Chapter 6: ISDN in Medicine and Health Care

Patient Information & Medical Records

ISDN also lets virtually any physician or qualified health-care practitioner at any location access a patient's medical history stored at virtually any medical facility, doctor's office or laboratory. The result is better data for physicians, faster and better diagnoses, less duplication of specialized testing, and more efficient patient health care.

At Baystate Health Systems in Springfield, MA, for example, access to the high-speed backbone has now been opened to physician's offices through ISDN connections. According to Michael Weisse, senior systems programmer at the facility, doctors can dial into a patient-care information database for complete patient histories and medical records, for pharmacological data and synopses of laboratory test results. They can also access the laboratory system database to study detailed results from a range of labs associated with the hospital.

"ISDN also gives them quick and easy access to e-mail, bulletins, schedules and more," notes Weisse.