The problem of health care is not just one of cost, it’s one of infrastructure. Simply put, hospitals and practices operate inefficiently. The paper transfer of medical records leaves too much room for error, and the patient suffers in the interim.
Health technology is in deployment, but will take time to truly become protocol for hospitals. In the interim, practices are discovering some amazing benefits to electronic medical record adoption.
Billing
Patient billing is a perpetual source of headache for hospitals, usually because it involves so many cogs. Staff must speak with insurance companies and provide verification of treatment before being notified of whether they qualify for payment, and then the patient is billed the remainder. The process is a hassle that will be made much simpler as electronic medical records become the industry standard. When doctors can accurately record a patient’s diagnosis as it happens, the room for dispute shrinks and the process becomes more efficient.
Prescriptions
Prescriptions will be filed digitally, but for now doctors can use EMRs to record patient medication usage and treatment recommendations. Doctors can currently use EMR technology to lookup pharmacies for a patient, make recommendations and track the patient’s medications schedule remotely. In the future, this data may include patient check-ins to accurately record times that medication has been taken.
Diagnosis
A patient’s diagnosis based around EMR technology will incorporate historical data about past conditions and family knowledge as well. Doctors will have a top-level perspective of a patient’s medical history and list of common allergies. The patient will be relied upon less for data, hopefully increasing the accuracy of a prognosis.
Treatments
Treating a patient off-site will become more accurate as EMR technology incorporates with applications in the home. Patietns can already use their smartphones to track how many calories they eat or how often they exercise, in the future we may see technology that tracks blood pressure or changes to glucose levels in real-time. These sources of data will help doctors diagnose a patient as they are medicated, resulting in a more accurate treatment schedule with predictable outcomes.
Scheduling
Patient scheduling currently integrates with a doctor’s calendar using medical scheduling software. Simple additions like color coding help prioritize a doctor’s schedule and give staff easy reference when a patient calls in. The hope is that this reduces time on the phone, allowing staff more time to focus on patient needs in the practice itself. In the future, patients may schedule or even fulfill appointments online using video chat software.
Accuracy
With more methods of collecting data comes greater accuracy in that data. A patient can carry a pedometer, but an app designed to track a patient’s walking and eating habits serves benefit to both parties. Instead of hitting a number, the goals are more quantifiable. Health professionals hope that patients will be more enthusiastic about their own care, but that they will use these tools correctly. The data collected is only useful if the patient is honest, like a GPS tracker that is driven rather than walked around a park.
Efficiency
With greater access to data, doctors spend less time chasing after patient data. Things like patient history and family genes will be part of that profile in the future, giving doctors an at-a-glance understanding of what’s wrong with a patient.
The practices that focus most on preparation stand to gain the most from the technology. Build your health infrastructure with your staff in mind, encourage inclusion and sponsor programs that teach how the technology works.