HealthManagement, IT Volume 3 / Issue 1
Author
Peeter Ross,
Kelli Podoshvilev/
East Tallinn Central Hospital, Estonia
Much attention has been paid to the development of the functionality and user friendliness of the electronic patient record (EPR) inside healthcare institutions. However, secure distribution of me - dical data outside the organisation still remains an issue. Besides of the development of universal EPR the aim of our hospital was to enable the retrieval of medical data through the single entry from outside the hospital. We used SSL link and Estonian nationwide data exchange platform called xroad to secure the access to EPR from outside of the hospital. Identification of the person accessing EPR was based on the compulsory ID-card issued by the state.
The EPR enables work in different modules: Ambulatory care, stationary care, diagnostic and administrative module. For medical image viewing there is full integration with picture archiving and communication system (PACS). There are two modules for users from outside the hospital: ehealth record for general practitioners (GP), and iPatient for patient access. GPs and patients can use their module to book an appointment at the hospital, retrieve his/her patients´ or own medical data, and view images. The challenging aim of EPR development is to enable secure access to patient’s health data and medical images from any location by both healthcare professionals and patients. This was successfully fulfilled. Our EPR is also connected to Estonian country-wide Health Information System.
