Information Technology Will Save Health Care

Not all technology causes woe in the health care system. While some new products increase costs and decrease access and quality, others specifically, health information technology (HIT) products facilitate safe, timely, efficient, effective, equitable, and patient-centered care. Ultimately, these HIT products will help patients, providers, and policymakers improve health care and remedy the woes facing our health system. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a national academy of leaders in biomedical science, medicine, and health, the American health care system does not provide consistent, high-quality medical care to all people. This passage is from the IOMs 2001 publication Crossing the Quality Chasm, and still applies today. Uneven costs, quality, and access these continue as Americas health care system woes. To resolve them the IOM argues that system stakeholders like patients, providers, and policymakers must strive for six aims of improvement. Specifically, health care must be safe, timely, efficient, effective, equitable, and patient-centered (STEEEP). Some technology can hinder achievement of the STEEEP aims. These new products increase cost and complexity without improving access and quality. For example, robot-aided surgery is widely available, yet whether the techniques benefits outweigh the significant costs of a robot remains controversial. Other technologies boost progress toward STEEEP goals. These products decrease spending on health care while bolstering access and quality. This technology is HIT. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines HIT as exchange of health information in an electronic environment. This broad definition encompasses HITs diverse forms including electronic medical records, internet-based data exchanges, and online medical resources. Examples of how various HIT products already foster STEEEP success demonstrate their potential for resolving our health care woes:

Safe: Public, crowd-sourced information on medical treatments help avoid injuries. Timely: Internet-connected prescription bottle caps reduce delays in medication delivery by reminding patients to take their pills. Efficient: Networked e-Referral systems avoid wasted interactions between consulting and referring doctors by ensuring all necessary information is available. Effective: GPS-enabled inhalers track asthma attacks and help providers design asthma management strategies based on scientific knowledge. Equity: Community health data tracking helps providers target health care disparities. Patient-centered: Mobile applications consider patient preferences by offering health care feedback outside of the clinic.

Despite their promise, the HIT interventions listed above only benefit narrow populations. This is because the products remain in beta or pilot stages, or require significant start-up capital or technology expertise. Fortunately though, these conditions are changing. Broadband internet access is spreading, mobile devices are becoming more powerful, doctors and patients are

gaining tech-savvy, and investors are recognizing the potential of HIT. These changes will allow HIT innovators to expand the scope of their products, help health care stakeholders achieve STEEEP aims, and ultimately resolve our health system care woes.

Why ICT for Health?

As an effect of the ageing of the population in general, the number of citizens with chronic diseases is increasing, especially among elderly people throughout the Baltic Sea Region. This is a great challenge for both the well-being of the citizens and the public health care systems. Health care solutions provided by information and communication technology (ICT), also known as eHealth, offer one solution to this problem. The tools and services which contribute to eHealth provide better and more efficient health care services for all. Ensuring top-quality health care for citizens through ICT solutions eHealth technologies empower patients to take more responsibility for their own health and quality of life, and they lead to better cost-efficiency in the health sector. The use of eHealth technologies allows a mutually beneficial collaboration and involvement of patients and medical professionals in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Overall, ICT can be used to ensure the top-quality health care of citizens. Better acceptance of ICT in health care is central for ensuring future health care provision Although basic eHealth technology is widely available on the market, the absorption of new knowledge and acceptance to use ICT in health care is varying remarkably among citizens and medical professionals. The wider use of ICT in healthcare is a basic condition for the development, implementation and further generation of innovative health care technologies. Therefore social capacity, knowledge and acceptance to utilise eHealth technologies among citizens and medical professionals need to be strengthened throughout the Baltic Sea Region.

tudy on enhancing procurement of ICT solutions for healthcare (Smart 2010/0072)

Deadline: 30 July 2010 (26/06/2010) This study is aimed at developing guidelines for decision makers and procurers within public healthcare authorities and care delivery organisations on how to conduct consistent and systematic planning processes when strategic considerations point to the adoption of eHealth solutions and how to transfer the planning to the procurement specifications and process. Despite the technical maturity of the available solutions and the recognised benefits for patients, industry and society, deployment of eHealth services is still low. The complexity of procuring eHealth solutions has been identified among the factors hindering wider deployment. A need is felt to analyse more in details procurement initiatives in the eHealth sector, in order to identify ways to improve the processes that lead to wide implementation of eHealth services

