HealthManagement, Volume 5 / Issue 1 / 2010

Bulgarian Military Deploys Smart Cards

The Bulgarian military has begun the deployment of smart cards to provide secure access to the electronic health records of military personnel and their family.

 

Commissioned by Bulgaria’s Military Medical Academy, the personal health record (PHR) project aims to improve health records availability, access and security.

 

The patient and the healthcare professional simultaneously insert their own card into the double-entry reader and type in their PIN code to enable viewing or modifying of the medical file, which is stored on a highly secure IT infrastructure. The patient can also view their personal data online, using the reader and card to authenticate themselves.

 

The electronic health record provided is a complete electronic archive of the patient's medical history. Data stored includes all existing medical documentation, such as: laboratory tests and results, X-ray pictures, all visual tests, and electronic prescriptions. Additional information includes the patient's blood group, allergies and genetic predisposition to diseases, health check-ups, surgical interventions and other useful medical information.

 

Medical data can be accessed immediately meaning healthcare professionals can make more accurate decisions, especially in emergency situations, for which there is a special section in the electronic health record containing the most important relevant information.

 

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