This is only a preview of the October 2000 issue of Silicon Chip. You can view 42 of the 96 pages in the full issue, including the advertisments. For full access, purchase the issue for $10.00 or subscribe for access to the latest issues. Items relevant to "Guitar Jammer For Practice & Jam Sessions":
Articles in this series:
Items relevant to "Fuel Mixture Display For Cars, Pt.2":
Articles in this series:
Purchase a printed copy of this issue for $10.00. |
PUBLISHER’S LETTER
www.siliconchip.com.au
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
Production Manager
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.)
Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Peter Smith
Ross Tester
Rick Walters
Reader Services
Ann Jenkinson
Advertising Enquiries
Rick Winkler
Phone (02) 9979 5644
Fax (02) 9979 6503
Mobile: 0414 34 6669
Regular Contributors
Brendan Akhurst
Louis Challis
Rodney Champness
Garry Cratt, VK2YBX
Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed
Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK
Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW
Bob Young
SILICON CHIP is published 12 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
Pty Ltd. ACN 003 205 490. ABN 49
003 205 490 All material copyright
©. No part of this publication may
be reproduced without the written
consent of the publisher.
Printing: Hannanprint, Dubbo,
NSW.
Distribution: Network Distribution
Company.
Subscription rates: $69.50 per
year in Australia. For overseas
rates, see the subscription page in
this issue.
Editorial & advertising offices:
Unit 8, 101 Darley St, Mona Vale,
NSW 2103. Postal address: PO Box
139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097.
Phone (02) 9979 5644.
Fax (02) 9979 6503.
E-mail: silchip<at>siliconchip.com.au
ISSN 1030-2662
* Recommended and maximum price only.
2 Silicon Chip
The health record card –
what a smart idea
Recently, there has been quite a lot of discussion
about the adoption of electronic storage and transfer of medical information for all Australians. The
idea has been greeted cautiously by the medical
profession but there are reservations.
What we are talking about is a complete cradle-tothe-grave medical record which will be accessible
each time you visit your doctor or require any sort
of health care. Yes, there are all sorts of possible
drawbacks – loss of privacy, the possibility of information being passed to third parties, insurance
companies, Government social security link-ups and so on. But think about the
positives. Privacy is just about gone in our society, anyway.
Just say you had a smart card with all your medical history on it. I’m not just
thinking about the sort of stuff recorded on a card file at your doctor’s surgery. It
would also contain details of every operation, every visit to your local hospital’s
outpatients’ department, every sporting injury, X-rays, all your dental records,
optical prescriptions and even any herbal treatments you might have had.
I’ll bet that most people have little knowledge of their childhood ailments and
treatments, the number of fractures and sprains, torn ligaments and dislocations
they might have suffered. In my own case, I know that I have had a couple of minor
operations 15 or more years ago but I cannot remember all the details, precisely
when they occurred, the surgeons who performed them and so on. And nor can
I remember the times and details of when I might have visited hospital casualty
departments to have stitches when I walked through a glass door at night, when
I dislocated my shoulder and so on.
As with most people, I have had several local doctors over the years and nowadays, most people just tend to visit the local medical centre for treatment. So
most people would have disparate medical records spread over various doctors,
medical centres, hospitals, dentists, in different cities and states and so on.
It would be great to have all this information together and on tap whenever
you visit the doctor. He or she would zip the card into the computer, run through
the records, make any diagnosis and prescribe treatment. All this would then be
recorded in three places: on your own health card, at the doctor’s surgery and in
a central database.
Think about the ramifications of this. First, any diagnosis and treatment should
be more correct. Multiple and conflicting drug treatments for different ailments
should be avoided. If ever you were wheeled unconscious into a hospital casualty
department, they could immediately call up your complete medical records
and they would know which drugs to avoid, which drugs to apply (for ongoing
treatment of existing conditions) and so on. Your chances of survival in such a
situation would be much better.
But the system could be enhanced further. It could incorporate family medical
history as well, so that it would highlight any long term diseases (cancer, blood
pressure, etc, etc) that you might be prone to. It could even have your DNA!
You might even be able to plug the card into your own computer which then
would periodically prompt you to have a checkup, take your medicine, visit the
dentist and so on.
Ultimately, doctors might employ software to scan your card and current
symptoms and then suggest possible diagnosis and treatment – as a backup to
the doctor, of course.
Ultimately, such a system would be a great advance in the health treatment
of the nation. Sure there are possible drawbacks but I think the positives would
outweigh the negatives. It could all be developed in Australia and then sold to
the rest of the world. Now that would be something!
Leo Simpson
|