New info system in Japan connects GPs with infectious disease specialists
Top Japanese manufacturer Shimadzu Corporation has come up with a prototype of a medical information system to support the management of infectious diseases.
It is claimed to be the first system in Japan to facilitate consultations, contracts and payments between treating physicians and infectious disease specialists.
The consultation system was developed in collaboration with the Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, the Department of Infectious Diseases of Nagoya University Hospital, the Nagoya University Innovative Research Center for Preventive Medical Engineering and the Department of Infection Control of Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine. .
HOW IT WORKS
According to Shimadzu, the consultation system “provides an environment (where) the attending physician is connected to the required specialist at the desired time.”
Once a patient’s medical records, x-rays and laboratory reports are entered into the system, the information is screened using a medical language processing engine and a dictionary list engine. Relevant clinical practice guidelines for infectious diseases and other related information then appear on the screen.
In addition, the system collects additional patient information by asking questions to the treating physician. These questions are probably also asked by the specialist. This allows for a smoother consultation flow, avoiding repetitive back and forth between them, Shimadzu explains.
After the consultation, the minutes are automatically recorded through the system so that they can be retrieved later to confirm the results.
In the meantime, specialists can use the system to indicate the time and date they are available for consultations. It also has features that simplify the contract and payment arrangement between general practitioners and specialists.
WHY IT MATTERS
General practitioners usually consult with an infectious diseases specialist by telephone or email. However, this form of communication makes it difficult to assess the outcome and degree of contribution of the specialist.
Since specialists are typically swamped with their own tasks while also handling queries from other medical institutions, their expertise may also be in doubt.
Shimadzu’s latest consultation system, the company claims, provides efficiencies that contribute to higher quality infectious disease diagnoses and treatments.
“Rapidly sharing specialist expertise with treating physicians through this system will reduce the burden on medical staff, alleviate long working hours and reduce medical costs through the appropriate use of antimicrobials,” it added.
Shimadzu will soon test and verify the consultation system with a plan to make it commercially available in the future.
THE GREATER CONTEXT
The consultation system is the result of an ongoing collaboration between Shimadzu and the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine and Nagoya University Hospital, which started in 2018. They initially focused on pursuing measures to obtain and utilize specialist knowledge from on-site healthcare facilities.