Nowadays we lean towards technology to fulfill our objectives like ordering food online, sending money home through UPI transfer, etc. Technological advancements are making a positive impact on healthcare, another crucial sector. Health is wealth. People spend millions of dollars getting proper healthcare services and leading healthier lives worldwide. Therefore, incorporating technology in healthcare can be highly beneficial for patients. They can get a wide range of benefits from health information technology.
What is Information Technology?
Information Technology (IT) is a highly-evolving sphere where computers, networks, software, and digital tools are utilized for data creation, storage, processing, and transmission. From the ancient era of using abacus to the present time of cloud computing, information technology has evolved beyond expectations and continues expanding its boundaries. The critical components of information technology are software, hardware, networks, databases, and human resources. Hardware refers to the physical devices instructed by the brain, i.e., software programs, coding and applications. The databases are responsible for storing and managing the data, i.e., information. In comparison, the networks are the communication system that allows all the other components for successful data transmission. As for human resources, i.e., IT professionals are responsible for managing information technology systems.
What is Patient Safety?
Patient safety is an integral aspect of healthcare that focuses on eliminating or minimizing the harm caused to healthcare service users during the delivery of care. Patient safety protocols aim to foster a safe healthcare environment for patients. The primary target is to meet their healthcare needs without adversely impacting their overall wellbeing. With globalization and increased immigration, the significance of patient safety has become more prominent.
Patient safety measures aim to reduce potential risks through safe and well-integrated healthcare processes. Preventable injury and medical error minimization are two key focuses of patient safety. Healthcare organizations use quality metrics, patient safety indicators, staff surveys, etc., to maintain patient safety during service provision.
Why is patient safety important?
Patient safety is undoubtedly an essential aspect of today’s healthcare. There are several points to consider,
Medical Errors
As the number of medical errors mounting up around the world, the need for patient safety measures has become more evident. Reportedly, medical errors account for approximately 44,000 to 98,000 deaths per year, highlighting the urgent need for patient safety today. Most of these medical errors are generated from poorly developed or poorly managed medical records.
These are responsible for navigating clinicians in the wrong direction, eventually leading to improper care delivery. Medical scribes play a pivotal role in reducing such cases. ScribeMedics provides a virtual medical scribe service capable of managing the medical paperwork with clinicians without any errors. This service allows clinicians to offer well-integrated care to patients.
Safe Healthcare Culture
A positive patient safety culture is needed to address healthcare gaps and generate a culturally safe atmosphere in healthcare settings. A safe healthcare environment will be capable of providing error-free healthcare services to healthcare users. Moreover, healthcare staff needs to be aware of the components of culturally safe healthcare so that medical errors can be reduced among patients from varied ethical and cultural backgrounds.
Financial Implications
Failures related to patient safety measures cost around $19 billion per year for the US healthcare system. The amount mostly includes hospital overstay related costs and expenditure associated with the legal actions undertaken due to adverse events at the healthcare settings. These financial implications are responsible for increasing the healthcare burden of the country.
Government Investments
The Government of the US has invested billions of dollars in health information technology for the overall improvement of patient safety measures across various healthcare settings around the country. These investments aim to strengthen the communication among the healthcare providers as well as the healthcare data management. Government funding is the key source to integrate health information technology.
Patient Engagement
The care plan becomes more effective when the treatment process involves the patient. In such cases, patients have a 15% lower chance of coming across any harm. For effective patient engagement, it is essential to obtain patient feedback and integrate it into the care process. It is crucial to empower the patients by using necessary information to boost patient safety levels. Patient engagement helps to increase patient empowerment. Apart from that, it also enables them to make well-informed decisions regarding their health.
