The Change Healthcare Information Technology Consulting Firms have brought to Healthcare Technology

The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as it is more widely known as, and its proposed reforms, has changed the face of healthcare in our modern world.

Providers are now driven to find innovative medical care delivery methods that are designed to lower health care costs.

What does this mean to the end consumer? A move away from cost absorbing healthcare towards a more cost effective care system. Bringing about this paradigm shift in the industry, has been a renovation in methodology’s and the incorporation of technology.

Global IT Services, has a history of working with reputable public and private organizations, developing revolutionary healthcare solutions, with the merger of pioneering concepts with efficient forecasting and management.

In 2013, Global IT Services aided DHCS (Department of Healthcare Services) in transitioning to a new centralized system known as the California Healthcare Eligibility Enrollment and Retention System (CalHEERS).

Digitization, the new horizon for Healthcare Providers

Incorporating health information technology (IT) into day-to-day health care includes a variety of digital procedures. These procedures manage both information around people’s health and health care, for both individual patients and groups of patients. The use of health information technology can improve the quality of service given, as well as the cost-effectiveness thereof.

An Information Technology consulting firm can mitigate the pitfalls of digitization and smooth the transition from paper to an electronic format. Some examples of the integration of information technology into health care are:

• Clinical decision support
  A computer based program or system that analyzes data within electronic health records and offer reminders to assist health care suppliers. This assists with the application of evidence-based clinical guidelines, during patient care.

• Computerized disease registries.
  A software application for capturing, managing and providing access to condition-specific information for a list of patients to support organized clinical care – www.chcf.org

• Computerized provider order entry.
  Allows health care providers – physicians, nurses, therapists, pharmacists – to electronically order and process lab tests, medications, clinical procedures and other services. Routing important requests for patient care occurs almost instantaneously – www.unitedregional.org.

• Consumer health information technology applications.
  While the term “consumer health IT applications” is not yet well-defined, in general, it refers to a wide range of hardware, software, and Web-based applications that allows patients to participate in their own health care via electronic means – www.digital.ahrq.gov

• Electronic medical record systems
  (Electronic Medical Records / Electronic Health Record / Personal Health)An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that can be created, gathered, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff within one health care organization – www.digital.ahrq.gov

• Electronic prescribing.
  With electronic prescribing, or “e-Prescribing,” health care providers can enter prescription information into a computer device – like a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer – and securely transmit the prescription to pharmacies using a special software program and connectivity to a transmission network – www.heathIT.gov.

• Telehealth.
  The use of digital information and communication technologies, such as computers and mobile devices, to access health care services remotely and manage your health care. These may be technologies you use from home or that your doctor uses to improve or support health care services. – www.mayoclinic.org.

The need for Information Technology consulting in the healthcare sector

Cyberattack threat

• The industry with the highest number of attacks by ransomware is the healthcare industry and attacks are predicted to quadruple by 2020. The financial implications are astounding. The Wannacry ransomware attack cost the National Health Service (NHS) over $100 million. The consequences of the loss of leaked patient records and other forms of sensitive data, can potentially close down medical practices, and also entail legal liability. With the advent of paperless consulting, a patient’s life may hang in the balance, if records of allergy’s, prescribed medicine or existing conditions are held for ransom.
• This is where an Information Technology consulting firm can assess the information security of the health care practitioner. A full audit can be performed on the system, which will pinpoint any vulnerabilities. Recommendations to amend weak system cyber defense protocols can be offered, to mitigate threats.
• Comprehensive training can be conducted with medical practice and health care staff, on how cyber-attacks use social engineering to penetrate information technology system.

Staying within the law regarding Patient Data Privacy

• Patient confidentiality is not the only concern with information security, but also compliance to the local, governmental and industry-related regulations.
• Comprehensive privacy laws and regulations surrounding patient record rights, govern how health care providers and practitioners share patient information.
• Regulatory compliance is of paramount importance for any healthcare information technology solution. The data-sharing process becomes more problematical, when patient records are digitally shared across country, state or provincial borders. Difficult waters to navigate when a practice has international patients. Regulations may also apply to the management of backup media and cloud storage. Healthcare information technology consulting firms have an intimate understanding of the fine print, concerned with medical data and online communication systems. Their expertise can prevent the inadvertent violation of the myriad of regulations by practitioners.

Building a user-friendly platform

• Transitioning information technology into your business, will be a useless resource if your principal users don’t integrate. The software model must be easy-to-understand, user-friendly and usable in their everyday routine. The user experience – UX – is the clincher.
• This is accomplished, by allowing a health information technology consulting firm, to create customized software, to fit the unique needs of the healthcare practitioner.
• All-inclusive training must be given, offering a model that is adjustable to every staff member’s capabilities, and accounting for their needs.

The perfect healthcare information technology consulting service fit

Five factors to deliberate on when choosing a health information technology consulting firm.

• Cloud-based Skills
  Choose an information technology provider who can offer private cloud solutions for handling protected health information (PHI). Protected Health information requires more stringent and extensive security measures, than public cloud solutions.
• Multi-channel Proficiency
  Ensure that your information technology partner has the experience and the expertise, to incorporate all the possible social media and responsive communications into one marketing strategy.
• Effortless Consolidation
  A partner that has the aptitude to merge new software systems with existing programs and/or current technology investments. The difference between customer service and excellent customer service, is when a patient moves from one medical department to another, and all his/her medical records are digitally available when they step through the door.
• Regulatory Compliance Expertise
  Legislation around patient record data is an ever-evolving process. It is of vital importance to have an information technology partner that specializes in regulation and compliance, and keeps you updated of any new developments.
• Innovative Thinking
  Information technology partners have to be pioneers in the technology industry and a forerunner of new trends and related implications, driving your organization with innovative technology.

 

Global IT Services Sacramento – Professional Healthcare IT Consulting

The world is moving into space where doctors can see patients remotely, and accurately diagnose their health problems. The use of technology to improve patient care has impacted our society as a whole.

As an authentic partner of various healthcare organizations, Global IT Services strive to improve the technical structure of your institution by delivering value-added tools to enhance decision support systems and overall operational performance.

Our team of consultants brings a diverse array of knowledge and skills from clinical practice, healthcare quality, and administration. We deliver primary care protocol content that can be easily integrated into programming instructions.