The study shall help in achieving the overall objective of contributing to more efficient and effective healthcare through the adoption of ICT solutions in the service delivery process. In particular the study shall contribute to the Lead Market Initiative for eHealth, which aims at accelerating the development of the eHealth market, as well as to achieve the objectives set out by the Communication on Telemedicine and the eHealth action plan. The specific objectives of the study are:

1) To identify and analyse the challenges hindering the procurement of eHealth solutions. The study shall analyse the overall process of embedding eHealth solutions within healthcare delivery. Such process generally includes a strategic planning phase, a design phase, the phase of implementation of the procurement procedures and the implementation phase of the acquired solution. Activities aiming at evaluating and monitoring over time the actual usage of the acquired solution shall also be part of the analysis. All key aspects of the overall process shall be analysed, including clinical issues, technical aspects, organisational context, legal framework, as well as economic and financial aspects. 2) To identify and analyse possible approaches or methodologies for tackling the above challenges in such a way as to minimise the related risks of failure, thus enhancing the overall process of embedding eHealth solutions within healthcare delivery. The proposed approaches or methodologies shall be assessed by the Contractor by means of sound and relevant evidence to be duly documented. 3) Based on the analyses mentioned above, to draw a set of guidelines for decision makers and procurers within public healthcare authorities and care delivery organisations on how to achieve a given set of clearly defined strategic goals by possibly embedding ICT-based solutions into healthcare delivery, in such a way as to minimise the risks of failure and gaining over time the target benefits from the investments made.

The study shall analyse 10 eHealth procurement initiatives carried out in the 27 EU Member States, Norway, Iceland or Switzerland. The selected procurement initiatives shall cover as much as possible national health systems, as well as different levels of decision making in the field of eHealth procurement and deployment (local, regional, and national). The selected initiatives shall have significant sizes in terms of number of patients covered and number of health professionals involved. Considering the wide variety of eHealth applications and services, and the impossibility of indepth analysis of all the eHealth application areas, the study shall focus on the following 2 areas:

Implementation of region-wide electronic health record (EHR) systems; Incorporation of Telemonitoring services in the context of specific chronic disease management programmes run at the level of a regional health authority or a wide-area local health authority.

Is Informatics existent in the Philippines? We believe that INFORMATICS is existing in the Philippines. But it only exist in the few establishments or agencies. Maybe because of lack of money, knowledge and skills. Although we have first thing to prioritize in our daily needs. Although it has advantages and disadvantages regarding INFORMATICS. We both all know that using this new technology is very useful to us. But some cannot afford it because its

too expensive. For example; The Department store where we buy some stuffs they give us receipt for what weve bought in a store.

The Pharmacies where we buy medicines. They first look for their records of meds. And gives us computerized receipt.

The new technologies that we have can help us in the field of medicine because it has a big advantage and a big help to us in our works.

Some agencies now are very particular of using this technology because it helps to serve their costumers and clients faster and easier. But we should think first before we do anything.

Is Nursing Informatics existent in the Philippines?

Nursing Informatics (NI) is not new in the Philippines but its just in the line where it is not applied. As of the Ched Memorandum Order No. 14 (CMO no.14) Nursing Informatics now is part of the curriculum. It really does exist as one of the new subjects, but the question is It is really applicable in the Philippines? The Ched added this subject for the sake of the new soon to be nurses, for them to have new knowledge on the new trends, teachings, and clinical practices as well. They challenge the Philippines to embrace this as one of the curriculum but not as part of the health care delivery system. The lack of source and financial support of the government makes it not possible for NI to be applied in this third world country.

Many organizations are supporting this CMO no. 14, but training's and seminars were not enough to make it be in reality. There are so many health care issues to be prioritized rather than making NI visible in medical fields. One of these problems is the status of our hospitals where there is a need of renovations, new and high-tech facilities. There is also a need of old nurses to study NI for them to deal with the new trends. We are trying to learn and understand its use so that in the near future we can cope in the involving health

care facilities of the world.