Health Information Technologies
With the soaring healthcare burden, it has become integral to use information technology in healthcare to ensure that people from all over the world can get healthcare benefits in a seamless way. Health Information Technology is the electronic system that is managed by healthcare professionals for health information sharing and management. Health Information Technology aims to improve patient safety through enhanced quality of care. It also enables timely access to the relevant healthcare information to streamline healthcare operations. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are the latest additions to enhance the effectiveness of health information technology. The main components of health information technology are,
- Electronic Health Records/ EHRs
- Personal Health Records/ PHRs
- Telehealth Platforms
- E-Prescribing
Health Information Technology for Patient Safety
Health information technology efficiently helps to enhance the quality of patient safety measures. This is essential to meet the healthcare goals associated with patient safety. There are certain key mechanisms which are used to improve patient safety. Mechanisms like error minimization, improved communication, and well-informed clinical decision-making are important in this context.
Electronic Health Records
Electronic Health Records refer to digital medical records that help with the centralization of patient information and the improvement of communication among healthcare providers. It also helps reduce errors linked to inaccessible or incomplete data. These digital health records enable more efficient care coordination through the provision of a comprehensive view of the medical history of the patient. Besides enhancing data accuracy, EHRs improve care delivery by facilitating continuity of care. These records help to maintain patient data so that it can be easily accessed and used whenever required.
Despite fostering an environment appropriate for open communication between healthcare providers and patients, The EHRs also focus on data confidentiality. These health records revolve around components like medical history, patient demographics, medications, immunization status, and information on allergies. It also includes lab test results, vital signs, radiology images, and billing information. To sum up, EHR aims to improve the quality of care while stressing patient safety.
Clinical Decision Support Systems
Clinical Decision Support System is known for offering treatment guidelines to clinicians on the basis of real-time data. This practical tool helps them to reduce adverse events associated with safety and encourage alignment with best healthcare practices. For example, enhancing medication safety through alerts related to potential medication interactions. The vital health information technology tool assists clinicians in making well-informed healthcare decisions.
This system analyzes the patient information efficiently. Based on that analysis, the patients receive evidence-based clinical recommendations. The key features of the Clinical Decision Support Systems are alerts and reminders, guidelines and protocols, and diagnostic support. This health information technology can also be integrated into electronic health records to access critical patient data seamlessly.
Predictive Analytics
Artificial intelligence has become one of the most essential aspects of health information technology. Predictive analytics is helpful for successfully identifying patients at risk. This allows clinicians to come up with proactive interventions to manage the health complications of such patients. It identifies patients at a higher risk for readmission, which helps to plan early intervention for them. Therefore, hospital admissions are also averted, reducing the overall healthcare burden.
It plays a pivotal role in the early detection of outbreaks through the identification of relevant patterns by incorporating machine learning algorithms. As the symptoms are identified early, the outbreak can be stopped by taking needful measures before it escalates to an alarming situation. Predictive analytics can help with the standardization of event reporting, allowing prompt healthcare actions. Predictive analytics help with the prevention of adverse healthcare events. It improves resource allocation in healthcare settings. It also enhances clinical decision support. In other words, by integrating predictive analytics in healthcare, adverse events can be avoided, resulting in a higher level of patient safety.
Interoperability
Improved data-sharing facilities across various healthcare systems can reduce the chances of unwanted medical errors. When the patient needs to be transferred to other medical facilities for access to critical care, improved data sharing allows all healthcare providers to access the same patient data. Seamless data sharing helps to minimize the hassle associated with care transition and escalates on-point care delivery.
Through this data exchange facility, healthcare providers can access patient information such as medical records, lab results, treatment plans, medical history, etc. The seamless communication among healthcare professionals boosts the effectiveness of care coordination. It also reduces healthcare costs by reducing duplication of medical tests and medical errors.
The regulatory support gained from this technology can help overcome issues like information blockage. As patients can easily access their medical records, it boosts patient empowerment and engagement. To sum up, interoperability allows us to build a connected healthcare ecosystem. This is crucial to enhance patient safety and effectiveness of care. This is helpful for supporting public health initiatives.
