Major Healthcare Trends and Importance of Wireless Technologies
Across globe, Healthcare sector is witnessing major attention due to emphasize on improving healthcare coverage, controlling costs of healthcare and increasing patient satisfaction. And this has resulted in a major transformation of the healthcare sector.
• Promoting Healthcare Quality and Safety, by avoiding medical errors, rewarding physician based on performance parameters and consistently delivering evidence based care. Pay for Performance (P4P) program links the financial remuneration of healthcare providers to the quality of care that they deliver instead of reimbursing the cost of resources utilized to provide the treatment. Wireless technology due its pervasive nature will play a critical role in achieving the quality and performance objective by mobilizing workflow, real-time access to information and sending timely alerts. Applications enabling medication safety are on the mobilization priority list for Healthcare providers. It is extremely important that the right medication is administered to patients in the right dosage at the right time. The sheer volume and complexity of health management in hospitals can make the task of administering patient medication quite challenging.
• Health record digitization and real time patient information access- Providers are getting convinced on Electronic Medical Records (EMR) adoption in order to improve quality of care. According to HIMSS Analytics Ambulatory Healthcare IT Survey 2008, nearly one-third of providers in an ambulatory setting reported having an electronic medical record system in 2008. But still usage of EMR technology is most prevalent among larger provider organizations. In near future mobile based EMR application will help to support higher quality care, while protecting patient privacy and cutting costs.
Cell phones and wireless technology will become the key driver for physician and patients for real-time pervasive information access. The benefits of doing so is best illustrated with this example. The readily available patient records on an attendant’s mobile phone can lead to faster and better decision making, which is extremely critical during a crisis. Consider for instance a patient who is allergic to some standard medication. If this vital piece of information is available over a handheld device to the attending nurse, it could potentially save the patient’s life during an emergency. The benefits accruing from mobilization of EHR can be easily measured by documenting the number of emergencies addressed using a mobile interface during a certain period. Speedy communication can be a life-saver during emergencies, for example, when an accident victim needs to be taken in for immediate surgery. If the medical team accompanying the patient in the ambulance can transmit the important details over a wireless device directly to the hospital’s records, they can begin the preparations for the emergency operation even before the patient arrives on the premises.
• Huge thrust on keeping healthcare cost affordable - Higher cost driving change in care delivery models viz Retail clinics, Patient centric medical homes (PCMH), Medical tourism to lower cost countries, Chronic Disease management program and increase e-prescription. All these changing delivery models will get huge benefit from leveraging wireless technology. Mobile prescription, appointment scheduling/alerts, Mobile Home monitoring, Mobile disease management etc will improve the quality of care and convenience and at the same time reduce healthcare cost.
