hospital information system

Do we really need EMRs for Telemedicine? Java, Java Philippines

Do we really need EMRs for Telemedicine in 2022?

Do we really need EMRs for Telemedicine in 2022? 768 487 Exist Software Labs

EMRs for Telemedicine

With the continuous innovation of technology in the world, the usage of Telemedicine is spreading now more than ever. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Telemedicine signifies the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to improve patient outcomes by increasing access to medical information. Moreover, they explained:

“The delivery of health care services, where distance is a critical factor, by all health care professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease and injuries, research and evaluation, and for the continuing education of health care providers, all in the interests of advancing the health of individuals and their communities.”  

Globally, the trend for the application of EMRs for Telemedicine since the start of the pandemic has been consistently rising. The risk of contracting COVID 19 when having to go to hospitals for check ups and consultations may be the biggest driver for the increasing application of Telemedicine. 

In the Philippines, one Telemedicine provider reported a 170% increase in the number of teleconsultations, with an 80% resolution rate. Even the Department of Health (DOH) urges the public to opt for a teleconsult when dealing with non-urgent medical needs to prevent overcrowding in hospitals, therefore minimizing the risks of spreading the virus.

However, for EMRs for Telemedicine to be more effective, clinicians will still need access to patient medical information, such as Electronic Medical Records (EMR), in order to give a proper diagnosis. Using EMRs for Telemedicine provides care providers with the necessary information that they should have in order to make an informed decision. Simultaneously, EMR also increases efficiency by reducing redundant tests since patient history is properly disclosed in the patient’s records.

By using a system that’s integrated with EMRs and Telemedicine, hospitals and clinics can practice the use of these features and be able to evaluate, diagnose, consult, and do follow-ups from a distance. 

So why use EMRs for Telemedicine?

1. Coordinated care and better teleconsult

Through EMRs, e-consultations can support a more team-based & holistic approach to patient care. By being able to see the patient’s previous results across different care settings, clinicians are better equipped to make informed decisions, thus ensuring quality patient care outcomes.

2. Minimized duplication of records

With proper handling of EMRs, there will only be 1 record per patient. This becomes a huge help when dealing with patients who are not aware that they already have an existing record. When making an EMR for a patient, the system will automatically detect if the person already has an existing record, saving time for both the hospital and the patient.

3. Automated data entries

If EMRs and Telemedicine are integrated into one system, doctor notes during a consult will automatically be part of the patient’s EMR for future reference. This ensures the accuracy of data entries into the patient’s records.

With all these present, hospitals and clinics should consider having a system that can support the usage of Telemedicine through EMRs. 

Exist Healthcare Solutions

 Exist’s healthcare IT systems address the management of patient information to connect users and different care providers to help achieve ease of care, drive cost and process efficiencies.

Learn more about how Exist’s DOH-Accredited Electronic Medical Records, along with a Hospital and Clinic system that carries a Telemedicine module, can help you improve your practice and enhance patient care.

Start using EMRs for Telemedicine now! You may request for a demo now by clicking here.

Check Out Our Insights on Digital Healthcare

Click the button to learn more.

Pandemic Highlights Need for EMR, Information Systems Beyond Hospital and Clinic Walls, Java, Java Developer Philippines

The 2020 Pandemic effectively Highlights Need for EMR, Information Systems Beyond the Hospital and Clinic’s Walls

The 2020 Pandemic effectively Highlights Need for EMR, Information Systems Beyond the Hospital and Clinic’s Walls 768 487 Exist Software Labs

Despite the uptake of practices using EMRs, the country’s struggle to capture COVID-related data and the presence of health information systems that are not interoperable exposed the need for EMR, hospital, and clinic systems that contribute to and empower the greater health sector.

Read on to see how the pandemic highlights the need for EMRs and Information Systems beyond hospital and clinic walls.

It is nearly impossible to create or build healthcare capacity during a pandemic.  Hospitals everywhere struggle with staffing and bed resources to keep up with Covid surges while preventing infections.  The lack of clear political strategy and guidance seems to leave health providers fending for themselves.

Yet, it is these types of situations that also enlighten and ultimately force a reckoning for businesses.  In healthcare, it is not just about finding a means to stay afloat.  It is a matter of ensuring the survival of staff and the populace.  It is about how to improve and extend patient services while contributing to the greater need of containing the pandemic.

