Online healthcare database tags migrant farmworkers

An innovative Web-based program will store the medical history of thousands of California-based migrant farmworkers. The Migrants Visitor Information Access program (MiVia) will make records available online for physicians and patients wherever the latter travel.

Considerable numbers of migrant workers suffer from mild, chronic, or potentially life-threatening conditions. Migration also exposes children to physical and mental harm from extreme poverty and changes in schools. Obtaining prescriptions or immunization records for school enrollment in a new location creates an unnecessary burden for parents, healthcare administrators, and taxpayers.

MiVia, which in English means my way, will address such concerns.

Patients, authorized advocates, and healthcare providers can access the database and enter or retrieve relevant medical data. Records are password-protected and HIPAA-compliant.