As it is currently constituted, the healthcare system is vastly inefficient. Doctors treating patients in emergency room do not have access to complete treatment histories, which often leads to duplicate or unnecessary procedures. Patients living in rural areas must drive long distances to see their doctors. Additionally, paper records take up a lot of space and make the sharing of information difficult.
However, many efforts are currently underway to make the healthcare system more efficient, and the majority of these initiatives involve using technology to make up for human shortcomings. Electronic health records are at the top of the list of technologies that are expected to change the way healthcare is provided, but there is a whole range of other aspects that experts believe will have a positive impact on quality and efficiency.
One way to improve efficiency and quality is to focus more on the prevention of illnesses rather than treating existing conditions. The City of Philadelphia recently launched a program use electronic health records for just this purpose.
City officials partnered with an electronic health record systems vendor to develop a network of 230 primary care providers to care for the city's Department of Public Health employees. The system will allow for better coordination between providers, which may enable them to spot potentially serious disease risk factors in patients before they can become an issue.
"We will establish an innovative electronic health record that will support the integration of health services provided by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and the Philadelphia Prison System," said Donald Schwartz, the city's deputy mayor and commissioner for public health.
Another area of waste and inefficiency is the hospital emergency room. These care providers are notorious for having long wait times and for being overcrowded. This puts a strain on the medical professionals that work at these locations and contributes to compromised quality. However, many hospitals are using online reservation technology to allow patients to schedule their visit, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Ryan Scott, a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians, told the news source that these types of systems may have many benefits. For one thing, they allow patients to spend the time they have to wait somewhere other than the emergency department waiting room, which is likely to have many bacteria from other patients.
Furthermore, it can put off individuals who need treatment for more minor problems, allowing doctors to focus more on those with severe needs, like heart attack victims.
"The biggest enemy to efficiency in the emergency room is congestion. Three or four people show up when the shift is changing and you've got back-up. This allows us to spread out," Scott McFarland, the medical director at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Florida, told the news source.
Technology is also allowing doctors to reach out to their patients who live in more remote, rural areas. A recent investigation from the consultancy group Manhattan Research found that 7 percent of the doctors in the U.S. are currently using telemedicine technology, which is a jump from previous years.
The researchers said that these tools can help physicians consult with their patients more frequently, which can lead to better treatment outcomes and help individuals stick to prescribed therapies.
"Telemedicine has the potential to open up consultations with top specialists, regardless of your location," said Meredith Ressi, president of the company.
With healthcare organizations across the country looking to improve efficiency and eliminate unnecessary costs, electronic health records and other technology could be an important factor in their quest.