Information Management in the Health Care Industry
White Paper
MedAbiliti Software Incorporated
Introduction
The American health care industry has experienced dramatic change in the last hundred years. For example, the number of health care providers in the United States increased from 500,000 in 1910 to nearly 8 million by the close of the 20th century. Along with the growing demand for health care, costs associated with providing health care services also skyrocketed. According to the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), health care costs are at an all-time high of approximately $1.5 trillion and are projected to increase to nearly $2.8 trillion by 2008. The United States Department of Commerce estimates the administrative costs of providing health care services at $390 billion dollars per year.
A large portion of the costs with which providers struggle today relates to labor-intensive, inefficient paper-based health care systems and the limitations they pose. That fact highlights a significant opportunity for health care organizations to reduce costs. Because nearly 70% of all health care transactions are performed via a paper-based medium, there is manifestly an enormous cost-cutting opportunity for providers that move beyond a paper-based system into electronic data management.
Other costs stem from health care information systems that are poorly designed or difficult to manage. In an effort to realize the benefits of automation, some providers moved from a paper-based system to a multiplicity of separate information systems, each of which meets specific needs but which cannot interoperate seamlessly with other parts of the system, thus hampering workflow.
The current health care environment demands a dynamic information management strategy that can meet increasing demands while delivering lowered costs. The health care industry has experienced remarkable changes throughout the years; now it's time for the methodology of quality care to change as well. Providers that wish to practice their trade in the most efficient and cost-effective manner and see the opportunity that technology offers will adapt themselves to this new world of information management and thus reap the benefits of interconnectivity, decreased workflow costs, and real-time information access.
The MedAbiliti Vision
MedAbiliti shares this vision and we can make it happen for you. We have years of experience in health care system development and process improvement, and know how to help providers realize the benefits of this bold future in health information management.
MedAbiliti Software, Inc. designs, develops, and deploys software for the health care industry. MedAbiliti's approach to development is one that applies international quality assurance methods to application access, data analysis, and process efficiency. Our commitment to structured software methodology and engineering practices makes us a most reliable source for custom applications. Our standards of quality for data deployment, access, and confidentiality establish MedAbiliti software systems as some of the most reliable and secure on the market.
Since its inception, MedAbiliti has voiced, documented, and displayed an unwavering commitment to cutting-edge innovation and unparalleled customer service, which positions this company as an emerging industry leader in medical software design and implementation.
A Case Study
MedAbiliti was approached by a client to develop a strategy for improving the flow of data within the organization. As a mid-sized health care provider, the organization had outgrown old-fashioned paper-intensive methods of storing and sharing medical information. Its prior efforts at technology self-help had resulted in the installion of various information systems that met very specific business needs, none of which could interface with any of the others. Realizing the benefits of paper and electronic systems, the organization overloaded its administrative resources to maintain both paper and electronic records. Despite all its efforts, the organization never successfully integrated the paper and electronic systems.
Problems That Needed to be Solved
This client's paper-intensive system of information management created a number of problems. The bulk of these were related to human error at input. A large percentage of the paper records created included errors (syntax, incorrect information, missing information) that were not noticed during document creation and later prevented the client from effectively processing the document or using it to make quality health care decisions. The only solution was to devote additional time and resources to re-creating the documents when the errors came to light. The paper-based system also presented the physical challenge of storing vast amounts of health and administrative records in hard copy form. Over time, it had become prohibitively costly for the organization to maintain this growing mountain of paper data. It also presented issues of backup and survivability in the event of natural or other disaster.
Moreover, maintaining so much information in paper form made it difficult for administrators and providers within the organization to access information quickly. Typically, providers would have to make a verbal request for health information, either by phone or in person, and then wait hours for the requested records, if they were available on-site, or days for records that had to be mailed from other locations. Sometimes the requested material was misfiled and thus irretrievable or lost during transit. This labored process delayed decision-making and hindered productivity.
The organization complemented its paper-based system with a number of information systems that stored specific information. For example, one electronic system stored health records for a particular region. Another system was used to analyze test data. Numerous other systems were deployed to collect and maintain scheduling, billing, and resource information. Unfortunately, each of these systems had to be accessed individually to acquire data that was essential to the decision-making process of both providers and administrators, and the electronic information systems did not interoperate or work synergistically with each other.
MedAbiliti was asked to develop a solution that would end the client's dependency on its failing information management systems.
The MedAbiliti Solution
MedAbiliti develops solutions for specific business needs, customized for the client. It was not our intention to sell a product to this client but to show the organization a more efficient way of managing its information. First, we worked with the client for several months so as to thoroughly understand the organization's workflow and system needs. Based on our assessment, we developed a solution that:
The MedAbiliti solution incorporated Internet, security, and database technologies to optimize the client's productivity.
