Overview and functionalities

MDS-Lite is a computer system that provides positive identification of the applicants for Foreign Employment (FME) during their medical procedures in a Clinic.

It records an applicant’s visit to a clinic from the time they receive a bill at the front desk and have their facial photo and a fingerprint scan recorded. It is subsequently accessed (and the attendance of the applicant recorded), at the examination by the doctor, the blood and urine sample collection, the laboratory testing and reporting and the X-ray imaging. The database is built around the bill-number (produced by the accounting system used in the Clinic) and only records simple identifying data on the applicant.

Process and flow of data

When the applicant arrives at the clinic and receives a bill, they are registered in MDS-Lite under the bill number with their personal details, a scan of their passport, a facial photograph and a fingerprint. As they pass around the clinic, in order to ensure that the same person is seen at each step of the consultation, the photo and fingerprint (and in the case of the laboratory the label attached to the sample tube) are used to verify the applicant’s identity. There is no billing or accounting information recorded, only the bill number and the name of the applicant who received it together with simple identification data. This process is shown below:

As applicants pass around the clinic, the time at which they attend each department is recorded together with the times at which lab samples are taken, are processed and are recorded. This provides management information on throughput that can be used to identify delays and bottlenecks.

Technical features:

• Database and fingerprint storage: The data in MDS-Lite is stored in an individual Cloud for each clinic (accessible via a web-browser). The fingerprints are stored on a computer in the clinic (eg the doctor’s room). We will set up these two storage sites on installation.

• Compatibility: MDS-Lite uses a similar database structure as the full MDS medical record software. It is possible by programming to transfer data into the current version of MDS (v4.0).

• Security and privacy: all data is encrypted for transmission and storage with passwords.

• Backups: these contain the database table structure and the data, written in SQL format. In the event of a serious system fault, the full database at the time the backup was done can be re-installed (even in another Cloud supplier if necessary). The copy is created daily at 2:00 am and optionally sent by e-mail to the clinic administrator via encrypted e-mail, such as ProtonMail.