4 ms·

How so?

by jotm 7y ago

How so?

frabert 7y ago
Every medical interaction is recorded on a nationwide network - at least here in Italy. Every time I go to my doctor and they prescribe me something / they give me a shot / vaccine, it gets recorded and every other doctor can access the same data when I present my "health smart card"
- c0restraint 7y ago
  That sounds both amazing (from a patient in need POV) and scary (from a privacy POV). I’m interested in both
  - judge2020 7y ago
    It sounds like a great system assuming the smart card is a like a credit card with the chip in it, and you needed that to view medial records. Unfortunately I seriously doubt that's the case.
    - frabert 7y ago
      It's actually a smart card with a chip in it. It also has a magnetic stripe, I guess for legacy purposes. Here is a sample: https://www.sanita.puglia.it/documents/20182/134679/TSCNS+fronte+%28puglia.gif%29/eeaf006f-5db5-4b6f-bb2c-fa45ace23196?t=1448290285227 https://www.sanita.puglia.it/documents/20182/134679/TSCNS+fr...
- n0on3 7y ago
  well, to be honest, this sounds like kind of overselling reality. There is a system in place that tracks and records some things, like days off prescribed by base doctors, prescriptions for which national care pays and few other stuff, but most of everything else, including charts from when you are admitted in most hospitals and of course whatever you do outside of the public care (which kind of sucks and has insane waiting times, which means you most often do) is not included in that. So.. nope.
  - davidw 7y ago
    > public care (which kind of sucks and has insane waiting times, which means you most often do) You should see what it's like in the US. Italy's certainly not perfect, but faults and all, I'd happily go back to that system from the one we have here in the US. It does make a difference where you are in both countries, though; in Italy I lived in Padova, where things mostly work pretty well.
- gerardnll 7y ago
  Pretty sure you talk about the NHS.
BjoernKW 7y ago
In Germany, for example, medical records are scattered across medical practitioners, hospitals and health insurance providers. There's no central, distributed or federated EMR system. Each practice or hospital basically runs its own system, sometimes dating from the 1980s. MS-DOS is still widely used in surgeries. Data transfer (i.e. lab results, consultation results) happens mostly on paper, that is the patient usually gets handed a letter with the results to present to their GP. Lots of information is lost this way. Examinations and analyses often are duplicated or done repeatedly.
- martin_a 7y ago
  Ah come on, it's not that bad anymore. My mother recently had some x-rays done because of a broken knee and all the files were sent digitally to the doctor and he forwarded them to a specialist. So, it's not that bad...
  - BjoernKW 7y ago
    The last time I got a PET scan (about 3 years ago) they handed me a CD with the images and an accompanying piece of paper with a summary of the results. At least that CD included a DICOM viewer for macOS as well so I could have a look at the images myself. It's the same with other medical imaging procedures. They have machines literally costing millions but they can't afford to have a secure system for keeping and exchanging medical data. Up until a few years ago (according to my knowledge, perhaps this is still happening) paramedics routinely used WhatsApp for sending information to A&E while en route because there simply is no proper system in place to do so.
    - martin_a 7y ago
      Hm, not sure, maybe this differs from doctor to doctor. To be honest, I was also suprised when she told me that as she lives in a rather rural area and not some big town. But at least that hospital/doctors seem to be really up to date with their tech.
- DataWorker 7y ago
feiss 7y ago
In my area (Northwest Spain) medical info is recorded in the public health system, which is universally free. I can go to any public medical center and they can access to all my history, no need to carry anything with me apart from my card.

How so?

by jotm 7y ago

How so?

Every medical interaction is recorded on a nationwide network - at least here in Italy. Every time I go to my doctor and they prescribe me something / they give me a shot / vaccine, it gets recorded and every other doctor can access the same data when I present my "health smart card"

c0restraint 7y ago
That sounds both amazing (from a patient in need POV) and scary (from a privacy POV). I’m interested in both
- judge2020 7y ago
  It sounds like a great system assuming the smart card is a like a credit card with the chip in it, and you needed that to view medial records. Unfortunately I seriously doubt that's the case.
  - frabert 7y ago
    It's actually a smart card with a chip in it. It also has a magnetic stripe, I guess for legacy purposes. Here is a sample: https://www.sanita.puglia.it/documents/20182/134679/TSCNS+fronte+%28puglia.gif%29/eeaf006f-5db5-4b6f-bb2c-fa45ace23196?t=1448290285227 https://www.sanita.puglia.it/documents/20182/134679/TSCNS+fr...
n0on3 7y ago
well, to be honest, this sounds like kind of overselling reality. There is a system in place that tracks and records some things, like days off prescribed by base doctors, prescriptions for which national care pays and few other stuff, but most of everything else, including charts from when you are admitted in most hospitals and of course whatever you do outside of the public care (which kind of sucks and has insane waiting times, which means you most often do) is not included in that. So.. nope.
- davidw 7y ago
  > public care (which kind of sucks and has insane waiting times, which means you most often do) You should see what it's like in the US. Italy's certainly not perfect, but faults and all, I'd happily go back to that system from the one we have here in the US. It does make a difference where you are in both countries, though; in Italy I lived in Padova, where things mostly work pretty well.
gerardnll 7y ago
Pretty sure you talk about the NHS.

BjoernKW 7y ago

In Germany, for example, medical records are scattered across medical practitioners, hospitals and health insurance providers. There's no central, distributed or federated EMR system. Each practice or hospital basically runs its own system, sometimes dating from the 1980s. MS-DOS is still widely used in surgeries. Data transfer (i.e. lab results, consultation results) happens mostly on paper, that is the patient usually gets handed a letter with the results to present to their GP. Lots of information is lost this way. Examinations and analyses often are duplicated or done repeatedly.

martin_a 7y ago
Ah come on, it's not that bad anymore. My mother recently had some x-rays done because of a broken knee and all the files were sent digitally to the doctor and he forwarded them to a specialist. So, it's not that bad...
- BjoernKW 7y ago
  The last time I got a PET scan (about 3 years ago) they handed me a CD with the images and an accompanying piece of paper with a summary of the results. At least that CD included a DICOM viewer for macOS as well so I could have a look at the images myself. It's the same with other medical imaging procedures. They have machines literally costing millions but they can't afford to have a secure system for keeping and exchanging medical data. Up until a few years ago (according to my knowledge, perhaps this is still happening) paramedics routinely used WhatsApp for sending information to A&E while en route because there simply is no proper system in place to do so.
  - martin_a 7y ago
    Hm, not sure, maybe this differs from doctor to doctor. To be honest, I was also suprised when she told me that as she lives in a rather rural area and not some big town. But at least that hospital/doctors seem to be really up to date with their tech.
DataWorker 7y ago

feiss 7y ago

In my area (Northwest Spain) medical info is recorded in the public health system, which is universally free. I can go to any public medical center and they can access to all my history, no need to carry anything with me apart from my card.