of any hospitalised patient: name, number, status, clinical results, etc. Moreover, Florence Mobile goes further into an interactive technology, allowing a physician to manage consultations through his/her own cell phone.
Access to medical records is implemented via a highly secure connection that guarantees data privacy. If the system registers no activity during a 10 minute period, it automatically logs off. For example, if one patient in an emergency room (ER) needs an internal consultation with a nose and throat specialist, that physician will be able to check the patient’s status and to give advice to the ER physician through an internet mobile connection.
Luis Barcia adds that Torrevieja Salud is holding a leading position in IT developments in healthcare. The company has invested over ? 4 million in the development and implementation of innovative IT systems that have turned Torrevieja’s into a real online hospital.
Specifically, Torrevieja Salud has jointly developed with Microsoft (systems), Servicom (infrastructures) and Hewlett-Packard (hardware), the healthcare system Florence, which centralise all clinical and administrative information, controlling parameters such as medical appointments, waiting rations or patient’s flow.’
Recently, the Spanish company set in motion an SMS alert system addressed to healthcare professionals, to alert them regarding any changes in a patient’s status or to inform them about the availability of medical results. ‘Doctors were therefore immediately and permanently informed of any news concerning their patients and they needed nothing else but to get to the nearest PC in order to visualise the new information. Now, and thanks to Florence Mobile, the physician will be able to visualise all the information received via SMS from his/her cell phone – no more need of a PC- and will be able to act accordingly immediately. X-rays results can be consulted or extra tests requested just through the doctors’ pda or cell phone.’
29.10.2008
