Health Technology, Digital Healthcare
Article | September 7, 2023
EMRs have transformed how healthcare organizations handle patient data, improving efficiency and reducing errors. Hospitals can utilize them to enhance patient care and optimize management processes.
Contents
1. Understanding Hospital EMR Systems
1.1 EHRs vs. EMRs
2.Role of EMR in Improving Hospital Management System
3. Resolving Challenges in EMR Implementation
4. Revolutionizing HMS with Next-Gen EMR Innovations
5. Key Takeaways
1. Understanding Hospital EMR Systems
Electronic medical records (EMR) systems in hospitals, as digital adaptations of traditional paper charts, have become an integral part of modern healthcare. They encompass vital patient information, such as diagnoses, medical histories, lab results, medications, and physicians' notes. These systems enhance workflow efficiency by streamlining clinical processes, reducing manual tasks, and facilitating quick access to patient data. By eliminating paperwork and manual searching, EMR hospital software saves valuable time and allows healthcare providers to focus more on patient care. With improved access to comprehensive and accurate information, EMR systems contribute to enhanced patient care, treatment planning, and coordination among healthcare teams, ultimately leading to better outcomes for patients and healthcare institutions.
1.1 EHRs vs. EMRs
Electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs) are two electronic systems used in modern healthcare to manage patients' medical information. While both aim to improve the quality of healthcare and patient safety, EMRs stand out for their ability to enhance workflow efficiency, improve patient care and safety, and offer better control over data security and privacy. Compared to EHRs, EMRs are more straightforward to use, less expensive, and do not require as much implementation complexity. Choosing between EMRs and EHRs ultimately depends on the specific functions that best serve the needs of the medical facility. Medical practitioners can find EMRs to be a compelling option due to their affordability and simplicity, as well as their ability to manage medical records securely and effectively.
2. Role of EMR in Improving Hospital Management System
The Hospital Management System (HMS) covers three vital areas of hospital management, namely - Operations, Finance, and Clinical. The clinical aspect of the system includes EMR, which provides medical practitioners with a range of advantages, such as
• EMRs facilitate quick transfer of patient information between different departments.
• The digital record-keeping environment helps save a significant amount of space.
• EMRs can help practitioners increase the number of patients they can see, leading to improved productivity and workflow.
• Reduced errors in medical practice can result in better patient care and management of test results.
• EMRs can reduce operational costs, especially in relation to overtime labor and transcription services.
• EMRs can be customized and scaled to meet the specific needs of medical practice.
• EMRs allow for advanced clinical documentation and e-prescribing.
• EMRs enable more efficient and accurate billing processes for healthcare practices.
In terms of benefits to patients, EMRs can improve the treatment and diagnosis of diseases,facilitate rapid decision-making and coordinate care among medical professionals assigned to individual patients,with a reduced likelihood of significant errors in a patient's health record.
3. Resolving Challenges in EMR Implementation
EMR integration is vital as more healthcare organizations adopt hospital electronic medical records. However, the process can be time-consuming and challenging. Here, we will discuss the top six challenges of integrating EMRs as well as ways to overcome them
Standardizing Data Formats
Data compatibility is one of the primary challenges in integrating EMRs. The diverse formats in which various EMR systems store data can pose a significant hindrance to integration efforts. Addressing this obstacle requires identifying a viable approach for converting the data into a standardized format that is compatible with both systems.
Coding Incompatibility
Dealing with varying coding standards is another significant challenge that arises during EMR integration. The utilization of distinct coding standards across different EMR systems can pose a considerable challenge to the integration process. To overcome this hurdle, one must devise a solution to map the codes from one system to the codes in the other system.
Data Security
EMR integration raises significant security concerns that require attention. Securing the data and restricting access to only authorized users are critical aspects that necessitate appropriate security protocols. To ensure data safety and confidentiality, it is imperative to establish sound security measures.
Maintaining Data Quality
Integrating EMR systems carries a risk of data loss or corruption, making it crucial to prioritize data quality. To address this challenge, it is imperative to establish effective measures that ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data.
