Consumer Health Application

You are in a stretcher being taken to the Hospital Emergency Room.  A business trip or vacation  has been interrupted, you are away from home, no one you know or knows you is around. You’re unable to communicate with the paramedics even if they could understand you; you’re just trying to  keep breathing. Where is your health information: your medication records; your most recent doctors visit; lab results? Even your emergency contact, blood type and known drug allergies?

Will digital medical records save your life?

Now imagine you have an a consumer health application, a simple health card is in your wallet. It contains your emergency contact, blood type, allergies, health insurance and a web site to access your full health information. You could also have an  Emergency report with you that you printed before going on your trip. All this information could save your life.

All your family health info

The majority of us leave our health information in the hand of professionals, our doctor, the clinic or hospital. Most times this is enough; our family doctor can fax or send details to a specialists, the hospital or clinic will sent lab results or clinic notes to our family doctor. All your health information is safe and secure in the hands of the medical professionals you deal with regularly. But when an unexpected event occurs, this safe and secure health information is not available to the paramedics or doctors tiring to save your life.

Your health information at your finger tips

Maintaining your personal health information gives you and your family control. Keeping a family health record will give you a secure, safe and comprehensive set of health information that can be used to keep you healthy.  And when you need it it could provide a voice that is missing during an emergency situation.

Cost of Healthcare

Canadians have universal healthcare, yet we still need health insurance. The US health reform debate is all about the cost of healthcare. The truth of the matter is that the aging baby boomers will demand the same healthcare in the US that citizens in Canada now enjoy. Universal healthcare will soon be the rally cry of “grey power” activists. It doesn’t mean private insurance companies will disappear, they will still be needed to cover costs that are not part of government programs.

With this knowledge, you may ask why then are the republicans in the states against the health reform bill? Of course, it’s not true that the GOP is against health reform; you doubt this? then check out Newt Gingrich’s blog and organization to promote better quality medicaid and medicare. The truth is that if President Obama and the Democrats deliver on their promise of healthcare reform the Republicans will become irrelevant to this debate for the next election cycle. And all they can run on is the negative of health reform.

Consumer oriented healthcare

Healthcare reform is a political hotbed in the US. Even in Canada, Europe and other parts of the world health care is a political and financial concern. As our population ages and health care needs rise we need to maintain costs to reduce the overall impact on our future health. Everyone agrees that to preserve even our current levels of health care spending we must make changes for greater sustainability.

Recall how stores, banks and other services industries operated 15-20 years ago. There were no online registrations or self-help kiosk. Today some stores give consumers choices, the ability to self-server or to get personalized services from an associate.

Global eHealth access

When traveling we don’t normally take all of our health information with us. You may have some recent details on your prescriptions, but not much more. A friend told me that when he travels he usually runs for exercise, on his shoes he has a tag that contains his doctor’s name and phone number as well as the doctor’s cell phone. If my friend were to drop unconscious someone could contact his doctor and get help immediately…hopefully. While this medical emergency contact information is a start it doesn’t suffice for most people with serious health conditions.

It makes perfect sense for a healthy person to carry emergency contact information. Perhaps, it would be worthwhile to have more immediate info accessible to the emergency response person wherever you may be. Yet a simple slip of paper with information on it is not enough. How does someone know you have such a document in your pocket? Some solutions such as medic-alert have been used for individuals. A simple call to a toll-free number provides access to medical information using a call center services. Is there a better way?

Personal Healthcard can be used to access info during emergency

One solution to this issue is USB key technology. Why not use a USB Key? How many USB Keys do you own and how many have you misplaced or lost? Compare that with your credit card. You carry one or more of them in you wallet, purse or pocket. Even when lost you can easily get them replaced or reissued. Devices like a USB need a computer, credit cards just need card readers or scanners. And even without the computer or internet a smartcard can have information on it and in it that can still provide information when needed.

Many have compared eHealth with eCommerce and ATM banking. We can take a page from this domain and use the smartcard. This is used for credit and debit cards. A personal healthcard based on smartcard technology can store encrypted data about the individual and also have access to family members’ health details if needed. The card would have a photo for identification and a number and name to identify the person quickly. Yes, it would be required that the emergency response would have to have a card-reader to access the stored data on the card. The technology can even have information printed on the card, along with a Name, Health card number there can be an emergency phone number to a central agency.

The card can also have a 2-d barcode that can be scanned to reveal more details that may be needed by EMS and that the user would want to keep private form someone visually inspecting the card. Scanning the 2-D barcode could also direct the user to a website. With added security questions and login the site can provide access to a full health record. Add RFID and a biometric such as a fingerprint, retinal scan or DNA and you have a very secure mobile device for health information. This would eliminate individual hospital cards and allow global access to health details wherever you are.

Clarity Health Journal 2-D barcode

Such a solution could be used by anyone. The scanner and card-reader technology is readily available and easily deployed by EMS and hospital ER departments. It would reduce the stress related to remembering passwords and also make it easier in case of emergencies.

Who’s your keeper?

