Document management software advances connected health, and in a number of relatively unknown ways.
Mobile technologies are at the heart of the new “connected health” push, and the medical field is embracing almost every new option that is demonstrating patient and office improvements, including document management software.
The core of this new connected health information management platform is that outcomes tend to improve when data is tracked. This is true for common healthcare situations and even intense cases such as children in neo-natal intensive care units who are ready to transition home.[1]
Not only are improvements helping in the doctor’s office, but they also play a role in overall healthcare and decisions. Some parents whose children were in neo-natal intensive care units were given access to a Costco mobile application and other technology. This allowed them to coordinate care and learn which products, such as formula, were best for the baby at each step, based on scientific research and thoughts from their doctors.
What Is Connected Health, and Why Document Management Software Advances Connected Health
The latest buzzword in healthcare, connected health, is actually just the evolution of long trends and desires from the dawn of health providers. Connected health is the latest step—digitally speaking—in the journey to optimize healthcare resources and provide better ways for patients and physicians to work together to improve outcomes.[2]
Today, connected health also incorporates methods and tools that allow patients to self-manage their care or for caregivers to play a larger role in the care of their loved ones.
As more people and service providers enter the circle of care, health information management needs to take into account mobile devices, remote care options and site-to-site medical care capabilities.
Services are working hard to connect to on-premise solutions with the connections that patients desire.
When including tele-medicine and mobile health, the amount of information we can collect expands greatly. That introduces new concerns about how to determine:
- What data is properly collected?
- Who should access what information?
- How should the management of all of those touch points occur?
Why Document Management Software Advances Connected Health in Modern Practices
Document management software (DMS) plays a significant role because it can add rules to every touch point for new connected health information management.
Mobile healthcare has introduced apps, mobile websites, text messages, and other new ways to connect. Using DMS can help care providers follow all of the necessary information management rules while sharing the best information about conditions with patients.
Flexible care opportunities, such as texting your doctor or providing an app to track things like blood glucose levels, can have some significant benefits[3] including:
- Improving overall outcomes
- Minimizing the use of avoidable services
- Promoting patient independence
- Focusing on prevention services
- Helping with communication between doctors and patients
- Providing more information on symptoms and medical conditions as well as health records
An added benefit for a smart document management software adoption is that it can help patients, their care givers and their care providers. This may even prevent some concerns about what information is being shared with patients and their caregivers.
HIPAA guides both what information doctors must keep private and what they can share with caregivers and families of patients. A central DMS system can help doctors and nurses strike the right balance and automatically inform each member of a patient care team with the information that’s appropriate for them. That helps everyone avoid misinterpreting HIPAA, which currently leads to care providers not getting all of the information they need.[4]
What’s Next in Health Information Management?
We believe DMS is at the heart of the next generation of connected care because the future fixates on creating a single ecosystem. While everything in the home gains an internet connection, care providers gain an infinite number of new tools to monitor, track, and help diagnose health issues.
All of that will need a single, connected ecosystem to collate all of that information and present it in a manageable way. Those elements all require specific documentation to provide to patients, hospitals, insurers, and even government agencies when looking at disease patterns or when seeking reimbursements for medical care.[5]
That puts document management software at the center because it can automatically build the right forms using the most recent data. DMS can ensure patients are properly cared for, and there is no point looking at old data that may lead to harm. This becomes especially important in experiences like assisted living centers where nurses work in shifts and information may change, but there are not always opportunities for meetings about changes with each patient.
It’s time for the medical community to ditch paperwork and the panic that sets in when an important document is lost. Adopting connected health and document management software is the start to always having what the patient needs and improving the chances to make the right care decisions every time.
The vast majority of clinics with diverse staffing needs are realizing that document management software advances connected health, but are not going to share their secrets with the competition, especially as privatization intensifies within the industry.
If you’re looking for more reasons on why document management software advances connected health, please speak with one of our business efficiency experts or review the listed sources below.
[1]HIMSS16: Connected health track offers diverse array of sessions, events http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/himss16-connected-health-track-offers-diverse-array-sessions-events/2016-02-17
[2] Connected Health – AMA http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/advocacy/topics/digital-health/connected-health.page
[3] Connected health: How digital technology is transforming health and social care: http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/life-sciences-health-care/deloitte-uk-connected-health.pdf
[4] National Alliance for Caregiving http://www.caregiving.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/CMS_RFI-Transforming-Clinical-Practice_FINAL.pdf
[5] Connected Care Is Essential to Telemedicine’s Success https://www.chausa.org/publications/health-progress/article/january-february-2015/connected-care-is-essential-to-telemedicine’s-success[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]