Waiting is a popular practice in the healthcare industry:
- A patient waits for a nurse to take them into a room for an appointment.
- A nurse waits for a physician to give follow-up instructions for patient care.
- A physician waits for a laboratory to send test results as a guide for treatment.
With the lack of interoperability in healthcare, the wait is even longer. Slow access to information delays physicians and nurses from making treatment decisions. Despite the widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHR) over the last decade, data remains blocked.
“Doctors are still struggling to access medical information about their patients, particularly if that patient was seen at a hospital or clinic that uses a different medical record vendor.” — CNBC
Here are a few ways disconnected systems slow down healthcare from the perspectives of a patient, nurse, and physician.
Finding Images
Finding images fast is a challenge for physicians because of disconnected data.
“(The lack of interoperability) slows down medical progress, as technologies that rely on these data — artificial intelligence, big data, or mobile applications — cannot be used to their full potential.” — National Library of Medicine
For example, before proceeding with an operation, a surgeon sends a patient for tests. Common procedures include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans. But there’s no guarantee the lab the patient chooses for these tests will be compatible with the surgeon’s EHR system.
“There’s a lot of interdependent imaging places where you can get MRIs and CT scans that don’t necessarily network or talk to each other.” — MD, interventional pain physician
This lack of interoperability slows the next course of action for the patient. But when the surgeon gets instant access to images in a universal format, they make quicker decisions about patient care.
“When it’s direct, you have some sort of portal you can access. There's a special tab for imaging. I can just click that to open up the imaging and the report. That makes things really expedient.” — MD, interventional pain physician
Getting Reports
Promptly getting reports is a hassle for medical staff when EHR systems don’t communicate. Unfortunately, healthcare workers are all too familiar with this problem.
“When Dr. Vincent Rajkumar, a Minnesota-based oncologist, hears from a patient who sought care at a hospital that uses a different medical record system, he knows it’ll take a lot of work.” — CNBC
For example, a nurse may have to sign a records release before starting a data exchange with another hospital. If an issue comes up with the fax, it could cause another delay.
“I got some information. I looked at it and said, ‘This is illegible. I can’t even read this.’ So I had to call that medical records department back and say, ‘This is so dark. Can you please fax it back and make it lighter?’ Then I got a better copy. But it took time to do that.” — RN, board-certified in cardiovascular nursing
If the nurse still can’t read the fax, they may have to do a new test — which slows patient care more.
Connected EHR systems offer a faster reporting process. They allow nurses and physicians to get the information they need to get to work.
“(Interoperability) would just be invaluable because the patient would get treated quicker. Their plan of care is going to be determined earlier.” — RN, board-certified in cardiovascular nursing
Receiving Treatment
Receiving care in real-time is a struggle for patients due to the lack of interoperability.
“Physicians now spend two minutes at the computer for every one minute spent with patients.” — EHR Intelligence
Slow data exchange, missing information, and other human errors delay treatment. Providers may send records in different formats — forcing physicians to take extra steps to extract data.
“Records will often arrive in a PDF format. Rajkumar will then manually upload them, a process that could lead to delays in making vital treatment decisions for his patient.” — CNBC
Even worse, if an MRI or CT scan is on a compact disc (CD), the surgeon’s computer may not have the right technology to read it — or a reader at all.
Common events like switching jobs or insurance providers can also delay care when systems can’t talk to each other. The patient has to fill out forms with the same information that’s sitting in another provider’s database.
“It usually has delayed my medication by two weeks to a month by having to go through this process all over again.” — Patient
With a streamlined process of exchanging information, patients get care when needed.
Interoperability Speeds Up Patient Care
The faster medical workers access data, the sooner patients receive treatment.
zPaper empowers your healthcare team to take control of the document exchange process and accelerate patient care.
Contact us about healthcare interoperability solutions such as direct messaging and digital fax.
Download our white paper to learn how disconnected data affects the quality and cost of care.
