| Technology links healthcare providers for community success and patient safety. | ||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
| By Vicki Powers |
||||||||||||||||
| Article Contents: New Needs, New Tools | Greater Efficiencies | Better Connections | Improved Patient Care | The Next Steps for Healthcare |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
 Perhaps more than any other industry or sector, the healthcare community relies on the communication of information—data on everything from patients' medical histories to possible drug interactions and lab results to the most accurate and recent medical research.Of the more than 30 billion individual healthcare communications in the United States each year, approximately 90% are still sent via fax, surface mail, or phone, according to recent research conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and HIMSS Analytics. Information technology provides an opportunity to improve the quality, efficiency, and cost of healthcare by improving the accuracy, reliability, and speed of health-related communications between healthcare providers and their patients—and communication among healthcare practitioners. To a greater extent than ever, networking technology plays a critical role in enabling healthcare providers to access and transmit information securely. Information technology allows healthcare practitioners to collaborate more effectively, since they are better equipped to access information at the right time and in the right place, improve the healthcare workflow, and ultimately provide patients with the safest, most efficient clinical environment and care. In particular, networking technology enables access to new applications such as electronic health records (EHRs) and online prescriptions at the point of care, further improving communications and enhancing patient care. "Mobility and information at the point of care is becoming increasingly important for the delivery of care," says John Nebergall, vice president of e-prescriptions at Allscripts, a provider of clinical software solutions. "While only 15% to 20% of [practicing physicians in the United States] have access to electronic health records today, that number is expected to reach 50% in the next 18 to 24 months."
New Needs, New Tools Using Networks to Connect Caregivers Several forces contribute to the dynamic growth of information technology in today's healthcare environment—in particular, payers' increased demand for quality reporting, heightened focus on cost containment and efficiency, a greater level of government interest in healthcare issues, and the Bush administration's appointment of Dr. David Brailer as National Coordinator for Health IT Technology. Brailer's ultimate goal is to create "community health networks" that use networking technology to link physicians, nurses, radiologists, and other caregivers in hospitals, clinics, and elsewhere. "We know that information technology supports treatment choices for consumers and enables better and more cost-effective care," Brailer said in a recent speech. "It does this by supporting and helping the caregivers and professionals who make a real difference in the lives of Americans. Health IT not only adds value to the way people lead their lives, but it gets more out of our investment in healthcare overall. Health IT can help the U.S. become more globally competitive—that is, it can increase our productivity and our standard of living at the same time." Efforts to support these dual objectives are under way, but much work remains to be done. "Clinicians are indeed using EHRs today, but some clinicians are adopting EHRs more readily than others, creating an adoption gap based on the size of practice," Brailer said. "Larger practices—by their very largeness—have more resources, are better positioned to acquire information technology, and have greater capacity to mitigate risks. . . . However, if we believe that EHRs improve health status—as evidence says they do—then we have an obligation to level the playing field so that all practices and hospitals can adopt these life-saving tools." Despite the challenges that many smaller healthcare providers face, many are making significant progress toward the goal of integrating information and communications by adopting innovative technology approaches through specific applications, including EHR systems, wireless connectivity, videoconferencing, and electronic prescriptions.
