Health and welfare data on optical memory cards in Isehara city.

An off-line network system of health and welfare for elderly people using optical memory cards has been established in Isehara city (Japan) since 1991. 2775 citizens have the cards and 24 offices have the terminals. It covers almost one third of people aged over 65 in Isehara city and almost all of the offices concerned with their health and welfare. About a half of holders use optical memory cards every time they visit these offices. The optical memory card holds data including basic data for health and welfare, health check data over 5 years, medical images with scripts and history of welfare services. All the data are used for medical care, health consultation and management of health and welfare services. A card can hold health and welfare data for a lifetime, and it is easy to expand the system. It has been a good experience for us, because the optical memory card system needs co-operation among citizens, medical association and local government, and the experience will help us to expand the system in the future.