Communication details

Electronic communication between healthcare organizations for better total care

Profdoc offers a powerful service for the secure electronic exchange of patient data between healthcare organizations. All subscribers to the service can electronically exchange information such as electronic prescriptions, referrals and medical summaries from primary to secondary care, laboratory orders and results, casebooks, X-ray remittals and results.

Electronic clinical communication may be most easily understood as the replacement of paper-based information exchange with electronic equivalents. It is actually much broader and its impacts are far greater than mere automation. It offers the prospect of easy and cheap communication of structured information throughout the healthcare community, and is capable of facilitating much closer integration among hitherto remote organisations.

Clinical communication can be compared and contrasted with electronic mail (email). Email enables free-format, textual messages to be electronically transmitted from one person to another. Clinical communication, on the other hand, supports structured messages (those which are usually expressed in hard-copy, pre-printed forms), and transmits them electronically between computer applications, rather than between people.

Formats

Message formats include all relevant Edifact messages issued by the UN, as well as versions of the ODETTE standard. Information exchange service also supports XML standards and Schema and provides mappings/conversions to all SQL databases.

The information exchange service has also made special modifications for several known structured files such as HL7, SAP and X.12 (the American equivalent to EDIFACT).

Security

The information exchange service is secure from eavesdropping, provides full traceability and maximum reliability. Tried and tested technology together with the latest processes for safeguarding transfers means that the service offers the security required for the exchange of sensitive information over the Internet.

Encryption

The information exchange service uses both symmetric and asymmetric (public key algorithm) encryption. Operational and computer security are guaranteed though redundancy, monitoring, as well as established methods for secure communication.

The information exchange service operates in accordance to the standards and demands of the industry. The service can utilise the structure defined in ENV 13606 architecture for transport of electronic healthcare information.

Advantages of using electronic clinical communication:

• Time savings
• Cost savings
• Improved accuracy
• Enhanced flexibility

Top-10 services delivered (electronic transactions):

• Prescriptions
• Laboratory orders and test results
• Radiology orders and test results
• Clinical physiology orders and test results
• Referrals and discharge letters
• Transfer of child- and maternity medical records
• Transfer of casebook extracts or complete casebooks including images
• Dictated casebook text (from secretarial services)
• Appointment reminders via SMS or telephone
• Sickness benefit certificates (to the National Insurance Agency)