The Healthcare industry has changed a lot over the years due to the influence of information technology (IT). Modern healthcare providers use a range of different technology – some that are unique to the industry, and others that have broader applications. We discussed the types of technology used by healthcare providers with TechQuarters, who is one of the IT support companies London based healthcare providers choose to manage their technology infrastructure.
Health Information Technology
Health IT – or HIT – is a brand of technology that is designed to manage information within a healthcare organisation; the specific technology in question could be for storing data and/or sharing data, analysing data, creating reports, etc. HIT is used in both private and public healthcare. According to TechQuarters – who, as an IT support provider London based healthcare organisations rely on, knows a great deal about this type of tech – HIT is an important aspect of modern-day healthcare institutions, because it greatly increases the efficiency of an organisation’s operations.
So, what kinds of HIT solutions do healthcare organisations commonly employ?
Medical Practice Management System
A medical practice management system manages all the various administrative and clinical tasks and processes that go on within a healthcare practice.
Within all medical practices, a lot of clerical work goes on – from creating and managing documentation, to creating and managing appointments; a lot of important data besides that which is directly related to patients medical information (which does not get managed by practice management software).
A medical practice management helps automate and streamline various processes, making it easier for staff to focus on patient care. This type of technology can be used by hospitals and individual practitioners alike.
Electronic Health Records
Whereas the previous technology we discussed was focused on managing administrative and clerical information, Electronic Health Records are designed for managing patient’s medical data. EHR systems make it much easier for doctors to record important information relating to their patient, and the care they are giving to the patient.
In the past, practitioners would have to write everything down on paper. Now, everything is digitized, which makes sharing information with relevant parties quicker and easier; and it ensures that sensitive patient information is stored in the most secure way, and is not prone to be lost or damaged.
E-Prescribing Software
A big part of modern healthcare is concerned with prescribing treatments – whether they be medication, physical therapy, social treatments, etc.
E-Prescribing software enables doctors to write up prescriptions much more quickly, and it allows them to send the e-prescription directly to pharmacists, making it available for the patient to collect almost instantly.
E-Prescribing software eliminates the confusion around deciphering hand-written notes, and the potential for prescriptions to be mixed up.
Other IT Used By Healthcare Providers
As you can see, there is a big market for technology designed specifically for medical and healthcare practices. However, this is not the only technology healthcare organisations use; when we spoke to TechQuarters, they told us that the IT support for healthcare companies that they provide is not entirely focused on health information technology – they also help practices manage more common technologies, such as…
Every modern business uses email, and they have done for decades now. It is little surprise that medical practices still use email clients.
A commonly used email client in the healthcare sector is Microsoft Outlook which, together with Microsoft Exchange Server, offers all the enterprise-grade emailing capabilities an organisation needs.
Office Apps
Medical practices also frequently use common office productivity apps – such as word processors, spreadsheets, the aforementioned email clients, note-taking apps, file management apps, etc.
An example of Office productivity apps is Microsoft 365, which is fully compliant with healthcare regulations, and comes with a range of products that fulfil different business needs; including (but not limited to) word processing, email, instant messaging and videoconferencing, cloud storage, etc.
