Tag: IT
Lot of companies are providing the application software in healthcare management and information system, both of which are integral and critical parts of a smart healthcare system project. The idea is to bring the functions of all departments onto a unified platform from a reporting, data collation and data analysis perspective. If healthcare system is integrated and managed through a proper information and management system, then anybody can get access of it starting from primary healthcare unit to specialty centre, both from patient care and administrative perspective. In the process , it becomes much easier for the government to provide much better healthcare services. The need was already there, but only a few states have actually come up for adopting best of IT systems for healthcare.In general terms what basically these software are based on open source software with proprietary database at the backend. The software provides most flexible options in terms of reduced total cost of ownership, maintainability , vendor independency and in addition, it runs on a variety of operating systems. From an architecture perspective , it is extremely scalable and can be easily modified.
Areas like drug and material distribution, inventorying, purchasing and facility management have largely benefited through use of IT. The application also helps to standardize and define different protocols in the system as and when required. All these synchronies towards a significant enhanced quality healthcare service. Equity issues are taken care of by the public sector for those who cannot afford. Private sector is more or less differentiator. Sixty to seventy percent of work is left on the public sector. We need to increase the spending from current 4% to at least double by that. While healthcare IT spending in most emerging Asian economies has increased appreciably, yet certain developed and emerging nations are still lagging behind. Considering the global aspect, judging by the percentage of healthcare IT spending as part of overall national IT spending, Australia tops the chart , followed by China, Malaysia, New zealand, Philippines and Vietnam. The trends and spending patterns of Australia have been found to be most typical in the region, resulting in sustained growth of the market, at a pace that is even higher than many of the currently emerging economies. Public Sector institutions continue to slog or rather decay on account of lack of monitoring mechanisms, lack of management controls system and lack of accountability. In India, public health sector sees highest absentees. Still their incentives are very high. We need to have very strong management controls and IT enabled mechanism to monitor the output. Just Deploying thousands of doctors in the rural areas such as Gujarat is not enough
Information technology (IT) has helped change the face of many industries. It is because of IT, that many organizations have had to face a strategic inflection point in their business cycle, for the better. Sure, the change was initially difficult but eventually IT has only proved to be an excellent solution to the many challenges that an organization faces.
When it comes to the field of healthcare, industry professionals are better off focusing on their core competency, rather than channel their energies to other functions of the organization in order to ensure completion of tasks. This is the reason why outsourcing of hospital IT infrastructure is taking place across the industry. There are immense benefits once this activity is outsourced, since the hospital administration can then dedicate its focus to the patient’s well being.
Healthcare IT solutions provide benefits like the application of industry best practices, control of operating costs, ease in coordination between various functions of the organization, eventually leading to superior customer service, etc. Healthcare IT provides valuable information on a real-time basis, and patient records can be viewed by the stakeholders with ease. Outsourcing of healthcare information technology will also help the organization have an effective IT strategy in place that is in alignment with organizational goals. Also, outsourcing of IT-related services makes a lot of business sense for the organization, since upfront investments in IT and the creation of IT infrastructure is an expensive undertaking.
Medical IT is beneficial for patients, too. Electronic Health Records, which is one of the technologies, ensures that patients can conveniently access their medical reports online, thus reducing paperwork. The same reports can be viewed by their doctor which helps them make quick decisions. This can come in handy, especially during emergency situations. In cases where a patient may have to see multiple specialists for a particular illness, each of them can view the same report, once they have access to view it.
Hence, the emergence of IT in healthcare is a boon for all the stakeholders and helps a healthcare organization achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in the industry.
Information Technology (IT) has truly played a pivotal role in the healthcare industry. As one of the largest industries across the globe, IT has ensured smooth functioning of critical operations and has helped achieve the required efficiency needed to run a healthcare organization. As in other industries, IT is helping public and private sector organizations worldwide offer excellent patient care, thereby converting ailing patients into healthy individuals.
IT in healthcare aims to provide information electronically. This can be stored, retrieved and transferred with ease. Multiple parties can access this information, thereby providing faster resolution to medical cases. Various technologies that have been developed to offer convenience to healthcare organizations are as follows:
Electronic Health Records (EHR)
Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS)
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS)
Automated Dispensing Machines (ADM)
The overall quality of healthcare is bound to improve when doctors, nurses, patients, etc. have the correct information at any given point in time. Quick decisions can be taken based on reports that can be conveniently accessed.
The strategy adopted for implementing IT solutions in healthcare organizations varies from one company to the other. Few companies would like to initially make heavy investments in IT infrastructure. This is where outsourcing of IT infrastructure to specialist companies comes into play. Outsourcing helps a healthcare organization focus on their core competency of providing quality patient care. Therefore, it is very important for organizations to leave the worries of healthcare IT support to companies who provide expert medical IT support.
Most important, IT has contributed significantly to simplifying the lives of patients. Access to correct information ensures that they don’t have to spend money on unnecessary tests. Appointments can be scheduled online for consultations with physicians and specialist doctors and for hospitalization as well. Reduced paperwork ensures the availability of old reports without wasting time looking for them in paper files. Entire families’ medical records can be accessed online with information on medical history, last tests conducted, etc.
The benefits provided by IT have truly been a blessing for the healthcare industry!