Go on, admit it! We’ve all done it. That recurring tickly cough or strangely swollen big toe leads us not to our GP’s surgery but straight to the computer and the great god Google . . . and, of course, into a specimen jar full of trouble.
Hit the panic button! That big toe is not sore from the time we stubbed it on the cat; no, it’s a sign that a rare chigoe flea has landed in Scotland and burrowed its way into our foot!
If it’s any consolation (it’s not), we’re not alone; even the professionals can suffer what we in the business like to call MIT – Misinformation Technology.
According to a new study in the latest issue of Medical Care magazine, American doctors who use health information technology (HIT) systems are only slightly more likely to receive the patient information they need to provide the right care.
The journal also reports that, according to the study by Chun-Ju Hsiao of the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 70 per cent of US physicians use electronic health records yet almost half don’t routinely receive the data needed to coordinate patient care effectively.
Such a disheartening diagnosis does not help the case for building a closer working relationship between IT and healthcare. But what do we really know about HIT and how it works?
The first thing to understand is the health sector is no exception when it comes to the impact new information technologies can have on a industry. While it may not be obvious, HITs are already used widely in the management of health-based data and care systems.
HIT caters for a broad spectrum of users, from the doctor to the patient, medical scientist to morning jogger monitoring their heartbeat.
Anything from Electronic Health Records (HER), which allow doctors to access patients’ medical histories confidentially and thereby ensure the promptest, highest standard of care, to e-prescribing, by which a doctor can quickly and efficiently prescribe medicines via email in the case of an urgent or lost prescription, are HITs in action every day.
Even a get fit mobile app on our mobile phone or an online health forum can be considered an HIT.
Through user-friendly and expert computerised information systems, professionals in the IT sector can help bring essential healthcare information within the grasp of ordinary people and help to maximise the proficiency of healthcare in Scotland.
Take NHS 24, a helpline that offers medical advice and support round the clock, or even the emergency service number 999. These rely on communication HITs that are continually evolving and upgrading to save lives.
HITs also help improve the quality of care in our hospitals and surgeries, and help maximise the resources hospitals have available to them. They can speed up administrative paperwork and decrease their costs and can help prevent medical errors.
In the final analysis, there is no doubt HITs are changing the face of medicine and continue to grow in efficiency and importance.
They are essential tools in a doctor’s assessment of medical conditions, to us becoming fitter and, yes, even accessing health information.
Just don’t go looking up Spattergroit or you’ll not sleep tonight!
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