3rd Six Weeks Flashcards
Electronic Medical Records/Electronic Health Records
Store patient info on a database to be accessed by medical staff treating them.
o Contact details, medical histories, conditions, test results, current treatments.
Exam rooms have
computers in them.
Medical records can be accessed from
handheld devices such as PDAs or tablets.
EMR systems allow for
the access and update of the medical records from the patient’s bedside.
Centralised database
o Housed and maintained by a hospital or healthcare provider.
o Medical staff has access to records based on their role/position.
Personal Health Records (PHR)
Provided and managed by the patient.
Stored on a cloud or the patient’s own computer.
Can print off or give the doctor access.
Gives more ownership and control over personal records.
Benefits of EMR
Reduced costs and efficiency
Consume minimal space, can be accessed by multiple people simultaneously
Benefits the patient if they are unconscious or unable to speak
(HIPPA)
Laws (HIPPA) regulate data privacy and provide criminal penalties for
companies that breach data protection rules.
Many providers require patients to
opt-in to put their data on EMR or to opt-out and not put their data.
Patient Simulators
Feature computerized systems which mimic functions of the human body.
Advanced models feature
cardiac output, working lungs, reactive pupils and blood pressure systems.
Improves the realism of medical training by
enabling doctors to see realistic
responses to their actions in a safe environment with no risk to real patients.
Online Medical Advice
Web sites have been created to assist in diagnosis of symptoms.
There are telemedicine-style options to send questions via email or even live chat with a medical professional.
Mobile Phones for Health Education
Areas that lack formal education.
o Africa, parts of Asia, rural areas of US.
o Many of these areas lack internet or TV.
Projects have set up toll-free numbers and text message services.
Can also allow for anonymity for stigmatic issues.
Text to Change Project
Used in Uganda.
Sends text message quiz questions to users.
Helps raise AIDS/HIV awareness.
Top scorers win prizes.
Freedom HIV/AIDS Project
Used in India.
Uses 4 mobile phone games to tackle HIV/AIDS.
Project has counted over 10.3 million game downloads.
Support Group Sites
Many support groups run web sites and forums to help people suffering from disease.
Useful when locally based groups are inaccessible because patients are homebound.
Telemedicine
(Telehealth) – allows medical consultations to take place when the doctor and patient are in separate physical locations
Store-and-Forward Telemedicine
Use when real-time communication is not essential (i.e. test results)
Data is collected from the patient and then sent to the doctor
The results might be sent back to the patient at a later date, discussed during a
consultation or the patient is alerted if there is something wrong.
Real-Time Telemedicine
Face to face communication between doctors and patients
Real-time audio allows for the patient to answer the doctor’s questions immediately.
Telesurgery
Operating on a remote patient
o 2001 a doctor in New York operated on a patient in France
o Used a high speed fiber optic link to keep the lag time between input and
robot’s response to less than 200 milliseconds.
Benefits of Telemedicine
Useful to patients in remote areas where transportation to a hospital may be difficult such as on a ship
Can receive medical attention from home which clears space in doctor’s offices and hospitals
Disadvantages of Telemedicine
Security of sending medical details
Reliability of communication networks
Legal issue of doctors not being licensed to work in other states or countries
Remote Patient Monitoring
Can monitor a patient who’s symptoms occur infrequently
o Sensors provide data lagging
o Sensors can be in clothes or in the home
Elderly patients living alone can benefit
