Electronic health card overtime

Aftenbeldet thinks: It is amazing that in 2023 there is no solution for an electronic health card for pregnant women.

boss

This is a leader. The director expresses opinions and analyzes of Stavanger Aftenblad.

A group of professionals reviewed all births with poor outcomes in the HellsVest health district. They found that of the 65 births that went wrong, one in three could have been avoided.

The most common mistake is that midwives wait too long for the baby to be born or misinterpret the fetal cardiogram, which during childbirth records the fetal heartbeat, frequency and strength of contractions.

It is, of course, difficult to go down to zero. But there are many things that could be improved.

Perhaps one of the most startling things that emerged from these surveys is that in 2023 pregnant women will not have an electronic health card.

Health workers and pregnant women have been calling for an electronic form for nearly 20 years, but health authorities have delayed it several times. Now the health workers on the committee who have undergone childbirth are also calling for this, as a measure to improve prenatal care.

Today it is the norm that all pregnant women receive a sheet. This has to be filled in manually, and obviously leaves room for misinterpretation. If a pregnant woman forgets to take this paper with her for checkups, important information may be lost.

This was also established by the Directorate of Electronic Health in an investigation into electronic health cards in March this year, when they concluded that a digital health card for pregnant women would improve patient safety and be socially beneficial.

“Many pregnant women don’t realize that in today’s digital society they have to walk around with a piece of paper in their purse. The paper known as a pregnant woman’s health card contains sensitive information.
Health information that could be lost and end up in the hands of unauthorized persons. The card can be worn to the point of becoming unreadable near the end of the load, and the lack of interaction in today’s paper solutions can result in reduced quality and safety,” the directorate’s summary reads.

Of the 65 births examined, 11 were registered with health cards that lacked information about, among other things, fetal development and maternal blood test results. And since the Specialists are only the cases where things went wrong, we also don’t know how many “near misses” occurred due to a lack of interaction.

When this is what is supposed to ensure the flow of information between the pregnant woman, the doctor, the midwife, and the hospital, it is perhaps not surprising that sometimes things can go wrong. It must be one of the easiest fruits to pick to improve the safety of a pregnant woman.

The Department of Health and Welfare responded that they are working towards this. But this date is not ready yet. This job should have been done a long time ago. Get it in place!