Patient Engagement Tools
Health information technology not only helps in seamless care delivery, but also boosts patient engagement, thereby strengthening patient safety. IT in health allows patients to seamlessly access their medical records as well as health resources. This will enable them to actively participate in care planning and clinical decisions. All these eventually result in more effective patient outcomes.
There are patient engagement tools are generally used for improving the qaulity of care delivery. Patient portals, wearable devices, telehealth services, automated health reminders, and educational resources are some of the significant tools. These tools boost patient involvement in healthcare services. Patient portals enable the patients to communicate with healthcare providers. It allows them to schedule health appointments and access their medical records. Wearable devices allow users to take charge of their health and opt for early interventions.
Telehealth services allow users to remotely consult with healthcare providers, especially the ones with chronic conditions or mobility issues. Hence, health information technology is removing barriers and fostering health equity. Comprehensive health education resources help to boost patient awareness of their condition and improve health literacy. With automated health reminders, timely medication and doctor visits are enabled. Overall, these tools create a patient-centered environment to foster an optimum level of care delivery.
Measurable Patient Outcomes
Health information technology enables a more efficient patient outcome through integration of technological advancements. The measurable patient outcomes can be improved through the use of IT in health. With the surge of technological advancements in the medical field, the recovery phases have been shorter. The increased quality of patient outcome has reduced the hospital stays of the patients. Also, the advanced medical technology has made the treatment process more efficient, thereby reducing the need for hospital readmissions. Lower hospital readmissions are directly linked to better patient outcomes and patient safety. Lesser medical errors is another key measurable patient outcome to understand the underlying factors associated with patient safety. As the use of health information technology has lowered the prevalence of medical errors, it has made a direct impact on the patient outcome. With lesser medical errors, patients are receiving improved quality of care, thereby ensuring greater levels of patient outcome. This is also making a positive impact on patient safety. Hence, the use of IT in health is improving these measurable outcomes, enriching the healthcare industry immensely.
Mobile Health Apps – A Key Health Information Technology Tool
With the surge of internet and smartphone use, various mobile health applications are coming to light. Mobile health applications are one of the integral contributions of health information technology to uplift the quality of patient care. These mobile health applications focus on improving patient access to healthcare facilities, strengthening the healthcare system. These mobile health apps immensely benefit users and foster a safe health environment. Some of the significant benefits of using mobile health applications are,
Patient Awareness
Mobile health applications allow users easy access to health-related information. It enables them to stay aware of their overall health conditions and make well-informed clinical decisions. Mobile health applications also contain informative blogs or articles that help to increase the health awareness level of the patients.
This increased awareness level allows them to maintain their health and stay in good shape to prevent health issues. With their increased knowledge level, they also become capable of providing necessary healthcare support to their family and friends. Overall, these applications foster a knowledgeable healthcare environment that is responsible for providing high-quality care to patients.
Health Tracking
The mobile health applications allow the users to monitor their overall health through real-time monitoring. It helps to track crucial signs and symptoms to enable a prompt action to tackle the health issue. Through the mobile health applications, users can keep track of their vitals and check its association with relevant health conditions.
This enables early detection as well as early healthcare intervention. These are specifically beneficial for the people with mobility issues, older adults, and people with chronic conditions. The health tracking allows them to keep an eye on their health condition without having to visit a clinician.
Medication Management
It is crucial to take timely medication to speed up the recovery process. However, if you miss your medication once, it may have an adverse impact on your recovery, making the recovery phase longer and more complex. For critical health issues like Cancer, medication is the key to good health. With mobile health applications, medication management becomes more straightforward.
The mobile health applications notify the users about their pending medications so they never miss a dose. These mobile applications not only improves medication adherence but also educates the patients about the significance of timely medication. These applications enable the patients to take charge of their recovery process and foster patient empowerment.
How to Reduce Medical Errors Using Health Information Technology?