Ensuring Optimal Functionality
Following the integration of EMR systems, it is crucial to conduct rigorous testing and validation to ensure that the systems are functioning optimally. Despite the potential costs and time investments involved, it is necessary to prioritize this step to avoid complications and setbacks in the future.
Cost Management
Integrating EMR systems can be a significant financial undertaking, necessitating careful planning and budgeting. It is essential to factor in the costs of licenses, hardware, software, and services when embarking on an integration project. To address this challenge, one can explore cost-saving measures such as negotiating with vendors or implementing open-source software.
4. Revolutionizing HMS with Next-Gen EMR Innovations
In the coming years, emerging trends in EMR are expected to have a significant impact on the hospital management system. It is crucial for hospital EMR management to keep a close eye on these developments and stay informed of the latest technological advancements to provide optimal care to their patients. Adapting to the evolving landscape and staying current with these changes will be essential for hospital management systems to continue providing high-quality care and remain competitive in the healthcare industry.
Cloud Computing
It refers to the instant digitization of medical records and easy access to them. It is a significant trend in the development of electronic medical records (EMR). However, there are challenges in transferring data between databases. It proves to be a boon when medical staff is scarce as it allows easy access to patient records. Moreover, Cloud Computing in EMR technology can provide healthcare providers with quick access to patient data, which can enable them to provide timely and appropriate care.
RPA
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) refers to the computerization and digitization of data. In the healthcare industry, RPA can alleviate the burden of manual labor and provide more precise and reliable data. Sophisticated software and techniques are utilized to derive this data, addressing the problem of inefficiency in EMR without necessitating a complete overhaul of the system. RPA is also a time-saving process that enables medical staff to allocate their time more effectively to crucial tasks. Additionally, RPA can reduce the need for manual labor, resulting in cost savings.
Revamping EMR with IoT, AI & Voice Recognition
The integration of IoT, artificial intelligence, and voice recognition in healthcare has significantly aided in the development of EMR. This combination has the potential to transform the healthcare industry by providing precise and swift data, which could prove critical in saving numerous lives. By combining these three technologies, more accurate data can be obtained, further enhancing patient care.
Big Data and 6G Networking for Healthcare Analysis
Big data analysis helps generate medical records by collecting and analyzing data from multiple sources. This approach provides precise insights that benefit both patients and medical professionals. The sixth-generation network, currently in development, has the potential to transform healthcare. By improving the speed of data transfer and communication between remote locations, this new network will facilitate the digitization of medical records and lead to the development of improved EHR and EMR systems.
Wearable Devices for Better Patient Monitoring
Various wearables with sensors can monitor patients' daily activities and later be integrated with EMRs for better healthcare. The wearables track patients' medical activities and vitals like heart rate and temperature. Integrating these wearables with EMRs provides timely information to healthcare centers, leading to improved care and treatment.
5. Key Takeaways
EMRs have the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry by enhancing patient care quality, productivity, and outcomes. However, implementing EMRs entails significant changes that require strong leadership support, dedicated physician champions, efficient training and optimization, and flexibility from the implementation team. Targeted training and support for specific components of the EMR system, such as patient portals and documentation tools, can help users adopt the system more efficiently and reduce the impact on productivity. By following a well-planned implementation strategy, healthcare organizations can harness the benefits of EMRs while minimizing disruption to their operations. Overall, EMRs offer solutions that create a secure and efficient platform for healthcare facilities and patients, helping to promote better connectivity and healthier lifestyles. The demand for EMR systems is pressing and vital in the current scenario, as the developments in the EMR industry indicate that they will play a critical role in revolutionizing the medical sector.
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Health Technology, Digital Healthcare
Article | July 14, 2023
Across the spectrum of healthcare delivery – payor, provider, vendor, consumer, there is a land rush underway to embrace consumer-centric care. With tools like value-based care, chronic disease management, retail services, analytics, and remote patient monitoring, healthcare organizations are pivoting towards capabilities that provide a deeper understanding of patient behaviors and address the whole patient and not just the condition.
