Electronic Medical Charts Spreading Fast.

(From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI))

Byline: Okabe Hiroshi

A tissue sample taken out of a patient was carefully placed under an electronic microscope to determine whether it contains cancerous cells. The microscope was operated by a pathologist some 600 km away in Tokyo. While monitoring the clear images transmitted through broadband networks, the doctor needed only two-and-a-half minutes to make a diagnosis.

This is one of the scenes during an experiment with a remote pathological diagnosis system conducted by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) and Iwate Medical University. With conventional systems that use still images, it takes about 25 minutes to give a diagnosis. The new system, which can transmit clear moving pictures, cuts the time of analysis by more than 90% and has also dramatically improved the accuracy of examinations. In Japan, specialized pathologists account for only 0.7% of all medical practitioners, and most of them are located in major cities. NTT, with the cooperation of local governments and other entities, plans to promote the broadband-based medical diagnosis system linking these pathologists with hospitals in regional areas.

Broadband-based medical technologies are increasingly taking root in Japan not only in medical examinations but in endoscopic operations using an abdominoscope that require a high level of medical techniques. Video images of operations by experienced surgeons are uploaded on the Internet and used to train doctors. A number of websites have been launched to exchange medical techniques between doctors. Information technology (IT) is becoming essential in distributing medical skills.

Medical Charts Confirmed with Home Computers The electronic medical chart is another field that the government wants to emphasize in promoting the use of IT in medical services. It had been difficult for patients to gain access to the medical charts kept by doctors. The government hopes to make medical charts available over the Internet, as checks by patients may lead to a reduction in medical errors. This will also help to deepen informed consent with patients, and make it easier for them to obtain second opinions from other physicians. When a patient undergoes treatment at a different medical institution, the electronic medical chart system is expected to produce such advantages as a decline in duplicate medical examinations and appropriate follow-up care based on ...