USAID considers medical tracking technology in Haiti

The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Haiti mission is considering a program to outfit “a large, but yet-to-be determined segment of the Haitian people” with smart cards to track them from doctor to doctor during the medical referral process, according to an announcement on the government’s grants and contracts website.

“It is envisioned that the introduction of such cards will facilitate the implementation of a medical referral system by reducing or eliminating database duplication in patient records,” the announcement states.

The smart cards would be used in conjunction with Web-based electronic medical records and would include identifying information such as name, birth date, fingerprints, photo and patient identification number, according to the announcement.

A smart card with that information could have uses outside health care, USAID notes.

The announcement is a sources sought document, meaning the agency hasn’t committed to purchasing the technology.

The document doesn’t state what form the smart card should take, for instance whether it would be embedded in something resembling a credit card or housed in a cellphone.