 

Pandemic Highlights the Need for EMR and Clinic Systems. See how it can help.

If it wasn’t as clear before, it has become imperative that any operating business will need to invest in IT and digital solutions.  It is about finding systems that answer core business requirements while also being equipped to support functionalities yet to be identified.  For hospitals and clinics, it is not enough that systems and applications exist only for internal consumption.  Systems need to enable them to participate and share health data (in a secure manner) to reach patients.  They need to contribute information to guide policies for the greater population.

For medical practices, the shift and need for EMR have grown rapidly in the last few years.  This is apparent in larger clinical practices offering a variety of medical and diagnostic services across a network of branches.  Ease of coordination, as well as seamless transactions, give these clinics an advantage.  They offer a more well-rounded patient experience that mirrors that of a tertiary hospital but at a more affordable cost.

Why does the need for EMR constantly arise? EMRs allow users to coordinate care across various specialties.  The system provides the entire clinic and its team of doctors with the needed information about the patient at every turn. With available patient data, the practice is likely to adapt toward providing more evidence-based care.

Outpatient clinics need to step up to provide help to hospitals. Clinics can provide triage as a first line of care for patients before going directly to hospitals.

As vaccination programs roll out, clinics across the country can be viable centers given their experience providing immunizations.  At this time, multi-specialty and diagnostic clinics can be a safe haven for patients needing medical help while avoiding the high risk of infection in hospitals.

Such a larger role requires that clinic management systems cannot just be about the need for an EMR.  Clinic systems will need to be mini-hospital information systems (HIS) except without the support for admission and its supporting modules.

Like hospital systems, the clinic system orchestrates a team of doctors, nurses, and other users across different sections organized by medical specialty, different laboratory, or even outpatient surgical care. The Pandemic Highlights the support needed for an integrated online patient portal and telemedicine. Imagine a doctor providing teleconsultation without the need to open another application for accessing and updating the patient’s electronic medical records!

These functionalities are critical to ensuring that medical services will remain operational while reducing physical contact.  With a portal, the patients are provided a tool by which they can update their records and provide feedback on their medical outcomes.

 

Pandemic Highlights Importance of Breaking Silos and Transmission of Covid-related Data

Maintaining a single source of patient information across multiple branches is just as important.  Firstly, the patient will have more options not limited by location for in-person services such as laboratory and diagnostic tests. This ensures that doctors and other care professionals view updated and complete patient records regardless of clinic branch which opens potential for further interoperability. With consolidated patient records inside clinic systems, clinics have in their possession, valuable data.  Data that can yield patient insights and provide information on future services and investment as well.

In the fight against Covid, using information from paper records seems almost anecdotal at best.  For any viable health program to succeed in this pandemic, data needs to guide the plans.  Surviving the pandemic needs the entire health sector — both public and private, to work together.  Hospitals and clinics will need to pay attention to the needs of population health for Covid data as well. Using the right hospital information and clinic systems is vital for transmitting and collecting health information and statistics.  This is important in creating a holistic health plan for cities, provinces, and ultimately an entire country.

The Covid situation is like being part of an ongoing global research study.  It is both tragic, and one that hopefully with available data, will strengthen and lift healthcare standards everywhere.

In the Philippines, the pandemic highlights the need for IT systems used by hospitals and clinics need to comply with the required standards set forth by the Department of Health (DOH) as well as Philhealth.  Systems with these certifications not only give health facilities the license to legally operate but show a commitment to contribute to improving healthcare beyond its four walls. 

The pandemic highlights the need to take advantage of information systems, care institutions give themselves and their patients a fighting chance to survive and continue to be relevant players in the healthcare business as well.

Enabling Connected Healthcare


Technological innovation has enabled a new model of care delivery where the patient is at the center of the healthcare network. The pandemic highlights the need for advanced and innovative healthcare technology.
 
Exist’s healthcare IT systems address the management of patient information to connect users and different care providers to help achieve ease of care, drive cost and process efficiencies, and ultimately, generate better patient outcomes.

Check out our other Digital Healthcare insights here!

Check Out Medcurial

Check out our healthcare product, MEDCURIAL. See how it can help our nation improve its response to the ongoing global pandemic.