Greater Efficiencies Suncoast Medical Clinic Transitions to Online Processes Costly inefficiencies in the healthcare system represent one of the biggest areas of concern for today's provider organizations, according to Josh Adler, CEO of Suncoast Medical Clinic. Suncoast—a Floridabased system with 53 physicians in 21 specialties at its main campus and five satellite locations—is in the process of adopting electronic processes for the completion of clinical and administrative tasks, which will make manual record keeping obsolete and—hopefully—improve the overall quality of patient care. Threadfin Business Solutions, a Cisco registered partner, worked with Suncoast as an independent analyst to recommend an appropriate network infrastructure to support the clinic's present and long-term technology needs. Adler believes it is imperative that physicians take a serious look at healthcare technology. Industry experts, including Adler, are looking for ways to overcome immediate challenges, including:
"I believe [today's] technology is consistent with what the physicians feel comfortable working with," Adler says. "Technology is a huge force in efficiencies, but it's also a huge force in better patient care. It enables physicians to provide better-quality outcomes for their patients because they have access to real-time data, which is critical in treating patients." When Adler arrived at Suncoast in 2004, he focused on bringing the best physicians into the clinic and creating an environment conducive to exceptional patient care. According to Adler, access to information is the critical component that allows this to happen. All of Suncoast's technology efforts support the clinic's underlying mission: to create the most efficient environment for physicians to treat patients that in turn enable better outcomes. In 2004, Suncoast upgraded its technology infrastructure to support networked applications to digitize workflow processes such as human resources, managed care, billing and collections, transcription, and records management. Adler describes Suncoast physicians as a progressive group that is both technology-savvy and technology-hungry. Most medical groups do not spend money freely, yet Suncoast's group partners voted unanimously to approve the continued investment in technology. With a core Internet Protocol (IP) network in place to securely connect its main clinic and remote locations, Suncoast is currently implementing a laboratory information system (LIS) to link the facilities. This system will replace an eight-step manual process with a four-step electronic process that features integration with—and remote access to—laboratory results. Eventually, Suncoast will add an application that will enable physicians to electronically prescribe medication and check for drug interactions. Suncoast is also introducing an physician order-entry (POE) system to enable providers to order diagnostic tests online, eliminating the need to rely on phone calls or a paperbased process. Adler is convinced that once the applications are in use by the end of this year, the resulting cost savings will be significant. An EHR implementation is the "end game" for Suncoast, according to Adler. He envisions the future as one in which the entire healthcare community is connected through the effective use of communications technology. "I think hospitals that work with physician group practices—particularly when their respective systems are integrated—will have a clear competitive advantage over those hospitals that don't offer that connectivity," Adler says. "All the pieces are connected—hospital and group practices—and they can access data wirelessly and remotely. Those kinds of initiatives are very important for the future."
Better Connections Foundation Surgery Affiliates Prepares for Growth The management team at Foundation Surgery Affiliates, an Oklahoma-based network of two surgical hospitals and 18 ambulatory surgery centers (most of which are located in Texas), wants to maximize its ability to provide the best possible patient care. In 2004, the group set a goal of creating a converged voice, video, and data network. In addition, the management team set out to introduce videoconferencing and wireless capabilities, with the goal of fostering a higher level of collaboration and greater degree of flexibility for its staff. Currently, the organization's primary technological challenges relate to its expansion plans to add 50 locations to its existing network over the next five years. "It's all about having the available and required information as we perform cases in our surgery centers to maximize patient care," says Mike Panas, CIO at Foundation. "That includes providing information about that patient—when and where it's needed—in a seamless and timely environment." Panas believes that the physician partners expect Foundation to help provide a superior technology platform for the surgery centers and hospitals. And according to Panas, the company expects to deliver on that promise. "They are very attuned to what we're doing with technology, and they see it daily," Panas explains. "They ask all the right questions about it; it's an important component of the service they provide to their patients." Foundation Surgery Affiliates began its technology upgrade in May 2003 by creating a converged network in its new corporate office with IP telephony and 100 phones. The organization has gradually extended that effort to include the surgery centers; its network now includes 500 IP and mobile IP phones. In September 2004, Foundation started to consolidate its network infrastructure as part of an ongoing effort to enable new features and applications as soon as they become available. These features and applications include Cisco MeetingPlace, Advanced Cisco Device Management, and Cisco IP/TV (which delivers live, high-quality video content to desktops, classrooms, and meeting rooms). Foundation also migrated to wireless connectivity, which gives its 700 surgeons and partners the option to use laptops or PDAs to access medical records in their Amarillo and Houston facilities. Now, physicians can easily access patient health information in a secure environment. Foundation has also extended wireless Internet access to patients, guests, and family members. A new videoconferencing solution allows employees to communicate point-to-point or point-to-multipoint for conferencing, management meetings, and training sessions. A nurse, for example, can discuss and demonstrate a specific procedure in order to provide in-service training to nurses at all Foundation facilities. Panas says that Foundation has significantly reduced its training and travel expenses by using this audio/video solution. "Reduced travel time will allow us to spend more of that time in training sessions," Panas explains. "The return on our investment will be paid in 11 months, just related to travel." The converged network provides multiple benefits relating to both cost and service delivery. Because the systems are integrated, Panas can respond more quickly to support the IT needs of Foundation's hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. "That's the reason we have a converged network," Panas says. "Consistent products and a converged network let us minimize the length of time that a help request is out. For us, the primary goal is to continue to enhance and perform well from a patient care standpoint."
