subject: Integrating Information Technology With Healthcare [print this page] The integration of information technology is a growing challenge across various industries today.Many institutions today are approaching healthcare IT consulting firms for assistance in designing systems which provide affordable solutions, enhance personnel productivity and maximize efficiency.
Companies can implement a healthcare IT infrastructure using wiredand wireless tools that help save time and labor costs and deliver dedicated support for issues.
The Evolution of Healthcare IT Infrastructure
Before the era of the Internet, healthcare systems revolved around safety and monitoring tools such as fire alarms and nurse call systems that relied on telephone systems. Today, a growing number of healthcare IT consulting firms are busy designing more comprehensive tools and applications that integrate andmeet hospital IT needs.
The introduction of computer based practitioner order entry (CPOE)systems, electronic medical record management tools, clinical decision support systems and interactive patient information enables hospitals and healthcare facilities toenhance their quality of clinical judgment and diagnostics, which results in happier patients and healthier communities.
Benefits of IT Integration
Information technologyintegrationbenefits are realized by enabling service providers to achieve the following
1.Reduce medication errors and adverse drug events with the use of tools that alert practitioners to drug interactions when prescribing medication.
2.Maintain health records and patient history, saving the hospital staff time and energy maintaining physical copies and consequently assisting doctors in medical decision making.
3.Integration of IT thathas enabled healthcare service providers to speed up treatment delivery leading to quicker patient turnaround and recovery.
4.Extensive integration of patient records with insurance that benefits patients with the availability of systematic records which expedite claim approvals.
Making the decision to invest in information technology for your healthcare institution may seem like an insurmountable task, but with the varied advantages it offers service providers as well as end users, it may be one investment that provides a higher rate of return than most.
