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Tracking Patient Demographic information on your Phone

I have come up with an excellent doctor-hack to keep track of patient demographics with my iPhone. This is adaptable to most smart phones, and any regular phone with a camera.

The Short Version

I have started using the camera in my phone to take a picture of patient labels, which then automatically transfers the information to my home computer. Now I avoid collecting patient labels, transporting them home, and the inevitable hassle and losses that entails. Furthermore, I now grab the label details for more patients, even my own inpatients, as it is so easy.

I’m sure others have come up with this solution, because it is so simple and works so well. But I thought I would share my workflow with you, and show you some sample images to prove how much easier it makes things.

The Long(er) Explanation, with examples

As a hospital doctor, I end up with a huge pile of patient information labels, in my ward folder, tracked through my house, in my pockets, and through my desk. In fact, I had to buy a shredder mainly to deal with these labels.

Patient information labels are stickers which contain demographic information for hospital patients. Although I can usually keep track of a patient’s unit record number, I need the label to record their date of birth and their full name. When I assist surgeons in private, I also need the patient’s billing information, as I usually will not see them again.

My solution

I now take a digital photo of the patient label for every patient I see, using my iPhone. It takes about the same amount of time as tearing out a label, and is heaps more convenient.

Advantages:

• I always carry my phone with me, so I now have nothing extra to store.
• I can set a password for my phone, to keep the information secure
• If the labels in the history have run out, or are not printed yet, I can still get my photo. I can take a photo of any label stuck to any page. I can even take a photo of the label stuck to the patient’s drug chart, so I don’t even have to pull their paper history.
• The information automatically syncs to my computer, without any thought.
• My iPhoto library is automatically backed up, so I will not lose the data, and can keep label information for the length of my rotation, or years, without issue.
• Although my phone camera is not great quality, the information can be read easily (see below)
• Information doesn’t get duplicated
• I can possibly get OCR working at some stage to avoid manual transfer of the details from the image into my invoicing/audit software.
• Labels don’t get lost. Labels don’t get lost. Labels don’t get lost.

Disadvantages:

• Possible reduction in battery life
• You can’t jot notes on the back of your phone like you can on the back of a sticky label (my solution to this will be explained in an upcoming post)
• Pictures of labels clog up your phone and iPhoto, and need to be manually tagged and set to hidden (for confidentiality)

I think that the advantages speak for themselves.

But is the image quality sufficient?

For those who doubt me, I have taken some sample images. My phone is an iPhone, which I love, but it only has a 2MP camera. That’s probably about the minimum out there. It also has no tweak for taking macro shots (although there are some jailbreak apps out there, and probably more in the App store from July). So I think this quality is achievable with most camera phones.

Here is the cropped image with no other alterations:

I can totally read that, and would not have to tweak it. Remember that I only need a readable image so I can transcribe the data, not a perfect scan. Maybe there is a case that some of the text is unclear. So, I created an enhanced version, using only iPhoto’s embedded tools.

I think that is now very readable. I tried to make it as simple as possible, so I used only three steps in iPhoto:

1. With the image selected, enter “Edit” menu (button, bottom left)
2. Effects button B&W on
3. Adjust menu Contrast slider to 100%
4. Adjust menu Shadow slider to 100%

Obviously, different imaging software will have different processes, but I found this remarkably easy. The iPhone is totally set up for this system, due to the automated download of photos.

Technorati Tags:
doctor, Hack, health, iPhone, medicine, smart phone

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