Improved Patient Care Wilkes Regional Upgrades to Support New Applications Like many other community hospitals, North Carolina–based Wilkes Regional Medical Center relied on an aging network infrastructure. In order to improve patient care and keep pace with other organizations, the facility decided to upgrade its information technology to bolster security, mobility, and performance. At the same time, the center hoped to build a foundation for supporting emerging medical applications such as mobile nursing carts, EHR, and picture archival and communication systems (PACS). Internetwork Engineering, a Cisco Silver Certified Partner, helped Wilkes redesign and upgrade its entire IT infrastructure, which involved the implementation of a Cisco wired and wireless network and a migration to a Microsoft active directory server architecture. "Ultimately, we want to improve patient care by having our network up all the time," says Doug Brown, controller at Wilkes Regional, a facility that comprises a 130-bed main hospital, off-campus physician office, wellness center, and home health services. "If your network is up 99% of the time, you don't lose productivity in the hospital. We also don't have to expend as many resources to keep it running, so we're saving money." Launched in December 2004, the new systems support the organization's medical application needs—from mobile nursing carts to remote connectivity—for 70 physicians. For instance, the wireless network provides secure coverage within the hospital, allowing nurses to move freely with the hospital's 20 mobile nursing carts to complete clinical documentation. Using the carts, Wilkes nurses make fewer documentation errors, spend more time with patients, and access data and real-time documentation at the bedside. Nurses no longer depend on memory or written notes to do charting at the nursing station. Applications like this one are just the beginning for Wilkes Regional. "We're trying to build the network so it's ‘future proof' and can handle the applications we want to add later," Brown says. "The network should be sufficient to handle audio and video as well as remote connectivity, for which we're getting more demand." Eventually, the group's Health Information System will be compressed onto a single database, which will simplify the process of retrieving data from multiple applications. This step represents the initial stage of Wilkes's EHR rollout. In the next 12 to 18 months, physicians will have realtime access to data and will be able to place orders online and view patient records remotely. These changes are intended to make critical information readily available to physicians when and where they need it. "More community hospitals are seeing the need for technology and are beginning to wake up to the fact that they'll have to progress further than they have in the past," Brown says. As an added benefit, the Wilkes IT department will now have the tools to manage the network proactively instead of simply reacting to problems as they occur, allowing staff to spend more time working on projects such as expansion, service improvements, and staff training. "Part of the key to success for all this is getting physicians the one-on-one training they need in a private environment. Overall, I think physicians will respond favorably," Brown says. "And IT will have more time to accomplish this now."
The Next Steps for Healthcare Maintaining Focus on Patient Care Organizations that are successfully creating community health networks rely on software applications and secure networks, according to Mark Anderson, a healthcare IT futurist at AC Group. Anderson says that sharing information securely continues to pose the most significant challenge. As more clinics and hospitals upgrade their IT infrastructures—and as more physicians press for collaborative technology—the healthcare industry will evolve into a market that provides safe, effective solutions that focus on the patient. Healthcare spending in the United States averages $1.7 trillion annually, which represents about 14% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP)—in most other developed countries, aggregate healthcare spending accounts for only 8% to 10% of GDP. Network-based applications such as EHR and electronic prescriptions help prevent duplicate medical tests and can preempt costly errors such as drug interactions. Regardless of the context—whether it's in the community health networks of the future or within the internal systems of healthcare providers—improving information access and integrating systems provides countless opportunities to save physicians' time, reduce the burden of those who pay for healthcare, and improve the quality of patient care.
iQ Magazine, Second Quarter 2005 |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| About the Author Vicki Powers is a Texas-based writer focusing on business and technology issues. |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Guest
