A NEW PRODUCT aimed at reducing Ireland’s healthcare spend and improving the country’s healthcare services comes onto the market today.

MediLife ID is a HSE-approved business idea which will arm medical teams with information about their emergency patients instantly.

According to the company behind the product, the MediLife ID will reduce medical misdiagnosis and error.

Currently, emergency medical teams (EMT) do not have medical history or details at hand when dealing with a patient. During that first check of patients, the decision-making process is vital.

Using new technologies, doctors can keep personal medical records up-to-date for their patients – and at hand for any medical team to view them.

Practically, it will mean that on arriving to hospitals, doctors will be aware of a patient’s critical medical information which they can read online.

“There could be consequences for anyone with diabetes, epilepsy or patients on multiple drugs that get taken to casualty and cannot communicate their history,” Dr Dílis Clare told TheJournal.ie.

“And, of course, the most obvious one is allergies. Doctors will immediately know a patient’s blood group, as well, which is an advantage.”

The Galway GP said she was particularly enthusiastic about the service because the information is inputted by doctors and can be verified – which is different to current cards or jewellery that patients may carry or wear.

She also noted the high levels of security deployed in the software.

“A member of my family has epilepsy and I would be happy to see them with a card. If someone comes to the Emergency Department with the card, it is actionable immediately. Similarly for paramedics, they know exactly what they are dealing with.

“It is a very simple, very clever idea and now the software and technology is there to do it.”

Although the HSE has signed off on the plan and 3,200 emergency services staff will receive training on using the information, the card is a product being sold by a privately-owned company.

If enough members of the public sign up to the service, the firm has estimated significant savings for the HSE. On the basis of 100,000 cards being sold and 1/16th of a day, Emergency Departments would have at least €30 million per year.

As diagnostic information is readily available – without the need for tests – significant savings would be made.

The team behind MediLife believe the card will also reduce the number of in-patients in hospitals.

“Ireland’s day case rate is 12 per cent below the OECD average and less than half that of Canada. If Ireland performed as well as Canada, some 338,000 more patients could be treated as day patients,” they say.

The card could also tackle some medical negligence cases. Currently, some 4,000 adverse incidents are recorded in Irish hospitals each month with some going on to be dealt with by the State Claims Agency. In 2008, the percentage relating to diagnosis incidents was 14 per cent.

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