Distributed Architecture towards Tele-Diagnosis

Abstract

Distributed diagnosis and home healthcare aims to improve the quality of care and patient wellness and outcomes by transforming the delivery of healthcare from a central, hospital-based system to one that is more distributed and home-based. A personal health information management system (PHIMS) and a facilitated accurate referral management system (FARMS) were developed, tested and deployed by the University of Washington at its medical centre and other trial sites. We have adopted this PHIMS concept and have customized it to Singapore's context for tele-dermatology based on the distributed architecture approach. We have launched a clinical trial at a nursing home in Singapore for the distributed-PHIMS (D-PHIMS) system and have obtained preliminary results of the ongoing clinical trial