 

Hospital Information System. Java. Java Philippines.

Buy and Build Hospital Information Systems Dilemma Revisited in 2020

Buy and Build Hospital Information Systems Dilemma Revisited in 2020 768 487 Exist Software Labs

What do hospitals have to deal with in choosing to buy or build systems??

Delivering care now generally considers hospital information systems, applications, and software. Despite misgivings about cost as the previous article has pointed out, what first was a tool to ensure operational and financial efficiency, has grown far more valuable and one that continues to become essential in achieving whatever doctor, clinic, or hospital has originally set out to do – provide the right medical care based on data or evidence.

Custom (build) or Off-the-shelf Systems (buy)

The eternal dilemma facing CIOs is whether to build a system from scratch or mold an off-the-shelf application to the needs of the institution. Most decisions are a hybrid mix, but many hospitals lean too far in the emotional direction. When hard data is available, making an emotional decision is not a good business practice! 

TechRepublic says it best:

The major factor that significantly reduces the custom solutions’ ROI is the lack of available personnel with proper skill sets. That is also true in many cases. Such ultimately causes the endeavor to fail as well. It takes many skills to design and deploy a business solution that is both scalable and extensible. 

Unless one of your business areas is product development, there is an extremely high probability that your operations and maintenance technology resources do not include all of the skill sets necessary for a successful solution.

Even worse, the team may not fully understand the problem domain, and may not discover unknown requirements. 

While cost between custom solutions and commercial built products have now been significantly reduced, if you are a clinic or hospital and IT resources are not available within the organization, then the option to look for available solutions in the market makes the most sense. 

Here are key considerations for picking an off-the-shelf solution vs building a custom one which is also essentially a choice between product and vendor support:

A product vendor who is responsible for adapting the product to technological advancements that are aligned with your overall strategy.

They should be capable of providing immediate and long-term support to your organization.

The product can meet most of the core business requirements.

It should also be able to accommodate unsupported core business requirements via enhancements or additional modules.

Reality-check

The allure of both custom and off-the-shelf software is that all requirements can be satisfied, but that is a delusion. 

Requirements are not just about features but about other system characteristics and technologies. While features reflect the immediate need for hospitals or clinics, long-term benefits impact ROI on either option. Clarifying business goals and finding the right partners that will help the organization over the course of 3-5 business years are the keys to achieving these long-term benefits.

Learn more and read a previous article where Philippine healthcare IT leaders share their thoughts about hospital information systems on this link.

Check Out Medcurial

Check out our healthcare product, MEDCURIAL. See how it helped some of the biggest hospitals in the country provide better patient outcomes.

Java. Java Philippines. Hospital Information System.

Philippine’s Hospital Information System Adoption in 2020: Which Level Are You In?

Philippine’s Hospital Information System Adoption in 2020: Which Level Are You In? 768 487 Exist Software Labs

This blog is the first in a series where we examine the state of HIS use among Philippine hospitals.

Hospital Information Systems in healthcare have evolved tremendously over the years. The use of some level of information management has become virtually indispensable among care providers, facilities, and health systems.  Around the world, the current pandemic has placed a spotlight on healthcare. It also set a level of scrutiny on how care is safely and efficiently provided. In this era, it generally involves the use of tools and IT systems.

WHO states that what constitutes its importance is that, “such information systems serve multiple users and a wide array of purposes that can be summarized as the generation of information to enable decision-makers at all levels of the health system to identify problems and needs, make evidence-based decisions on health policy and allocate scarce resources optimally.”

Health information systems are called upon to enable tracking along the continuum of inputs to the health system, from processes, outputs, as well as outcomes and impact. 

Yet, owing to prohibitive costs and competing priorities, few developing countries have hospital and care facilities that have sufficiently strong and effective health information systems to meet all these diverse and important information needs.

Like a growing enterprise, achieving a level of care system requires carefully thought out strategies. These involve starting with organizational objectives before even thinking about core features.  It also means assessing and building up support capabilities while considering the tools that will help lead the team towards its goal.

Leading healthcare analytics company Health Catalyst, has brilliantly laid out a historical table that helps hospitals figure out which stage they are in their healthcare systems.