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Health Technology
Article | September 12, 2023
Anesthesia groups face major challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic: Financially strapped hospitals are increasingly unwilling or unable to pay anesthesia subsidies, and a shortage of qualified anesthesiologists and CRNAs is making recruitment extraordinarily competitive.
The good news is that anesthesia opportunities are plentiful in the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) market. As more inpatient procedures migrate to ASCs, anesthesia practices can help meet demand by working with hospitals and ASCs. A dual-contracting approach can help increase revenue, reduce operational risk, enhance recruiting leverage, and present opportunities for equity investments in ASC ventures.
Expanding ASC Case Mix
Multiple factors are driving increased ASC volume.Consumers have long been attracted to the convenience andfast turnaround timesASCs offer, and as the pandemic began to take hold and patients worried about becoming infected in hospitals, theirpopularityincreased.
But even before the pandemic hit, theuse of ASCs was growing,with the number of centers increasing 7.1% annually since 2016.1No doubt this was in part driven by Medicare restricting fewer surgeries to the inpatient only (IPO) setting. This year alone, Medicare is adding 11 orthopedic procedures to the ASC-approved list, including total knee arthroscopy (TKA) and total hip arthroscopy (THA).2Commercial payersare alsofuelingASC volume by promotingthis venue as a lower-cost option to members.Lastly, with more than 90% of ASCs at least partially owned by physicians,providers themselvesare driving moreprocedures to this setting.
Hospitals Become ASC Buyers
For years, hospitals viewed ASCs as direct competition and discouraged or even prohibited inpatient anesthesia practices from contracting with them. But that dynamic is changing as more hospitals become buyers or majority investors.
According to a recent survey, the percentage of hospitals and health systems planning to increase their investments in ASCs rose from 44% in 2019 to 67% in 2020, with 75% of 200-plus-bed hospitals already owning more than one ASC.3Hospitals view these investments as a way to enhance physician relationships and increase surgical capacity.
The Benefits of Practice Diversification
For anesthesia practices that elect to contract with both hospitals and ASCs, a key benefit is improved profitability, since average ASC case reimbursements are higher than average hospital cases due to better payer mix and more efficient room turnover. Groups that work with multiple organizations also reduce their institutional or operational risk by limiting their exposure to potential financial problems associated with a single contracted entity.
Practices likewise gain an edge when it comes to recruiting in today’s highly competitive anesthesiologist and CRNA market. One of the chief benefits of ASC involvement is being in a position to offer a better work-life balance by spreading call responsibilities across a larger physician call pool. The math is simple: If a hospital group has seven physicians, each must provide call coverage once a week. But if the group also contracts with five ASCs and brings on five additional doctors to staff the facilities, individual call responsibilities are reduced to once every 12 days.
The importance of mitigating call duties to improve the work-life balance for both experienced clinicians and new hires can’t be overstated, particularly as hospitals work to streamline OR throughput by increasing the number of surgical procedures. Groups can also explore a range of creative compensation approaches, including essentially selling call opportunities to newly hired or recent graduate anesthesiologists as additional avenues to attract qualified clinicians while easing the burden on senior anesthesiologists.
Equity Opportunities
Among the most intriguing aspects of ASC involvement is the potential for becoming an equity stakeholder in the business. Surgeons traditionally have been the primary drivers in creating ASCs, but new opportunities exist for anesthesiology groups, particularly if their hospital is buying an existing ASC or developing a new ASC venture and looking to diversify the ownership group.
The idea of anesthesia ownership isn’t as crazy as it might sound. Like surgeons, anesthesiologists are integral to the success of an ASC, and like surgeons, they get there early and stay late. It’s no secret that joint ownership can greatly improve relations between the practice and the hospital, since both are now working toward the same objectives.
