Travellers compelled to carry a pile of x-rays and medical reports with them on their holidays, can now grin instead of groan
Travellers compelled to carry a pile of x-rays and medical reports with them on their holidays, can now grin instead of groan. A Mumbai health care clinic is pushing the frontiers of medicine with its software that allows one to digitise one's medical history.u00a0
THE FUTURE IS HERE: Dr Rohini Chowgule works on the MMR portal while an x-ray is being scanned in the background ready to be uploadedu00a0Pic/ SAMEER MARKANDE
Searching for records?
The Chowgule Mediconsult team, operating from its Sukh Sagar healthcare clinic, has devised a concept called My Medical Records (MMR), which facilitates uploading one's medical details on its portal, eliminating cumbersome storage. Dr Rohini Chowgule, pulmonary physician and director, Chowgule Mediconsult, says, "Persons can register with us and upload their medical details on the web. This eliminates the often fruitless search for old reports." The MMR portal is www.chowgulemediconsult.com
Travel unravel
According to Dr Chowgule, the person storing his medical data into the MMR software can update it, change it, save it and download it, carrying it along on a pen drive, flash drive or CD. Bhavesh Thakker, Vice-President, (VP) Chowgule Mediconsult adds, "We can upload x-rays and reports initially for the person who registers with us. Then, we encourage people to update their records on their own."u00a0
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On track
This comprehensive software gives the medical practitioner details for a diagnosis or line of treatment. Dr Chowgule says, "MMR has 'alerts' that alert a person via SMS about a pending health check-up and a 'trends' section that tracks any changes in one's parameters like blood pressure, sugar, height, weight graphically." The cost for online storage on the MMR is about Rs 1,200 per annum, per person, though this may vary. Dr Chowgule and her team admit that it might take a while for wider acceptance, but believe that in a city where space is at a premium, digitising medical records may be just what the doctor ordered.
US makes health electronic
In January 2009, the then president-elect Barack Obama, had given the thumbs up to making health records electronic, giving the country five years for completing the computerization. Detractors, though, had pointed out the possibility of software snafus, not enough trained personnel to be able to use the software, the necessity of a computer on every doc's table, plus the possibility of patient privacy being compromised as drawbacks.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
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