When you go on vacation you give a key to your home to someone. You may even have a neighbour that keeps an emergency key for you. And you trust them not to go through your stuff; just water the plants and bring in the mail. Who does this for your health information?

When you are travelling do you have enough information with you about your health? Can you get your health information? What if you are unconscious, perhaps your spouse or travel partner can convey the information needed.

Of course your family doctor has your health information, right? So is your doctor your keeper? Can they provide this info when you are out of town? When you are in the waiting room of a hospital in another city or country, when you can’t speak for yourself, who is your keeper?

Medic Alert has a great message; “we speak for you”. Their service includes more then allergy alerts it includes health information. Other services provided phone support for medical emergencies.

As a Scuba Diver my wife and I belong to Divers Alert Network(DAN), along with travel insurance DAN provides a 24-7-365 phone services in case of medical emergency. But they don’t have my medical record.

Perhaps all you need is a sheet of paper folded up in you pocket, with a list of numbers, perhaps drug prescriptions and contact details. Is this enough?
With my bank card I can go to any ATM almost anywhere in the world and withdraw money. I may not be able to deposit a physical cheque but with ATM access and internet access I can do almost all of my banking anywhere I go.

Clarity Health Journal

Yes the same is possible with my health information. A smartcard with PIN access, that can be read in any computer in a hospital of doctors’ office. And you can use the internet to access what you need. Of course you will still need a neighbour to water you plants and feed the cat.

Manage your diabetes

eHealth PHR vs EHR

As a citizen of a province with a dedicated agenda to providing universal healthcare, in a country that prides itself on its history of affordable healthcare delivery to all citizens; it is surprising to me the disjointed and dysfunctional state of health information technology. The province of Ontario has spent 5 years and over $100 million to build a personal health record. Canada Health Infoway has used $800 million of their budget to coordinated and standardize the electronic health record for all citizens. Original estimate was to have a full implemented solution by 2005, now the date is perhaps 2015.

In 2001, I began the process of building a web-based electronic forms system to support electronic health (eHealth). The concept is simple, while Health Canada Infoway will define the standards and the infrastructure, each application will need forms and the web is ideal for creating accessible forms. We built the Clarity Healthcare Solution to support ISO standards, HL7 standards and common internet standards (XML). As new and evolving requirements are published they would be incorporated. The Clarity Healthcare Solution is implemented at over 10 facilities using a combination of our modules for Rehab, Mental Health, Complex and Long-term Care reporting. These are early adopters, progressive hospitals advancing electronic web forms for patient assessments.

Clarity Healthcare Solution

Many people have the misconception that because we have universal healthcare and a single payer system in Ontario that the government maintains or should maintain the citizens health information. This is not the case. Doctors maintain their records, hospitals have their health records, pharmacies, clinics and various alternative health providers (homecare) maintain their own records about their clients care. There is no single source for the health information. The only one who has the full picture is the individual and their family. Often these individuals do not have actual records, but only personal notes or memories of conversations about their health information.

Many agencies have been setup to provide eHealth or an electronic health record. Much has been spent with little return.

In 2008, we released a trial version of our content rich consumer health journal. Clarity Health Journal puts the individual and their family at the center of care. After all they have the greatest to gain in maintaining their health. Having all the details in one place will make it easier to communicate with their doctor and ensure the hospital has all the pertinent information when it is needed. Combining personal information, hospital records, doctors records, medication, pharmacy and all other health related information like expenses, habits and personal contacts will enhance the individuals’ health delivery. The trial version is a free CPU based download for personal and family use.

Synchronized data from various sources

Later this year we will release the web-based version of Clarity Health Journal that will have a global reach. Clients will be able to share their health information with care providers and family anywhere in the world. Users will be able to request and receive data from the doctors and hospital records, bring together all there health information. This, for the first time will create an easy to transport health information system. If a person changes doctors or moves cities they can take all their medical history with them.

Patient Centric

For people with ongoing health problems, chronic diseases like diabetes, asthma, cardiac, cancer, AIDS etc., the need for continuity and self-monitoring is essential. Clarity Health Journal provides an extensive Diabetes logbook, Food Diary, Medication and dosage tracker. The ability to chart lab results, tests and other readings like blood pressure, glucose levels are essential to promote better health.

Blook Sugar Results

Costs of healthcare are rising. Let’s work together to manage our care in the most comprehensive, integrated and efficient manner possible.

The eyes have it

When I began school I didn’t speak English. As a immigrant child my first day in school was terrifying. I literally knew not a word spoken by the teacher or the other students. There was a cousin who was born in Canada and spoke some Italian, but like me it was only the vocabulary learned from our parents. It wasn’t proper Italian; it was “montanare”; literally “mountain speak” a dialect not from a region but from a small town in the region. You can well imagine the difficulty for the first several weeks as others spoke English and French; it was a bilingual school in Northern Ontario, and yet I could barely communicate in either language.

Children learn quickly, and given the situation it was impressive that I passed that first year of school. But, I wasn’t considered an outstanding student and just got by. Still by the second year I was able to communicate in English with the teachers and other students, in a French patois with schoolyard friends and a bit of Portuguese with other immigrate children. Still schoolwork was a struggle.