September 2, 2020

Contribution of IT in Healthcare Sector

According to research done by IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation) Healthcare sector in India is expected to reach the US $280 in 2020 driven by rising income, better healthcare awareness, lifestyle diseases, and increasing access to insurance. The government of India aims to increase healthcare spending to 3% of GDP by 2022. Information technologies are also a key contributor to the growth of the healthcare sector.

Information technology has accelerated the healthcare industry with its healthcare IT solutions. They helped several businesses recognize organizational goals and automate the process by the following the principles of effectiveness, usually customer-related and lucid communication.

Healthcare industry is impacted in many ways by technology like diagnostic tools, new and cutting-edge treatment, and the Remote consultation portals. It is also used to develop electronic medical records (EMR). This technology can convert medical information into a single database. Not only does this technology reduce paper costs, but It also allows healthcare providers to access pertinent patient information such as medical history, medications, insurance information, etc. EMRs hold great promise in the clinical arena.

Need for IT in Healthcare

The ability of the human brain to memorize things has remained flat, but the medical knowledge that needs to be assimilated is increasing geometrically. It is difficult for the human brain to memorize all the information at a given period of time. With the help of a computer, we can store massive amounts of data and can retrieve it when required. Rapid technology advancements and continuous increase in performance indexes have made information technology (IT) applicable at all levels in a healthcare organization and patient management.

It is difficult for physicians to keep update themselves salves with the rapidly changing state of the medical knowledge and to understand what these changes mean for the treatment of specific patients. In such a situation, the IT-based decision support system could help doctors to help to learn about the new treatments.

Health Information Technology (Health IT) allows comprehensive management of medical information and its secure exchange between Healthcare consumers and providers.

IT tools in Healthcare

There is a number of tools available in the market to improve the healthcare sector. Health IT programs serve to bring it to individual stakeholders such as providers, patients, hospitals, Pharmacists, and others in the industry. These health IT tools support in specific areas and promote better, more efficient health care through the use of today’s technologies. Commonly used health IT tools are discussed below.

1. Electronic Medical Records (EMR): Electronic Medical Records(EMR) provides a clinician with real-time access to patient information, such as patient medical condition, visits to health providers, images and reports of diagnostic procedures, schedule of service, allergies and contact information to caregivers and a complete longitudinal record of care evidence-based on decisions support tools that can be used to aid clinicians in decision making. A fully integrated EMR enables a physician to update clinical and other information about a patient on a continuous basis. The EMR can automate and streamline a clinician’s workflow, ensuring that all clinical information is communicated. The EMR can support the collection of data for uses such as billing, quality management, outcome reporting, public health disease surveillance, and reporting.
2. Clinical Decision Support (CDS): Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) is a health information technology system that is designed to provide physicians and over health professionals with Clinical Decision Support (CDS), that is assistance with clinical decision-making tasks. A working definition is proposed by Robert Hayward of the center for health evidence: “Clinical decisions support system link health observations with health knowledge to health influence health choices by clinicians for improved health care.” CDSS constitutes a major topic in artificial intelligence in medicine.
3. Computerized Physician Order Eatery (CPOE): The benefits of CPOE include safer, more consistent patient-centered care that is lasting and measurable. Efficiencies of the system support better patient safety and quality of care. Our experience demonstrates the importance of efficiency in delivering health care appropriately.
4. Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing): E-Prescribing is the computer-based electronic generation, transmission, and filling of a medical prescription, taking the place of the paper, and faxed prescriptions. E-prescribing allows a physician, Physician assistant, Pharmacist, nurse practitioner to use digital prescription software to electronically transmit a new prescription or renewal authorization to a community or mail-order pharmacies. It outlines the ability to send error-free, accurate, and understandable prescriptions electronically from the health providers to the pharmacy. E-Prescribing is meant to reduce the risks associated with traditional prescription
5. Health Information Exchange: Electronic health information exchange (HIE) allows doctors, nurses, pharmacists, other health care providers, and patients to appropriately access and securely share a patient’s vital medical information electronically – improving the speed quality, safety, and cost of patient care.
6. Personal health record: Personal Health Record (PHR) is an online record owned by you. It allows you to add and organize your lifelong health information and provides the ability to make appropriate parts of it available to those who need it such as loved once healthcare professionals, and other health organizations.
7. Telehealth: Telehealth is the use of digital information and communication technologies, such as computer and mobile devices, to access health care services remotely and manage your healthcare. These may be technologies you use from home or that your doctor uses to improve or support health care services.
8. Remote Monitoring: Remote patient monitoring is a technology to enable monitoring of outside of conventional clinical settings, such as in the home or in a remote area, which may increase access to care and decrease healthcare delivery costs.
9. Clinical Data Processing: Clinical data management process is a critical process in clinical research, which leads to the generation of high quality, reliable, and statistically sound data from clinical trials. Clinical data management ensures the collection, integration, and availability of data at appropriate quality and cost.

Conclusion: With the help of IT, it is possible to transform healthcare and improve patient safety by leveraging information technology to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and effectiveness of the healthcare system. Implementing and supporting IT applications require skills, hence physicians must make significant changes to both office and physician workflow and take time away to learn how to use IT. In India, today Healthcare is inefficient, error-prone, and of variable quality. Hospitals are slowly moving towards clinical information systems, which helps them to lower their cost, rise to quality, and to improve their cash flow.

Future Scope: Information technology has the potential to substantially improve healthcare by bringing decision support to the point of care, by providing vital links, and by allowing routine quality measurement to become reality. Healthcare IT markets are fastest growing where the hospitals across the country are leveraging the power of IT to provide the best of healthcare services.