“Join”, a Communication App for Medical Professionals that　Enables to Share Medical Images Using Smartphones

A Japanese Venture Company, Allm has Developed an Insurance Coverage App 

Tension running high in the emergency room when a patient with signs of cerebral infarction, such as hemiplegia and dysarthria, is brought to the hospital. It is because patients with cerebral infarction need especially prompt treatment to reduce the sequelae of the disease. The Japan Stroke Society recommends administering tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a thrombolytic agent, within four and a half hours after the onset of cerebral infarction, or endovascular treatment with thrombectomy devices within six hours. In many cases, one or two hours have already passed since the onset of the disease when the patient arrives at the hospital, so it is a race against time after the arrival. However, specialists are not stationed in the hospital 24 hours a day. On holidays and during the night, non-specialists usually provide initial care, and then specialists outside the hospital are called if necessary.

●“Join”, a communication app for medical professionals that enables real-time medical image sharing
“I need advice ASAP, but specialists are outside the hospital now.”　In such situations, “Join”, a communication app designed for physicians and other medical professionals, is helpful. Allm Inc. developed this app with the support of the neurosurgery group of the Jikei University School of Medicine to improve the acute care of patients with cerebrovascular diseases. By connecting to the internal hospital system, “Join” enables users to view and share medical image data (CT, MRI, etc.) and has several ways of communication such as messaging, and voice/video call. Medical data is shared using Cloud server (“Join Cloud”), and this app is compatible with iOS, Android, and the latest versions of web browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox.

●Complete security measures
Security measures to prevent personal information leakage is a vital issue in sending and receiving medical information. “Join” complies with regulations on personal information protection, such as HIPAA, EU GDPR, ISO27001, and three ministries’ two guidelines. In addition, patient information is anonymized and shared through encrypted communication. The security measures are well established. Moreover, “Join”, a program for general-purpose diagnostic imaging systems, was approved for insurance coverage by the Central Social Insurance Medical Council in Japan, and the coverage has started from 2016.

(Continue to the next)

The information contained in this article is compiled by the respective authors based on publicly available information. We assume no responsibility whatsoever for any damage or disadvantage caused by actions taken based on such information. Unauthorized reproduction of articles, photos, charts, etc. is prohibited.
Copyright © 2022 LSMIP office / CM Plus Corporation