When it comes to maintaining patient safety, one of the root causes behind poor patient safety is medical errors. Medical errors, which are primarily unintentional, are responsible for affecting crucial aspects like patient safety. The medical transcription services provided by ScribeMedics can help to reduce unwanted medical errors. Information technology is highly effective in reducing medical errors and improving patient safety. Several other steps are of great help for avoiding medical errors.
Computerized Physician Order Entry
The Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) system helps reduce medical errors associated with prescriptions. This system ensures the completeness and legibility of the orders. Reportedly, when combined with clinical decision support, the CPOE can minimize serious medical errors by 83%. The CPOE streamlines the order process, which helps reduce patients’ total wait time. It escalates the order transmission to labs and pharmacies with improved efficiency.
Barcode Medication Administration
The Barcode Medication Administration (BCMA) allows the healthcare staff to maintain the correct administration of medication and drugs to patients by scanning the patient IDs and medicines. The system helps to reduce the medical errors associated with wrong drug administration and medication. Reportedly, BCMA reduces these errors by 54% to 87%.
The barcodes on the patients’ wristbands verify identities and analyze whether the patient is getting proper medication. It also helps assess whether the given medications match the patient’s condition. It keeps nurses from administering medicines to the wrong patients. This system immediately records the administered drugs to maintain overall accountability and seamlessness of the entire process.
Automated Dispensing Systems
Medication dispensing is crucial to ensuring the overall effectiveness of the treatment process. Automated Dispensing Systems, or ADS, help to streamline medication distribution. This minimizes the risk of medication dispensing-related human errors. ADS filters out the chances of miscommunication and selection of the wrong drugs, specifically during surgeries.
Its real-time monitoring allows the management of inventory and medication usage. ADS helps healthcare providers align with safety protocols by alerting them about recalled or expired drugs. ADS also minimizes the response time during urgent medication administration by bridging the gap between medications and the point of care.
Conclusion
Patient safety is a serious concern. Health information technology allows healthcare professionals to ensure patient safety by reducing medical errors and fostering a safe care environment. ScribeMedics supports clinicians by reducing their paperwork so that they can focus more on their patients. IT in health is also crucial to boost patient awareness and empowerment, thereby strengthening patient safety measures. With the incorporation of IT in health, patients can now take charge of their health and wellbeing. Hence, health information technology impacts patient safety in such a way that it helps to bring the best out of the healthcare system.
FAQs
Healthcare information technology is basically the result of the application of information technology in healthcare systems. In healthcare information technology, information processing is the key, and it involves both software and hardware. The prime objective of HIT is to store and process patient data for future use. HIT allows seamless data sharing, data storing, and data retrieving to reduce the burden of healthcare professionals during care delivery. The clinicians can easily access patient data from HIT tools and provide effective treatment plans to the patients.
Patients can also efficiently access their medical information using healthcare information technology. Patient data such as lab test results, medical bills, prescriptions, etc. can be stored and shared promptly. In addition to this, healthcare information technology boosts patient engagement. It also empowers them to make well-informed clinical decisions. HIT has simplified the care delivery process through the seamless transition of patient data among various healthcare systems. It is incredibly beneficial for critical patients who need to be transferred to other health facilities for urgent care. To sum up, healthcare information technology has boosted the overall effectiveness of healthcare services across the globe.
The integration of technology into healthcare is the best thing that could ever happen. With the help of advanced technology, surgeons across the globe have become capable of performing complex life-saving surgeries. This has saved millions of lives. We can combat life-threatening health conditions such as Cancer through the use of technological advancements. Revolutionary medical innovations have come to light after the integration of technology in health care. Technology has also improved the diagnosis sector. Advanced medical tools are invented that allow healthcare providers to detect life-threatening conditions at an early stage.