  • The main healthcare drivers in this era were Medicare and Medicaid. The IT drivers were expensive mainframes and storage. Because computers and storage were so large and expensive, hospitals typically shared a mainframe. Shared hospital accounting systems were the principal applications emerging in this environment.

  • One of the main healthcare drivers in this era was the need to do a better job communicating between departments (ADT, order communications, and results review) and the need for discrete departmental systems (e.g., clinical lab, pharmacy). The reduction of hardware size allowed the installation of computers in a single department without environmental controls. As a result, departmental systems proliferated. Unfortunately, these transactional systems, embedded in individual departments, were typically islands unto themselves.

  • Healthcare drivers were heavily tied to DRGs and reimbursement. For the first time, hospitals needed to pull significant information from both clinical and financial systems to be reimbursed. At the same time, personal computers, widespread, non-traditional software applications, and networking solutions entered the market. As a result, hospitals began integrating applications so financial and clinical systems could interact in a limited way.

  • In this decade, competition and consolidation drove healthcare, along with the need to integrate hospitals, providers, and managed care. From an IT perspective, hospitals now had access to broad, distributed computing systems and robust networks. Therefore, we created an integrated delivery network (IDN)-like integration, including the impetus to integrate data and reporting.

  • The main healthcare drivers were increased integration and the beginnings of outcomes-based reimbursement. We now had enough technology and bedside clinical applications installed to make a serious run at commercial, real-time clinical decision support.

The information above gives us a concrete way to frame where most Philippine hospitals are in their hospital information system journey — which more or less cuts and jumps through the different periods while also dependent on the level of and type of hospital organization (primary, secondary, tertiary and teaching) to which they belong.

It is also good to point out that several factors mainly influence part of the adoption of these systems in local settings (approximating the following in order of importance):

For the most part, Philippine hospitals were mostly using systems primarily supporting ADT and other operational requirements. While leading hospitals have blazed a trail of their own by benchmarking their systems globally, most had systems that were mostly siloed or islands among themselves.  Using paper, these hospitals barely even touch and encode clinical data. Such practice leaves doctors and care professionals to depend solely on their own competencies, sorting through paper medical records, and delivering successful outcomes against the growing complexities of providing care.

But lately, things have been accelerating towards the adoption of better systems that require substantial clinical data because of government mandates related to DOH EMR compliance and Philhealth financial reimbursements.  

Modern requirements subtly push Philippine hospitals to make use of electronic medical records for reporting statistics. Some of these include the renewal of licenses as well as providing correct clinical data to support claims reimbursements.  The outcome is multi-fold as this forces Philippine healthcare to shift from paper to electronic. It also promotes increased use of data in providing care and upgrade to systems that make better use of IT. Implementing these technologies will reduce manual errors and manage care complexities. Thus, leading to more team collaboration.

So, can we say that the use of better hospital systems in the country is making progress?  Tell us what you think!

In another article, we will discuss the available options for hospitals that aspire to step up in their healthcare proposition. As well as differentiate themselves against the competition using IT innovation.

Check Out Medcurial

Check out our healthcare product, MEDCURIAL. See how it helped some of the biggest hospitals in the country provide better patient outcomes.

Health. Java. Java Philippines.

Our Share in this COVID Warfare

Our Share in this COVID Warfare 768 487 Exist Software Labs

The year shocked us with a change we have all not foreseen. For the first time in years, perhaps, decades, we had to turn our backs from the living condition that has grown on us. The world has taken a hiatus from almost all of its activities. The population succumbed to the walls of their homes in fear of acquiring the virus.

At the forefront of this global health crisis are fighters equipped with medical weapons and gowns, the first line of defense in this war. While we remain in the comfort of our homes, hospitals keep striving. It has served as heroes’ quarters even in retrospect, saving lives at the best of their guts. But a pandemic can take anyone by surprise.

Throughout history, viruses, bacterias, and parasites have been killing more than wars and natural calamities. We have heard of similar diseases like SARS and MERS before. But even with hundreds of health cases related to this, the COVID-19 is a whole new deal. Medical experts are still seeking answers. The world is still yet to discover the cure for it.

As the crisis magnifies each day, humanity and empathy for those in the frontline also amplify. Assistance comes in many forms from different people and institutions.

