title: Can a patient smart card improve decision making in a clinical setting?.
abstract: In the health field, clinical information is the raw material for the clinician delivering health services. Therefore, the clinical information available to the physician is often incomplete or even non¿existent upon consultation. Furthermore, the reconstruction of the medical history, which is the most important source of data for the clinician to establish a diagnosis and initiate a treatment, suffers from many constraints. The smart card, like the one used in Quebec's project, could ease the physician's decision-making by allowing fast access to accurate and pertinent data. The smart card is a major asset in the present health system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Bas St-Laurent, Rimouski, G5L 5T1 Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bérubé
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Papillon
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Durant
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Fortin
mesh_terms: D003658:Decision Making, Computer-Assisted; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D010355:Patient Identification Systems; D011792:Quebec