The healthcare industry has traditionally lagged behind other industries in technology adoption, but regulatory guidelines have prompted a wave of change. This week, Ricoh announced new research it commissioned from IDC Health Insights, which highlights the current technology needs of hospitals and how technology upgrades can help hospitals achieve meaningful use and accountable care benefits. The study reveals 83% of hospitals reporting opportunities to integrate workflows across departments, the healthcare industry is poised to see significant gains from information mobility related to meaningful use and accountable care.
Healthcare organizations working toward a goal of EHRs and electronic health information exchanges require technologies that support this digital transformation. They are seeking to improve care coordination and clinical processes across departments to achieve these long-term goals. In fact, 84.7% of hospitals noted their internal departments could optimize their document workflows. Importantly, they also reported document image data is as critical as paper documents to their business needs, as doctors and nurses need access to electronic versions of documents for proper patient treatment.
Key Hospital Challenges to Workflow
Hospitals have identified key challenges, including workflow inefficiencies, departmental silos and lack of access to mobile and cloud applications that could impede their information mobility goals. Streamlined workflows and data communication can help ensure patient healthcare information, including document images, is easily and securely accessible to health practitioners when and where they need it – the core components of information mobility – which helps to enable the highest quality of care.
Although 68.7% of hospital employees are satisfied with their ability to print, scan and access applications from a mobile device, improvements to the way healthcare practitioners capture, transform and manage patient data can be improved, particularly related to helping them attain meaningful use goals for EHR use. Recognizing the benefits of mobile document capture, hospitals are in the early stages of mobile technology deployments that will expand immediate access to critical patient data for employees and patients.
Strongest Improvements to Information Mobility
Hospitals are reporting the strongest improvements contributing to enhanced patient care and satisfaction from information mobility technology in:
– work quality (28.3%)
– information flow within departments (27.3%)
– time employees dedicate to their patients (27.3%)
As organizations continue to see efficiencies and process enhancements in these areas, they will supplement ongoing gains in meaningful use and accountable care. Ultimately these benefits to patient care can translate to business benefits for hospitals, as patient perspectives of care influence hospital reimbursement rates.
When hospitals improve their means of capturing, transforming and managing healthcare data, they are better able to identify key trends in population health and provide proactive, preventative treatment for patients. Information mobility technology practices can lead to healthier populations and healthy finances for hospitals.
