New online medical alert service is a world-first

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New NZ online medical alert service is a world-first

125,000 Kiwis to benefit from emergency access to vital medical records

 WELLINGTON, 11 September 2009: A new world-first MedicAlert® system will provide emergency services with immediate online access to potentially life-saving medical records for over 125,000 New Zealanders when it launches next month.

Jointly developed by MedicAlert® and Medtech Global, the system connects emergency service providers immediately to relevant current patient records to overcome potentially high-risk delays.

Currently, MedicAlert® enables emergency services to access “patient vitals” records for people wearing a MedicAlert® emblem. This is particularly critical for people suffering from conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, or who may have adverse reactions to standard treatments or drugs.

However as the information is entered in paper form, it can only be as complete as the last time it was updated. 

By contrast, the new Patient Vitals Electronic Health Record Service will enable emergency services in New Zealand and around the world to quickly and directly access relevant parts of an individual’s “patient vitals” using Medtech’s ManageMyHealth™ online portal.

“Providing accurate up-to-date information urgently when doctors or emergency services need it is a potential life saver. It is also fast and simple for patients to enrol in which means people can have the benefits of MedicAlert® coverage more quickly,” said Murray Lord, Chief Executive of MedicAlert. 

The new system will enable GP’s to efficiently enrol patients with MedicAlert®  through Medtech technology that automatically “populates” an application form with all the relevant data from the patient’s records.

Medtech is the preferred Practice Management System in New Zealand and used by over 80% of New Zealand primary healthcare professionals. 

Introducing access to the MedicAlert® nationwide service through the ManageMyHealth™ portal at the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) conference in Wellington this week, Sanjeewa Samaraweera, Medtech’s Chief Operating Officer, said it was a very good example of how the ManageMyHealth™ technology could be applied to improve the welfare and safety of New Zealanders.

“By linking MedicAlert’s well established systems to the ManageMyHealth™ portal, emergency and other teams can have the information they need quickly so they can deliver an even faster and more certain response to the patient.“ he said.

Patient privacy on the new portal is protected by allowing access only to designated areas and types of information.

“Patients have been routinely referred to MedicAlert® by clinicians for over 40 years in New Zealand. MedicAlert® is a trusted provider of patient information in an emergency; delivering vital medical information to the scene of the incident, be it in the home, at the shopping centre or when a patient travels overseas. MedicAlert’s® emblems being used as a break glass device to provide secure access to vital patient information while protecting the privacy of the patient is a cornerstone of this new advancement in leveraging technology to protect the patient and deliver safer clinical outcomes,” said Murray Lord.

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