Patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital will soon be able to access their medical records securely on their mobile phones as part of a major digital overhaul aimed at improving care and cutting paperwork, the QEH said Monday.
The move from paper-based patient files to electronic medical records is designed to make healthcare more efficient, secure and easier for patients to access, the hospital said on its weekly Pulse Radio Show.
Chief Operations Officer Dr Christine Greenidge explained the plan. “Very soon, we are working on our digital transformation, where we will have our digital medical records available to the patients directly,” she said.
“You will be able to go on your mobile phone, and you will be able to use a password, your private personal password, to access your personal medical record electronically at your fingertips.”
The system will also allow patients to share records safely with private doctors. “Your private medical physician may also even have that facility once we can verify that he is that person that is taking care of you,” Dr Greenidge added. She noted that this will be especially useful for patients travelling abroad.
Dr Greenidge stressed the importance of helping elderly patients or those less familiar with technology.
“Elders out there… they will need to have someone in the family circle to help them navigate, or that next of kin person to have a copy of that record as well,” she said. Public education programmes will be offered so everyone can use the system effectively.
The COO touted how digital records will improve care for all patients. “Any healthcare provider now can have access to the medical record… that voluminous, very long paper records… now Doctor X could… look you up as his inpatient at QEH, and can log on to the system and see the information there.”
The hospital has already begun part of this process, introducing self‑registration in the Accident and Emergency department. Dr Greenidge likened it to modernising immigration services:
“Many years ago, when you came back into the country, you had this long queue… now, sliding your passport, it takes your picture, boom, boom, you go straight up to the immigration officer. So that’s a digital and timely transformation… in the A&E.” (LG)
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