The world has truly become a global village. It takes mere seconds to connect with a friend or a colleague in a completely different part of the world. Development in the field of technology has lead to an avalanche of information flooding every house with an internet connection. Electronic communication has seen enormous growth over the last few years, with Skype and other internet based programs overcoming the barriers of traditional forms of communication. Like many other fields, this improvement in communication has also had a positive impact on the healthcare industry.
It is because of the secure exchange of information through EMRs that healthcare organizations around the world are aiming to improve the quality of care. It is not a myth that patients will soon be able to travel around the globe with their entire medical records stored securely on a Cloud server, accessible from virtually anywhere in the world – ensuring instantaneous decision making and eradication of errors. It is not the storage or the data capturing capability of an EMR that helps physicians focus on the quality of care, but it is the accessibility of relevant information at the right time that ensures utmost accountability.
Research shows that physicians spend between 4 to 36 minutes to record clinical data. The retrieval of information however takes a lot less time, as physicians simply log in to their EMR solution to view lab results, clinical notifications, alerts etc. Given the ease with which electronic data can be transferred from one body to the other, health information exchanged through EMRs improves care coordination. Physicians are no longer required to telephone a pharmacy or a lab to place an order. They can simply do so with the mere click of a button. Similarly, the results can be electronically transmitted into the EMR directly from the lab.
This connection has helped all healthcare bodies to play a vital role in improving the overall patient experience and patient health management. However, interoperability or exchange of information is not limited to labs, pharmacies, hospitals and doctors, but instead it has expanded across multiple medical devices and different health information systems or EMRs. “There are many definitions of medical device interoperability, but I define it as the ability of medical devices and healthcare systems to interact seamlessly with each other in order to enable better healthcare outcomes.” said Santosh Nair from Wind River.
It would not be unreasonable to deduce that interoperable EMRs are a ray of hope for the improved quality of healthcare. However, how medical professionals and healthcare regulatory bodies will work together to eliminate barriers to pave the way for a safe and secure future remains to be seen.
