The
Singapore General Hospital recently reported a Hepatitis C outbreak, affecting
22 patients. While the possible cause of the outbreak has yet to be determined,
this recent scare provides a strong indication of what could go wrong in a
hospital.
Healthcare institutes are one of the most complex
environments, with numerous players working together to co-create the patient
experience. Each player, whether doctors, nurses, pharmacists or front line
staff must function seamlessly as a singular, well-oiled machine to deliver
efficient and quality service – a hallmark of world class healthcare standards.
Unsurprisingly, studies have shown that the failure to
communicate is a significant factor of adverse clinical events and outcomes.
The incredibly large amount of interactions taking place every day, each with
different dimensions of complexity leaves a very small margin for error. Even
the slightest miscommunication can result in devastating consequences.
Simplify
the flow of background information
To minimize communication errors, healthcare
institutes should consider investing in a customized business communications
solution that is secure and always available. This system should be able to
establish a secure audio, Web or High Definition video conference with anyone
from any telephone or multiple video endpoint devices, any location, and any
browser for spontaneous collaboration.
With a clear, reliable and secure means of
communicating and collaborating, medical and admin staff alike will spend less
time battling a spotty network connection, or even be saved a physical trip
down the corridor to pass information. All this time saved means that staff, be
it doctors or nurses will have on average more time to look into the needs of
the patient. Lives may even be saved, such as when a pharmacist catches a lapse
in a prescription and is able to contact the doctor in real-time.
Control
communications in real-time
The healthcare sector has evolved to embrace mobility.
Medical personnel are is now empowered to administer telemedicine, to ‘see’
patients through video calls, or seamlessly share and pull outpatient
information via a secured database.
However, security remains a major cause for concern in
the area of healthcare with the proliferation of mobile devices and Bring Your
Own Device (BYOD) policies. IDC predicts that by the end of 2015, 50 percent of
healthcare organizations would have experienced 1 to 4 cyber-attacks in the
year, with 1 in 3 ending up successful.
As such, it is important that healthcare institutes
invest in solid network security to ensure that patient data is protected, even
while keeping it available to those who rely on it. Healthcare providers can
look for Local Area Network (LAN) solutions that give them centralized visibility
and control over the wireless network, preventing unauthorized access to
staff-only networks.
A
healthy network makes for healthier patients
Healthcare institutes often underestimate the
importance of a reliable and efficient network infrastructure – a critical
backbone to healthcare operations. As healthcare institutes make the migration
from paper to digital, more needs to be done to ensure that information systems
remain secure, and new clinical information tools are easy to use.
A poorly implemented system would mean that healthcare
professionals will spend more time troubleshooting or worse still, fall back to
the traditional way of manual reports.
The promise of connected healthcare is not far. Farrer
Park Hospital in Singapore, for example, has taken steps to embrace a connected
network infrastructure that will serve as a platform for quality patient care
into the long term. The hospital enables videos of operations to be broadcast
in real-time on the hospital network. This helps with telemedicine and
training.
The 220 bedded facilities, officially opened in March
2016, have the latest state of the art equipment and technology. Together with
a connected network infrastructure, the seamless flow of information enables
those who need the information, receives it in real time. This efficiency leads
to improved patient outcomes.
Death by medical errors is, unfortunately, plaguing
hospitals even into the 21st Century, and are symptomatic of miscommunication.
To counter this, healthcare institutes should consider the possibilities of
connected healthcare to enhance the way their medical staff communicates on a
day-to-day basis, and ultimately create a world-class patient experience.
With the amount of time and resources saved from
navigating clumsy backend systems, healthcare professionals will be able to
invest their time in the people that matter most – patients.
Ernest Lee
