Information Technology (IT) has truly played a pivotal role in the healthcare industry. As one of the largest industries across the globe, IT has ensured smooth functioning of critical operations and has helped achieve the required efficiency needed to run a healthcare organization. As in other industries, IT is helping public and private sector organizations worldwide offer excellent patient care, thereby converting ailing patients into healthy individuals.
IT in healthcare aims to provide information electronically. This can be stored, retrieved and transferred with ease. Multiple parties can access this information, thereby providing faster resolution to medical cases. Various technologies that have been developed to offer convenience to healthcare organizations are as follows:
Electronic Health Records (EHR)
Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS)
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS)
Automated Dispensing Machines (ADM)
The overall quality of healthcare is bound to improve when doctors, nurses, patients, etc. have the correct information at any given point in time. Quick decisions can be taken based on reports that can be conveniently accessed.
The strategy adopted for implementing IT solutions in healthcare organizations varies from one company to the other. Few companies would like to initially make heavy investments in IT infrastructure. This is where outsourcing of IT infrastructure to specialist companies comes into play. Outsourcing helps a healthcare organization focus on their core competency of providing quality patient care. Therefore, it is very important for organizations to leave the worries of healthcare IT support to companies who provide expert medical IT support.
Most important, IT has contributed significantly to simplifying the lives of patients. Access to correct information ensures that they don’t have to spend money on unnecessary tests. Appointments can be scheduled online for consultations with physicians and specialist doctors and for hospitalization as well. Reduced paperwork ensures the availability of old reports without wasting time looking for them in paper files. Entire families’ medical records can be accessed online with information on medical history, last tests conducted, etc.
The benefits provided by IT have truly been a blessing for the healthcare industry!