This has brought remarkable progress in the care delivery. With early detection of critical illnesses, the recovery rate has escalated due to early interventions. Life-threatening diseases are no longer threats to us as the technological advancements have provided us with needful medications and tools to fight back. With electronic medical records being easily available, treatment processes are simplified and less time-consuming now. ScribeMedics has taken off some paperwork-related load from the clinicians with their virtual medical transcription services, another effective outcome of HIT.
Health information technology has enabled a higher quality of patient safety through its various associated factors. The primary barrier to adequate patient safety is medical errors. Medical errors are accountable for reducing the overall efficiency of patient safety across healthcare facilities worldwide. With health information technology in healthcare, it is possible to minimize the risks affecting patient safety. Health in IT has unveiled facilities like mobile health applications, online consultations, digital medical records, etc. All these innovations have enabled individuals to access healthcare facilities from even the remote parts of the globe.
There was a time when accessing medical records was a difficult task. With health information technology, it has become easier for clinicians to access the medical records of patients and provide care plans accordingly. Health portals enable patients and healthcare providers to access medical records as needed. Furthermore, patients can also access their medical records to stay aware of their health condition. Health information technology has boosted patient engagement and empowerment. This has enabled a safe care environment where patients can participate in their health assessments. Increased patient engagement can improve patient outcomes, thereby improving the quality of healthcare services.
Health informatics is a vital aspect of healthcare settings at present time. With the help of health informatics, care delivery to critical patients has become more efficient and prompt. There was a time when healthcare users needed to drive for hours to reach the hospital for a health consultation. With online consultation, it has become easier to access healthcare facilities, even from the remotest parts of the globe. Older adults, who are living alone, can go for doctor visits as per their convenience. They can talk virtually to a physician from the comfort of their homes for minor health issues. This facility has immensely benefited people who suffer from chronic health conditions or are disabled, improving patient safety.
There was a time when patients had very little knowledge of health issues. This resulted in poor quality of mental health among the patients and families. With health informatics, the availability of health education resources has increased. This has boosted patient awareness, which has uplifted their quality of mental health and eventually helped with the recovery process. Health informatics have made it easier to share patient data across various medical platforms, improving the quality of care delivery by minimizing medical errors. ScribeMedics works towards enhancing patient safety through accurate and error-free transcription services.
Health information technology has shaped healthcare services in an efficient way. Well-integrated health information technology can reduce the total recovery time. It will also reduce hospital overstays, reducing the overall healthcare burden. With lower hospital overstays, hospital beds can accommodate more patients in a shorter time span. With faster discharge, critical patients can get access to hospital beds and needful care.
Health information technology has proven to be beneficial for the healthcare providers as well as healthcare users. Healthcare providers can access health records of their patients to enable optimum level of care. As for the healthcare users, patient awareness increases through effective use of health information technology. Hence, health information technology has navigated the healthcare system towards a positive direction. ScribeMedics is also transforming the healthcare system with their innovative services.
Among all the information technologies that have been integrated in the healthcare system, interoperability has made the most efficient impact on patient safety. Data exchange facility from interoperability has enabled the clinicians to provide efficient care to the critically ill patients. Most of the time, the critical patients require urgent medical care. For that, they are transferred to different healthcare facilities where the required healthcare service is available.
During this transition, data exchange becomes a crucial factor as there is a time constraint. Critical patients with complex health conditions require prompt medical interventions. Hence, seamless data sharing enables the clinicians to access patient data and plan the intervention accordingly. Thus, care provision to critically ill patients have become more seamless with interoperability.
The new technology is all about digital medical records that are easy to store, share, and access. This technology has enabled healthcare providers to provide high-quality patient care through electronic medical records. These records are important to ensure the overall recovery of the patients. In earlier times, medical recordkeeping was a difficult task with even more difficult data management. With technological advancements, it has become easier to access medical records and access it during critical times. During accidents or critical health conditions, clinicians can access these medical records to enable high-quality patient care. Digital records, like Electronic Health Records, play a pivotal role in determining the treatment plan for patients as per their health conditions.