We are probably adding a decade of old age to our life instead of youthful agility in trying to extend life expectancy. Information Technology (IT) in healthcare is trying to add value by providing useful information from the huge data available among a particular section of the society.

Healthcare is broadly dependent on two factors- Nature and Nurture. We may, apportion the same at 50% each to keep man healthy and sane always.

1. Nature: Nature are those qualities – in the form of genes – that we have inherited from our ancestors.

2. Nurture: Nurture is that segment of human endeavour, which stresses more on the upbringing in the society (environment) and preventive and curative measures.

Artificial Intelligence and research and development in improving quality of genetic factors has led to good as well as detrimental results. Therefore, incessantly improving the standards of Nurture becomes more relevant and essential in this century. All organisms are made up of combination of both Nature and Nurture factor. We have less or no control on the inherited part of our life BUT we can and should improve our health for a quality life while taking care of Nurture.

Today’s man lives longer than his predecessor not because of mutation in genes or miracles but better management of his health.Looking back statistically, the average life expectancy of males in India in 1947 was 52 yrs and that of females was 47. The same stood at a healthy 69 and 63 respectively in 2018 thanks to the greater impetus on healthcare by the successive governments as well. Yet, the average spend per capita on healthcare is a pathetic 1.96% down from 2.6% six years ago. Our Government allocates close to 18% of annual budget to defense forces as against 1.96% to Healthcare. To build a better and healthy population for the future, this trend needs to be reversed.

Now, let us look at what is “IT” doing in healthcare. Healthcare of a person is a continuous process rather than a one-time achievement. Man is subject to continuous onslaught of Mother Nature, – the natural calamities complementing – the changing weather conditions and the rough weather in many geographical terrain of our planet.

Global warming and depletion of Ozone layer is a serious concern. Polluted Air in India today, across the Nation is hitting alarming proportions as PM (particulate matter) had reached over 900 in Delhi and many parts of North India during early winter in 2019. As you move towards poles, the weather conditions worsen (freezing temperature, i.e. – 50 C) and towards the center of earth, the temperatures rise as high as 52 degree Celsius.

Man is the only animal that requires longer duration of parental care whereas; most other animals stand on their own legs within hours of their birth. And it would certainly help if; medical history of the person is maintained from the date of birth for better healthcare management in times of need. Over 95% of Indian population does not have any record of their health conditions and that is where IT can play a bigger role. Maintaining health records of man in physical form has always been challenging and computerization eases the daunting task.

The advantages of computerization could be summarized as:

1. Speed of operation/transaction

2. Storage of large volume of data

3. Quicker retrieval of the stored data

4. Comparison and mapping of stored data for research

5. Data analytics for beneficial decision making

6. Data sharing across geographic area

INFORMATION is the key to success in any field Thus; information could be picked from available DATA. Data is built over a period and storage of the same is a monumental task. Software helps in maintaining patient records in electronic form. Such data could be stored in small devices like Smart card, Cloud storage etc in addition to online data storage and transfer. Such data access helps greatly in disease diagnosis, preventive and curative actions.

1. 5 years ago less than 20% of hospitals were computerized.

2. Today over 60% of hospitals are computerized in urban /semi-urban area.

3. It is expected that nearly 90% of hospitals would be computerized in next 5 years.

4. National UID may help data access of healthcare also.

Since most Indians do not maintain any health record themselves, IT in healthcare has great potential in providing the same at low costs by service providers like Hospitals, Health Insurance cos etc.,

A healthy man builds a healthy Nation.

G.L.Nagendra-Managing director
Ciftech solutions
488-B,3rd Block, KIADB Bldg.
Peenya 2nd stage, Bengaluru-58
Ph: 080-28367373/7474 Mob – 9448283850
Email: ciftechsolutions@gmail.com

The post What is “IT” doing in healthcare? appeared first on Health Vision.

‘Information’ is the essence of better management – Management of patient care, Management of personnel, Management of Finances/other resources. We get access to ‘data’ from many sources day in and day out, but the relevant piece of it and ‘compiled’ version is known as ‘Information’. Information helps in better and timely decisions.

Healthcare providers – Doctors, Paramedical staff, Insurance companies, Govt agencies and more importantly ‘Patients’ and attendants are always trying to achieve optimal levels of output since long in all related services.

The advent of IT – a good combination of computer hardware and software provides an efficient tool in achieving this goal. Hardware and software are inseparable as software cannot exist independently and hardware is almost useless without appropriate software.

Patient care, in a typical Hospital scenario envisages – patient visit to Hospital –registration – Doctor consultation – Diagnostic services – remedial prescription in the form of medicines etc. This is necessary even to all out patients.

Patient data/ history of patient could be made available to the doctor at the click of a button either on desktop PC/ mobile phone during progressive visits of the said patient. Computerisation helps a great deal in accessing patient data anywhere, anytime for providing advice and treatment to patients very quickly. Availability of history of patients, will help doctors in taking right and timely decisions.

And there is no better tool than good software to aid a doctor in providing patient care.

Good software can also compile patient illness of similar type, age and gender including specific geographical and professional hazards to patients.

In a field sample survey during 2000-01 of Medical doctors – Allopathic and Ayush, it was found that no more than 1% of doctors were maintaining any record of the patients. It is to be noted that in 2006 Govt of India mandated through an act that practising doctors should keep patient records for at least 3 years. In spite of it, less said the better in availability of patient profiles across the country. Of course Medicolegal cases (MLC) and other sensitive data is a different matter.

We have over a Million registered doctors in the country as against the WHO (World Health Organization) recommendation of 2.1 million doctors for a population of 1.25 billion in India. It’s a far cry before we reach that milestone with the flawed healthcare policies of various governments. Healthcare expenses have reached prohibitive levels to common man’s reach in India. Hence, the option of health insurance over cash payments is increasingly becoming popular.

Insurance:

Today over a period of last 2 decades healthcare insurance – private as well as government initiatives – is coming of age with coverage of nearly 30-40% of the population, importance of IT in healthcare cannot be ignored.

Any data, like patient illness, admission and discharge record, diagnostic reports and bills are to be provided to Insurance companies in the electronic form. Govt of India has just soft launched ‘Ayushman’ health insurance scheme across the country to cover nearly 50% of Indian populace. We can’t even imagine providing and managing healthcare under Ayushman without IT infrastructure.

Suicides:

Approximately 1.3 lakh suicides take place in India, out of which approximately 12% die from chronic illness. With better clinical data of these deaths were to be available beforehand, it could be prevented with better treatment. And that would be possible if IT is applied in patient profile management.

Prudence of EMR (Electronic Medical Record):

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) has notified the Electronic Health Record (EHR) standards for India in Sept 2013, and revised EHR standards in Dec 2016.

Case study: A patient visited a dermatologist for a skin problem. The doctor examined and prescribed some medicine. But the counter salesman of the pharmacy gave a substitute, and the disease aggravated due to reaction. Ultimately, the patient had to suffer for almost a month even after undergoing a corrective surgery, for no fault of hers. It became a “case of negligence” by the doctor and finally consumer courts at district and state level awarded a huge compensation to the patient.

In this case, the doctor had not maintained any record of the prescription/ case history and thus could not prove his case. It may be difficult to maintain medical records manually and thus EMR becomes highly relevant.

G.L.Nagendra-Managing director
Ciftech solutions
488-B,3rd Block, KIADB Bldg.
Peenya 2nd stage, Bengaluru-58
Ph: 080-28367373/7474 Mob – 9448283850
Email: ciftechsolutions@gmail.com

The post Why is IT (Information Technology) Relevant in Healthcare? appeared first on Health Vision.