Groups can also make more money. I met with a surgical group not long ago with a 49% ownership stake in a hospital. That equity generated an additional $80,000 per year for each physician partner. How much you can make, of course, depends on your specialty, your level of ownership, and the volume of business. But you’ll never know until you try.
Outside Expertise
The pandemic has unleashed numerous changes throughout healthcare, and where the dust will eventually settle isn’t entirely clear. But what is certain is that for organizations to remain viable, they’ll need to be flexible and look hard at nontraditional business opportunities. Contracting with both hospitals and ASCs represents one such approach for anesthesia groups.
If you’re interested in exploring this and other business possibilities but don’t know where to start, Change Healthcare can help. Our team of expert anesthesia practice-management consultants have an average of 18 years’ experience in the specialty. We can be engaged on a per-project basis or we can provide our consultant services as part of our turnkey anesthesia-billing solution.
Our anesthesia revenue cycle management services can be deployed either on our own proprietary anesthesia-billing platform or on your hospital billing system. Either way, we’ll provide seamless, end-to-end service.
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Article | December 29, 2020
Virtual reality (VR), the new technological advancement, is set to transform practices in the healthcare industry. According to Statista, it is estimated that, by 2022, the second largest market share of VR will be from the healthcare industry. Virtual reality in healthcare operates in various divisions to offer a greater quality of patient care and performance of medical professionals. For the health and healthcare industry, from the clinical process to the user, VR has a multitude of applications such as tutoring future doctors, generating new life-saving routines, etc.
Virtual reality in healthcare can confront the challenges in the industry, including efficiently handling huge healthcare databases, training and development of medical professionals, patient engagement, disease awareness, medical marketing, patient treatment, etc. Virtual reality in the healthcare market, according to a report from Reports and Data, is expected to reach USD 8.03 billion by 2027 from USD 2.06 billion in 2019.
This article discusses how virtual reality in healthcare is going to transform the industry by applying it in various divisions such as medical training, patient treatment, patient engagement, disease awareness, and medical marketing.
Virtual Reality in Healthcare Training
VR in healthcare can transport you to areas, inside of the human body, that otherwise would be impossible to access and view. Medical students currently use cadavers to learn, but cadavers do not react the same way live patients do. Also, cadavers are very difficult to get hold of. When VR is used in healthcare training, students can view even minute detail of all parts of the body. This view is possible in stunning 360° CGI reconstruction and creates training scenarios, which would replicate real surgical procedures.
Virtual Reality in healthcare can be used to deliver high-quality surgical training. Using virtual reality, 4K 360° video of real-life surgery is filmed from multiple angles. Then it is combined with CGI models of the anatomy, which is being operated. This advanced use of virtual reality in healthcare provides medical students with an interactive and immersive training experience.
Treatment
Patient Education
The ability of virtual reality in healthcare to see inside of the human body is useful for both doctors and patients. With the help of VR, doctors can take patients through their surgical plan. This is made possible by a virtual view of the anatomy and pathology of patients through a patient-specific 360° VR reconstruction. The result of this is an enhanced understanding of the treatment for patients and higher patient satisfaction.
Robotic Surgery
Robotic surgery is a recent innovation. A robotic device, such as a robotic arm, is used in a robotic surgery while being controlled by a human surgeon. This utilization of virtual reality in healthcare makes sure of fewer or no risk of complications in surgeries. This also makes the surgeon finish the surgery procedure faster with greater accuracy. The robotic devices are accurate with reduced blood loss, smaller incisions, and faster recovery.
Mental Health and Psychological Therapy
The unique ability of virtual reality technology to take you anywhere virtually can be utilized to create a powerful virtual reality simulation in healthcare of various scenarios in which psychological issues occur. This eliminates the necessity of a therapist accompanying patients to various scenarios such as a tall building or a crowded shopping center to provide proper counseling. These scenarios can be easily created with virtual reality technology in healthcare. Virtual reality in healthcare market has also been used to help autistic children in the classroom, curb memory loss, and gather data for dementia research.