As technology innovators, we hope that our technology is serving health workers from our partner hospitals well. Compared to the risks that they are taking, it might be little. But it draws us more to continuously work in advancing our healthcare technologies, knowing that it is serving a great purpose in these troubled times and might even be useful in the future.

Having a system that can effectively manage medical records digitally can save some of their time. It also contributes to reducing errors that could affect patient outcomes.

There might still be millions of unknown diseases comparable to COVID-19 that the world may encounter again. Thus, an effective documenting system to gather information about the patients can help in medical research, developing vaccines, and improving medical practices.

This phenomenon hit us with the reality that a multitude of possibilities is still unknown in the field of medicine. Takeaways from this event will likely propel a much intensive organizational development and the adoption of modern solutions for modern problems. 

We hope that once the brighter days are upon us once again, we will have more chances to work hand in hand with those in the health sector, improving their operations while enhancing our healthcare products. So that when another biological threat comes in our way, our medical practitioners are better geared, having better access to medical knowledge. We can be more ready than afraid.

Check out our healthcare product, MEDCURIAL, and see how it helped some of the biggest hospitals in the country provide better patient outcomes.

Healthcare. Java. Java Philippines.

Healthcare Crisis Demands Use of the Cloud (2020)

Healthcare Crisis Demands Use of the Cloud (2020) 768 487 Exist Software Labs

The pandemic has placed institutions around the world under a heavy burden.  Except for national governments, no other institution or organization has taken the full force of the effect of the COVID virus than the healthcare industry. The immensity of the response needed, saving lives in addition to those that are infected while protecting their own care teams is unprecedented possibly since the post World War.

But we are, by no means still in the industrial age.

Technology has advanced to the point that people can stay in touch with families and workmates while physically apart across continents.  What this also means is that systems can be serviced and operated remotely while interfacing with other systems in order to provide valuable data and/or service that workers need to perform their jobs.  At its core, most if not all businesses, institutions including hospitals, require software systems in order to run their operations and coordinate the disparate but dependent functional parts.

We have at our disposal the use of magnificent machines that we’d never thought would be smart enough to turn on and off and operate by themselves. Inside the modern hospital, we’re used to seeing nurses carry tablets instead of paper charts, programmable infusion pumps instead of IV drips, and patients viewing lab results from the mobile phone instead of reading them on paper.

Yet all this may not be enough and the situation right now and post-crisis demand that healthcare upgrade and become more digital.

It has been said that the web is the future and along with it, is the use of cloud computing.  But this isn’t true at all because the future is upon us already!

The window for getting by with anything manual or use of outdated software applications that require complicated installations and effort-intensive management has just about closed.  The current crisis just illustrated how fragile are the systems that are highly dependent on onsite physical support. Unless, you’re a care provider – a doctor or nurse or medical team member, any function that can be performed remotely can mean lives being saved and less burden on medical services.

To believe that this is temporary and that things will return to normal soon is to remain in denial.  The world has changed and expectedly, so will the tools.  

One can bet that this crisis will spur innovation that will bring about better technology for hospitals, businesses and other industries than what we have right now.  The kind that allows people to focus and invest on work that is truly valuable like bedside care and directly saving lives.

But until that time comes, it is best to perform an honest audit of what keeps your business up and running. Heaven forbid that IT systems experience downtime and can’t help hospitals stay afloat.  Because every medical personnel’s fervent wish is for people to stay home, expecting the hospital systems and processes running efficiently (from admissions, discharge, orders, billing and cashiering among others) while they do their jobs is probably high on their wish list, too.

Healthcare. Java. Java Philippines.

Push for Philippine Healthcare Transformation Continues

Push for Philippine Healthcare Transformation Continues 768 487 Exist Software Labs

The Hospital Modernization Summit series has just concluded its latest stop in Manila last February 20, 2020, at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila. 

Aptly titled Digital Hospital Transformation Conference, Philippines, the event united local healthcare leaders, executives, care providers, and stakeholders to address the pressure of improving healthcare amidst the increasing challenge brought about by the need to incorporate universal healthcare, rising population, costs, and the threat of new diseases.

Exist and Medcurial have once again teamed up with Zebra, a global leader in providing handheld and mobile devices, printers, and computers that are vital towards elevating the patient experience and promoting efficient hospital and clinic operations.

