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Innovation in Health IT means using information technology to proactively address patient care and provider needs.
The laboratory at Conway Regional has operated outreach services for nearly 20 years. Around the time that I began working there, the need for EMR connectivity was becoming a massive part of building a successful outreach program to physician offices and practices. We began working with CareEvolve products at that time, as the product helped us compete for the outreach business. By default, this meant learning about HIT languages and interfaces, the crucial need for good data to produce clean claims, and the importance of making laboratory data electronically available for practitioners.
The ability to rapidly communicate with providers and to care for our patients more efficiently. The technology available to us now would have been unimaginable even 15 years ago, and the constantly evolving nature of healthcare IT is amazing.
The driving passion and motivation in my career stems from my want and need to provide the best care possible for my patients. It is no secret that healthcare systems have grown and, in doing so, became more complex. While there are many benefits to their growth, the system’s complexity has created a gap, filled with layers of people and processes, between the patient and the care rendered. Healthcare IT is challenged with keeping the face of the patient in the front of their minds. This can be difficult due simply to the indirect nature of the IT system. As a result, a change I would like to see is enhanced awareness of the impact on patient care. This should constantly be in front of the IT resource.
Fostering strong relationships with my IT vendors is crucial to keeping up with advances. Our vendors and support people play a role in giving the kind of patient care we want to provide. Professional journals and workshops are invaluable as they allow us to monitor successes and failures within our professional arena.
I believe that the biggest challenge is keeping the “connectivity” between leaders and the patient. There is a gap between those indirectly involved in patient care (leadership, vendors, equipment manufacturers, IT resources) and those on the front line with hands-on roles with the patient. Improving understanding between those stakeholders is crucial for longterm success and collectively keeping our patients at the forefront. Too often, the IT segment is only focused on their own process and forgets the impact on the provider, the lab, and ultimately the patient. All involved, either directly or indirectly, are ultimately accountable for the care provided to the patient. Leadership should never forget the effect of all actions upon the patient.
Cybersecurity is a very real trend, and the need for greater and more complex protection is growing. This need has created many more hurdles for our uses of IT and IT connectivity. As an example, the ability for our corporate and IT partners to access our HIS is increasingly difficult. The need to protect PHI and other secure information from both invited and uninvited users necessitates the barriers, but we find that the end line user is at times not consulted when the barrier is designed. Once again, communication is the key to providing all stakeholders with both security and the ability to provide good and effective care.
Go for it!! Keep pushing!! We aren’t where we need to be, but as more and more women pursue careers in HIT, the landscape for women will improve. It is important that as women, we nurture, support, and encourage one another.
