Digital Whitepapers

Effective sharing of patient information depends on getting different and often disparate systems to exchange data and, at the highest level, process those data.

This requires sturdy bridges between systems, interpretive and compatible algorithms, and integrated strategies for how different systems will be used and will work together.

THE BASICS OF INTEROPERABILITY

CHALLENGES

SOLUTIONS

SOLUTION: Protecting Systems And Patient Data

Cyberattacks threaten the provider-patient relationship by eroding patient trust. They also expose providers to lost revenues and penalties under HIPAA rules that require the protection of patient data.

Simplifying the IT landscape can help secure data. As the number of interfaces goes up, so does risk. This is because each interface provides a potential target for hackers. This is especially so for legacy systems that have obsolete security measures.

But it is more than just a target rich environment that makes healthcare providers with a lot of disparate systems vulnerable. Interfaces break; they become asynchronous -- much to the delight of hackers.

When dysfunction occurs, risk can still be minimized by controlling the flow of patient data. The more information transmitted from one information technology to another, the greater the chance that a hacker will gain access to patient information that can be sold on the black market.
By selectively extracting data from other IT systems and presenting just those bits of information, Imaging Fellow reduces vulnerability.

Access to patient data may be critical to the proper management of care. And there are times when, for one reason or another, a caregiver who needs that access may not have it. Vendors typically offer "break-the-glass" functionality in such cases. But that functionality should be the very rare exception to the rules that govern access to patient data. And it should provide very selective information about the patient.

SOLUTION: Developing An Enterprise Strategy

Coming up with an IT strategy -- whether that involves a single-stack solution or the integration of multiple systems -- requires input from all stakeholders. Problems are not always obvious. But they must be found before an effective strategy can be developed.

When developing a strategy, the means for measuring problems -- and success in overcoming them -- must be determined. The strategy is to draw a roadmap that identifies the tools that must be applied; where they should be applied; and when. When coming up with an enterprise imaging strategy, it is important to connect the imaging goals of the enterprise with those of the stakeholders in the enterprise.

Nowhere is this more obvious than in cardiology, which must deal with problems such as "dual charting," which occurs when an inpatient undergoes tests in the outpatient arena.

In a healthcare system comprised of many departments spread over several campuses and dependent on multiple disparate information technologies, processes must be developed for handling differences that come from the use of these systems. One critical example is the handling of patient identifiers. When strategizing, ask whether the new approach will have the means to retain all the patient identifiers or must all those records be updated? Keep in mind that the need to manage multiple patient identifications will increase as patients become more mobile and travel between different care settings, a possibility made increasingly likely as medicine moves away from fee-based value-based practice.

SOLUTION: Managing Human Factors

Because people provide the care, the way they work has to dictate the way machines are designed. Mismatches between IT and human processes can lead to what are often called "user errors." These would be more accurately described as human-machine errors. Many might be prevented with designs more in tune with the way people work.

Nowhere are such errors more likely to occur than when processes are automated, which -- ironically -- is a major focus of IT developers. Reducing the number of user clicks holds the promise of accelerating the performance of a job and streamlining care management. But automation helps only if it achieves the same or a better end result than the one that might have taken longer and more effort.

When automating processes, therefore, IT vendors must be vigilant that the automation not only accelerates performance but does so without compromising patient care.

IT developers must also look for ways that information technologies can complement human processes – ways that make them easier and more effective. In the end, healthcare is all about people--those who give care and those who receive it. Maintaining a win-win proposition for all involved through the automation of medical processes is critically important.

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