Pain Management and Physical Therapy
Apart from psychological issues, the healing capabilities of VR are also used in pain management and physical treatment. According to a study by the UW Harborview Burn Centre and the University of Washington Seattle, a full VR immersion acted as a distraction for patients, who were undergoing physical therapy after a skin graft. This distraction subsequently reduced their feeling of pain.
Virtual reality in healthcare is also found to be effective in reducing recovery time in physical therapy. Patients performing their daily exercises in a virtual environment, find the task to be more fun than usual. It also keeps the patients focused and helps them keep their spirits up and recover sooner.
Patient Engagement
With the help of virtual reality in healthcare, patients can experience a virtual tour of the inside of their bodies before surgeries. This is a 360-degree, three-dimensional (3D) tour. This enables patients to know their body, anatomy, and pathology, before the surgical procedures. Virtual Reality Medical Visualization platform is developed for the tour.
These advancements with virtual reality in healthcare engage patients thoroughly, which reduces tension and lead to a speedy recovery.
Medical Marketing
The most popular and initial application of Virtual reality was marketing. Still, it continues to be one of the most effective and powerful marketing tools. The ability to use VR to project the future of healthcare is the most powerful tactic in healthcare marketing. With Virtual reality in healthcare, one of the most powerful tactics that you can have to market in the industry is to show people what changes they can expect when they start or stop exercising, lose or gain weight, the progress they make through cancer treatments, etc.
As the possibilities of virtual reality in healthcare are endless, healthcare professionals and providers can attract more patients, doctors with high caliber, and nursing staff to your facilities. When those are in short supply, virtual reality in healthcare can be used as an excellent healthcare marketing tool to ensure expected results.
Disease Awareness
AbbVie, a pharmaceutical research & development company, created an experience to educate medical professionals and raise awareness among them regarding the daily struggle Parkinson’s disease patients undergo. The experience was demonstrated at a pharmaceutical industry trade show. People put on a headset and experienced how Parkinson’s sufferers navigate a virtual supermarket, meeting with difficult moments when they come in contact with other people.
Such experiences with virtual reality in healthcare help raise awareness for various diseases among professionals and patients. Virtual reality presentations can be conducted to raise awareness of certain diseases.
The Future of Virtual Reality in Healthcare
A lot of applications of virtual reality in healthcare are in their nascent stage. In the coming years, virtual reality will be used more in healthcare, which will improve the effectiveness and accuracy of present procedures. It will also enhance the various human capabilities, for both patients and medical professionals. Virtual reality in healthcare has huge potential, but only limited by the ingenuity and creativity of people who create and apply the technology. VR will surely transform medical training, physical and psychological therapies, rehabilitation, mental health treatments, and patient engagement, among others.
Virtual reality in healthcare holds the power to transform the way doctors are trained and treatment is provided to patients. According to reports from various market research companies, especially research done by Grand View Research, predict that, by 2025, virtual reality in the healthcare market will grow to a whopping US$5.1 billion. The major driving forces behind this growth are Rapid technological advancements in the healthcare industry and driving demand for rehabilitation and simulation training.
Frequently asked questions
How is virtual reality used in healthcare?
In healthcare, virtual reality is used in treatment, training, and to raise awareness among medical professionals and patients regarding various diseases. Patients and doctors are made to view the inside of the human body using virtual reality.
Where is virtual reality used in healthcare?
Virtual reality is used in various sectors of healthcare to deliver high quality patient care. Treatment with the assistance of virtual reality also increases the efficiency of medical professionals. Virtual treating is applied in all aspects of medical treatment.
What are the benefits of virtual reality?
Virtual reality in healthcare saves both, the time and money of healthcare providers. It also makes the work of medical professionals more convenient. It eliminates unnecessary travel for treatments by making appropriate decisions.
How virtual reality is changing healthcare?
Virtual reality is changing the healthcare by providing different advanced ways of treatments, especially for physical and psychological therapy, surgeries, pain management, and stress management and by assisting the rehabilitation process effectively.
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