With Zebra products and our MERX hospital information system, visitors and attendees were able to glimpse how the right device and hospital system integration are simple ways for hospitals to make the technology leap into innovations that make practical sense. From simple printing of labels and patient tags on virtually indestructible, tear-proof stickers that capture the admission, lab order, and results, to the patient and item tracking via advanced RFID scanners, we have demonstrated that technology tools are already available which will greatly prevent significant medical errors and replace labor-intensive manual activities.

Below are some photos that were taken during the event:

Check out our healthcare product, MEDCURIAL, and see how it helped some of the biggest hospitals in the country provide better patient outcomes.

CGHMC, Java, Java Philippines

CGHMC and Exist Software Labs Team Up to Successfully Run New MERX™ Hospital Information System in the Cloud

CGHMC and Exist Software Labs Team Up to Successfully Run New MERX™ Hospital Information System in the Cloud 768 487 Exist Software Labs

Manila, November 13, 2018 — Top Philippine tertiary healthcare institution Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center (CGHMC), owned and operated by the Philippine Chinese Charitable Association Inc. (PCCAI) achieves another milestone as it successfully completes implementation of their new hospital information system that helps bring them closer towards a more technologically-equipped and operationally-efficient facility.

Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center (CGHMC) achieves new milestone in Medicine

Using Exist Software Labs’ next-generation hospital information system MERX™, Chinese General Hospital has set its sights on navigating the highly-dynamic healthcare landscape equipped with innovative technology to help its clinicians deliver superior patient care.

“Advancements in the healthcare industry are intertwined with improvements in technology”, reveals Mr. Jamie Dy, Director for Information Communications & Technology and Data Privacy Officer of CGHMC.  “We patiently searched for the type of hospital system that will best address our current requirements to better fulfill our vow of providing quality care while keeping track of the kind of hospital modernization including data privacy and security compliance that we wanted to achieve.”

One of Manila’s oldest running hospital can now also lay claim to be among the most innovative as it becomes the first to comprehensively adopt web-based technology and cloud infrastructure to run a large hospital.

“Implementing robust and advanced IT systems is a major investment, not only about license costs but investing in tech people as well. We knew our strength lies in our healthcare core but working with Exist Software Labs, we are proud converts to the power of tech innovation to help carry our hospital services further”, adds Mr. Dy.

According to Michael Lim, CEO of Exist, “We’ve always believed that the web and the internet have the ability to transform not just personal and social lives but even enterprises which include hospitals as well. The best technology, done right, can really empower the users to do better work.”

Mike further adds, “With MERX™, we help steer hospitals away from the complexities of maintaining traditional legacy systems so they can instead focus on their core delivery which for CGHMC is about healthcare.”

Designed to address both operational and clinical requirements of hospitals, MERX™ supports hospitals preparing for a near-paperless setup using integrated electronic medical records (EMR) while utilizing an entirely web-framework that has become the defacto standard for enterprise systems worldwide.

“Being a web-based system, MERX™ gave us the option of using the cloud which helps us save and reduce our capital expenses and at the same time mitigate the risk of running our own IT infrastructure that has often plagued non-IT core organizations ”, declares Mr. Dy.  “Even more fascinating is the fact that cloud platforms now rival traditional on-premise hardware performance and at the same time comply with global privacy and security protocols”.

While a number of healthcare apps especially electronic medical records (EMR) run on the cloud, there are very few precedents for operating a large tertiary hospital almost entirely on it. By proving that a cloud setup works, smaller to mid-size hospitals on a budget have better chances to benefit from modern hospital systems at manageable costs by cutting the expenses associated with forming an IT team and purchasing hardware.

“Part of the job of running a hospital is doing continuous research beyond the field of medicine – by observing other industries as well,” says Mr. Dy.  “From manufacturing to banks, you can see how widespread the use of technology has become integral to business success.”

Further, the youthful CIO concludes, “With our current technology partner Exist, we are confident that our doctors, nurses and, other employees are now among best-equipped to achieve the best possible outcomes to the Filipinos who entrust CGHMC for their health and care.”

Check out our healthcare product, MEDCURIAL, and see how it helped some of the biggest hospitals in the country provide better patient outcomes.