e-Health

The electronic patient record: 887 documents at a glance

Vaccinations, diagnoses, prescriptions and more: in the electronic patient record, patients and authorized carers and physicians can access this and other data. The more comprehensive the information, the more practical it is for all parties.

In 2004, 39-year-old computer engineer Pierre-Mikael Legris from Morges in the canton of Vaud became ill with leukaemia. Behind him now are long periods in hospital, a successful bone marrow transplant and many appointments with various specialists. “Whether I went to my doctor, the nutritionist or the laboratory, I always had to bring numerous documents with me,” he recalls. Until 2013, when the HUG (Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève) introduced the electronic patient record MonDossierMedical.ch.

In the picture with three clicks

Legris can use it to access all of his data himself. “When a new medical document is added to my record, I get an e-mail. With three clicks, I have access to the document,” he explains. All persons and institutions in the canton of Geneva involved in his medical care can also access the record – subject to approval by the patient. This allows them to quickly view past treatments, laboratory results and medications, improving the quality and efficiency of their work.

All patient data at hand in compliance with data protection laws

Thanks to the digital record, doctors can find information directly in their practice systems or via the web portal vivates. Networking enables hospitals to gain an overview of past and current treatments, avoiding unnecessary repetition of medical tests. The comprehensive data also allows pharmacies, home carers, physiotherapy practices or others involved in the treatment to provide more personalized advice and care. And data protection is fully guaranteed. The patient record complies with the recommendations of eHealth Suisse and is fully in accordance with the requirements of the Swiss federal law on the electronic patient record (EPDG).

Development proceeding steadily

Today, Pierre-Mikael Legris leads a perfectly normal life. Friends with a cold may have to stay away, and his little son can't go to the crèche. But he wouldn't want to be without the electronic patient record under any circumstances. Because it has actually changed his life, and in more than one respect: the computer engineer identified further development opportunities for the user interface, and in 2012 he founded his own company, Pryv, which focuses on the management of the patient's own data. His solution is complementary to the Swiss Post solution.

www.swisspost.ch/vivates

Strategic partnerships

Swiss Post is consistently expanding its position in the eHealth sector: in autumn 2015, it acquired Zurich-based health care research institute AG (hcri), which numbers more than 400 institutions such as hospitals, clinics and care facilities among its customers. This acquisition enables Swiss Post to expand its eHealth service portfolio strategically to include quality management and information processing. Swiss Post has also gone into partnerships with Health Info Net AG (HIN) and Ofac, the professional association of Swiss pharmacists, strengthening its position in the healthcare sector.