Leveraging Existing Systems
Optimal solutions maintain the benefits of an existing environment. The benefits of a paper-based system are obvious and include the industry's strong familiarity and confidence in the system, which makes implementation of a paper-based system easy to organize. In addition, a paper-based system is portable. As such, it can be utilized within every health care organization in operation today. This is why so many providers historically have hesitated to invest in other solutions. However, the down side of a paper-based system is that it is labor intensive, costly and inefficient, particularly when it comes to access. Further, HIPAA requires health care organizations to move beyond paper.
MedAbiliti recognized that this client needed to maintain the benefits it had from its current system while streamlining it and overcoming its very significant limitations so as to more effectively compete in the marketplace. Understanding the challenge, we developed a solution that offered a look and feel with which users were comfortable, while ensuring that the client's workflow would not be disturbed by a need for intensive training.
The organization had a great deal of information stored in various systems throughout the enterprise. In order to make that information more readily available to those who needed it, MedAbiliti first consolidated the data stored in these separate systems into a central data repository, securely accessible over the Internet. As a result, users could now rapidly acquire all needed information from one system, a system available from anywhere, 24/7, a definite plus for this nationwide company. The legacy system remained in place during construction so as to minimize any disruption of workflow. The resulting MedAbiliti solution retained the primary benefits of paper, ease of use and portability -- in fact the MedAbiliti solution was more portable than paper -- and is more efficient, being accessible in every area of the business that requires direct access to the stored data, any time, from anywhere. For this client, it meant that health test results were now accessible in real time.
Removing Inefficiencies
Our analysis revealed that the majority of the organization's administrative costs could be traced to paper record creation, management, and quality assurance. The primary cause of delayed decision-making was the time required to access the many systems that stored both paper and electronic records. In order for this organization to increase its productivity, it had to decrease its dependence on paper and at the same time address the inefficiencies of maintaining separate and disparate electronic systems to access pertinent medical records.
MedAbiliti met this goal by first transferring data from paper to an electronic format, joining to it the separately stored electronic data, securing it all within a central information management system, and then providing functionality to connect the client to this data securely via the Internet. By utilizing this technology, workers within the client organization can now input, transfer, and access data from anywhere in the world, day or night, greatly improving work flow and efficiency. This solution not only removed the client's dependency on paper but it made it possible for the first time to integrate the client's medical testing applications and health records, providing increased functionality and reporting power across the enterprise. By removing inefficiencies within the clientÕs information management practices, MedAbiliti was able to improve overall workflow and efficiency, as well as opening up new ways to manage and benefit from centralized information. The client is now able to offer real-time health testing results, which provides it with a competitive edge.
Opening Lines of Communication
The MedAbiliti solution enhanced communication within the organization. By removing data from its original segmented environment and placing it within the centralized data storage system, providers are no longer forced to access numerous systems to acquire information. They no longer have to wait for replies on requested paper records in order to provide their services. Our client is now able to more effectively access and share information within one system in real time. The organization can reliably access information when it needs it, without the delays that are inevitable in paper-based systems.
Providing Additional Security - Electronic and Physical
Security of health information is imperative, whether data is stored in a paper-based or an electronic system. MedAbiliti brought to this challenge its expertise in privacy and security assurance to provide the client with a heightened level of data security. The solution incorporated data encryption technology, which ensured that intercepted information would be unidentifiable by outside entities. The transfer of data from the central database to users was accomplished via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates using 128 bit keys. In order to guard against in-house security and privacy breaches, and the majority of such breaches historically have been in-house, MedAbiliti experts enhanced the client's infrastructure with system-access controls, which ensured that only authorized personnel would be able to access and view sensitive information within the system.
Reducing Costs
In the client's original environment, a great deal of time was devoted to ensuring the accuracy of data records. Numerous administrative processes and health care procedures were delayed until paper records could be accessed and verified. Unfortunately, an incredible amount of time and money had been invested to maintain an information system that, in the end, was incapable of meeting the demands of the business.
MedAbiliti's solution reduced these costs, and the savings will persist. Our custom technology reduces the time required to access information, store information, and communicate within the organization. As a result, not only were costs reduced, but the quality of service provided by the client improved. In fact, an entirely new service, real-time results, was made possible which the client can now offer. Our solution also minimized the client's response time for administrative and health care issues, thereby improving the quality of service provided by the client.
Conclusion
The health care industry is undeniably in a period of significant transition that promises to improve industry-wide business practices and effectively enhance the quality of care for all patients in the United States. Like all change, there are challenges to be met. However, you are not alone in your efforts to meet the growing information-management demands of the industry. MedAbiliti Software, Inc. stands ready to provide your health care organization with custom solutions to your data management needs. We develop solutions for the business of medicine.
How can we help you today? Please contact us at info@medabiliti.com for more information.
Copyright 2003