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With SmartHealth System your health is in a card
P Sreevalsan Menon
Mumbai, July 6: Frequent travellers may no longer find themselves at risk in the event of a health problem. Tata Infotech has developed a SmartHealth System which enables a traveller to take along his clinical history in the form of a smart card. The card enables the physician to read the patient's entire health record along with doctor's comments, see recent X-rays and scans at the touch of a button and take urgent action in case of an emergency.
In effect, it cuts down time taken to diagnose the patient's ailments and save lives. "The card enables faster information access, efficiency and cost containment," says Tata Infotech head, corporate specialist group, Savita Govilkar.
Built-in specialities include adaptability to any computer platform, ability to add programmes and data and assurance on patient's identity as well as security that prevents leak of information if the card is stolen.
The card is read using a reader/writer system which comes with it. It has a storing space of up to 6 megabyteson an optical card (the size of a credit card) and the high-speed compact reader/writer system, which can be fitted into any small case, can be interfaced with IBM PC compatibles.
It supports all MS-DOS commands and function calls. The DOS libraries and Windows include sample programmes for every environment. The card can store photographs, drawings, fingerprints and X-rays. Another speciality, according to Govilkar, is that the card is highly tamper-proof and has security features against counterfeit and fraud.
The product is ideal for hospital chains, feels Govilkar. Care has also been taken to adapt the concept to the Indian environment, she adds.
In fact, SmartHealth is one Tata Infotech's products for the healthcare segment. The company plans to introduce other products such as HealthFone and Decision Support Systems.
HealthFone is an interactive system that lets medical staff, patients and healthcare-related service providers to access information using a telephone. It is useful for monitoringand disseminating information for seasonal diseases, AIDS, hepatitis, etc, Govilkar said.
The Decision Support Systems is for managing healthcare institutions by making use of the latest systems like datawarehousing and datamining techniques. An interfacing diagnostic equipment helps hospital information systems to integrate while portable data terminals allow medical staff to record and access crucial data at various locations in a hospital.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
Net Express
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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