Improving Access to TB Medical Records in Remote Clinics in Peru Using a Personal Digital Assistant Based Application

Personal Digital Assistant Based Application Zayed Yasin, Sharon Choi BS, Jiamish S F Fraser MBChB, MSc, MRCP Program in Infectious Disease and Social Change, Dept. of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Boston. Dept. of Telecommunications. University of Colorado. Boulder INTRODUCTION Accessing up-to-date lab results and clinical information in remote locations is a persistent and difficult problem for clinicians in the developing world. This is especially the case with regard to chronic diseases such as Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Traditional paper systems are cumbersome, difficult to access and update remotely, and fragile. A computerized Electronic Medical Record (EMR) can greatly facilitate archiving and retrieving this information (1), but requires a computer and Internet access at the point of care. We have developed a PDA-based EMR for our MDR-TB program in Peru to give clinicians a low cost, portable, and robust system (2) fully integrated with our web-based EMR. For a fraction of the cost of a laptop computer this allows access to daily updated clinical information in a lightweight unit that can last over a month on a single set of batteries.