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Technological advances have the potential to save huge amounts of time and hassle and to allow healthcare professionals easily to share information across long distances, and maybe even prevent mistakes before they occur. Here's a brief overview of some of the devices and systems specifically designed for healthcare. Electronic Medical Records (EMRs)Applications: This is an electronic version of the traditional paper patient's chart. Patient information is entered directly into a computer system, and practitioners with proper authorization can access the information online or through a local network. Some EMRs may offer other functions, such as clinical event and potential drug interaction alerts, practice guideline reminders, online prescription writing, online literature searching, computer-assisted expert consultation, and online clinical calculations. Advantages: • Reduces the amount of
time physicians and nurses need to spend on charting.
• Allows healthcare professionals
to access quickly a patient's complete medical history.
• Allows information to
be shared easily among healthcare professionals who
are treating the same patient, even if they do not
work at the same location. Also facilitates easier
communication between different institutions.
• Prevents confusion caused
by illegible handwriting.
• Makes it easier to study
and analyze healthcare trends in the population. For an overview of EMRs, see this article published on April 4, 2001, in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) SystemsApplications: Doctors enter prescriptions and order lab tests through a computerized system. Advantages: • The computer can be set
to check for potential drug interactions, proper
dosage, and patient allergies. The system can also
provide information on cheaper medications and notify
the doctor of potentially unnecessary tests.
• Prevents legibility problems. A study published on October 21, 1998 in The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that implementation of a CPOE system reduced serious medication errors by 55%. The Internet and Regional Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) NetworksApplications: Allows medical data and diagnostic images to be shared between doctors. Can be used to communicate with insurers, suppliers, and other medical professionals. Advantages: • Information can be shared
quickly and easily regardless of how far away the
two parties are.
• Insurance claims can
be filed much more quickly and easily. According
to the ADVANCE
article, the Partners HealthCare System in
Boston,
Massachusetts, saved $20 million a year by
submitting their insurance claims electronically
through an EDI network. Similarly, Orthopedic and
Sports Medicine (OSM) of Erie,
Pennsylvania, reaped enormous benefits after
switching to a web-based platform to communicate
with their health plan provider. According to an
article published in the January 2005 issue of Health
Management Technology, the time required
for OSM to submit claim investigations decreased
by 85%, and the time required for authorizations
decreased by 95%. Greater efficiency quickly translated
into greater revenue, and OSM was able to collect
$120,000 more per year from claim investigations. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)Applications: Used by physicians to access medical references electronically. PDAs can also be used to write prescriptions, which are forwarded to the pharmacy. Advantages: • Unlike books and other
print publications, the information on PDAs can be
constantly updated electronically.
• Portable. * * * * * Of course, some of these new technologies carry a sizable price tag, and may not be affordable for every practice or hospital. Furthermore, the implementation of any new system requires staff training and an adjustment period for practitioners to become accustomed to new ways of working. Any technology is only as smart as its user, and healthcare professionals cannot become overly reliant on computerized drug interaction alerts and other electronic safety nets. For instance, a paper published on March 9, 2005, in The Journal of the American Medical Association identified 22 types of medication errors that were more likely to occur while using a CPOE system. Workplaces that collaborate with each other need to adopt compatible technologies and information systems, which can prove to be a major challenge. For example, if your hospital is on an EDI network, but the HMO you're contacting isn't, you may still find yourself reaching for pen and paper. Unfortunately, vast amounts of paperwork are a fact of life for healthcare professionals. Fortunately, there are many low-tech and high-tech strategies you can use to transform paperwork from an overwhelming burden into a manageable aspect of your work life.
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