My Life is in My Hand

When you travel be sure to take your life with you

La Vie Health Centre in Kanata, Ontario, has unveiled an international first in health care.

Its unique My Life is in My Hand program enables people to carry their health records with them, whether they’re visiting the corner store or travelling thousands of kilometres from home.

Since 2007, La Vie, under the direction of Dr. Hassan Sannoufi, MD, CCFP, has been a leader in preventive medicine. Also known as risk reduction, the centre’s approach is to work with patients to maintain good health and to reduce or eliminate the threat of cancer, cardiovascular disease and other ailments.

Now La Vie through its My Life is in My Hand program is offering patients, for the first time, a portable personal health file that may be given in case of emergency to any healthcare unit anywhere in the world.

Their entire, up to date, health profile will be found on a USB Card, the size of a credit card, which may be plugged into any computer in any country and on all continents. In virtually seconds the medical personnel who are tending to a patient will have that person’s past and current medical information at their fingertips.

As a result, doctors will be able to make faster and more accurate decisions.

The latest information about a patient’s health will be installed on the USB Card by the La Vie team of experts led by Dr. Sannoufi. The service will cost $300 and include a 45-minute session with a nurse who will conduct a variety of medical tests. The USB Card will show test results from complete blood testing, ECG (at rest), complete medical profile which includes detailed information about the patient’s family history and risk stratification, vitals and body measurements, and in-body nutrition analysis. The final stage includes a physician review and recommendations based on each medical profile and in accordance with the most recent medical guidelines.

The USB Card has the entire vital medical information that acts as base line health data to allow doctors to access a patient’s cumulative vital medical profile and make proper and rapid therapeutic medical decisions, says Reham Sannoufi, Executive Director of La Vie Health Centre.

“This mobile and cost effective tool allows the easy interaction between healthcare units in a way that allows doctors to make a faster and more accurate decision about what’s needed.”

In addition to offering this innovative service to individuals, La Vie is contracting with employers who find the USB Card an essential tool in maintaining a healthy workforce. The goal is to be more proactive in the prevention and early detection of illnesses to reduce disability and the financial and human losses that result when employees are absent from work.

Ms. Sannoufi says the USB Card has already produced positive results.

Recently, a La Vie patient developed a medical problem in Mexico (not connected with swine flu). He said the records available on his My Life is in My Hand USB Card impressed the doctors with whom he dealt. They marveled at how much was saved when his condition was successfully treated.

La Vie patients are available for interviews regarding this significant innovation in healthcare.

To arrange an interview with Dr. Hassan Sannoufi or Reham Sannoufi, Executive Director, La Vie Health Centre, please contact Randy Ray, publicist, at: (613) 731-3873 or rocket@intranet.ca

For more information about the La Vie Health Centre, visit: http://www.laviehealth.com/