Surging patient loads are overwhelming health care providers, causing burnout and leading to vast inefficiencies in the provision of care. Outdated technologies make the situation worse, and legacy or patchworked systems fuel the flames of provider frustration.

The cure? Data interoperability.

Interoperability in healthcare refers to the ability of in-place systems and devices that can share and use information from one another without special guidance from the user. Specifically, this points to patient care technologies that share data with the goal of delivering effective health management and a personalized care program.

It’s a good thing if you have it, and costly if you don’t.

In fact, lack of data interoperability in healthcare costs the U.S. health system around $30 billion annually. Fortunately, there are easy-to-access solutions such as document management systems that can help providers move toward a more cohesive, and interoperable, data sharing system.

Using Document Management to Make Interoperability in Healthcare Your Goal

Technologies like document management systems (DMS) can assist in putting data interoperability within reach for health care providers. And interoperability isn’t just a buzzword — it brings measurable advantages for providers and patients alike, particularly at the most basic and widely-used level — the electronic health record (EHR).

With the patient care experience being the prime directive and motivator for most health care providers, DMSs provide a cost-effective way to improve efficiency, reduce error, and improve the quality of patient care by streamlining the processing of EHRs and other data.

The Benefits of Interoperability for Patients and Providers

Interoperability can improve healthcare results in five distinct ways:

• Improved patient experiences by reducing the need to fill out multiple forms — or one form, multiple times,
• Reduction of medical errors due to incomplete patient data,
• Increase in security and privacy of sensitive patient data,
• Increase in productivity for healthcare staff and reduction in frustration levels by having access to the proper data when needed,
• Better and more accurate data during a public health crisis.

Controlled, monitored sharing of patient data among organizations and providers can provide a fuller picture of individual patient health, provide more targeted and coordinated treatment, and remove significant administrative burdens from staff to reduce burnout and allow a more patient-centric focus.

The Impact of Document Management on Interoperability

Document management systems (DMS) are a vital component of a strong interoperability program. Using automated workflows to reduce manual errors and relieve the administrative burden on staff, while data electronically exchanged through a DMS can reduce administrative costs and provide a better care experience.

With the first Evaluation and Management (E/M) coding change in over 20 years taking effect in January of 2021, it is more important than ever for doctors and hospitals to have a clear, consistent, automated way to track patient and billing records.

Even the American Medical Association (AMA) recognized that integrating these new coding guidelines into practice management will most likely require the assistance of competent third parties to assure practices are ready for the changes.

A robust DMS can reduce process bottlenecks and allow data to be shared to increase operational efficiency, with an eye toward compliance with data privacy regulations and information security protocols. In fact, your DMS provider can be an instrumental part of your interoperability effort, helping you to stay abreast of current coding changes and changes in data privacy regulations.

Blue Technologies Puts Document Management Within Reach

At Blue Technologies, we understand the very real pressure our healthcare clients are under to not only manage patient care at a high level but maintain compliance with a number of data privacy regulations regarding sensitive patient information.

Our document management experts can not only assess your current infrastructure and interoperability status but also create a custom-tailored solution that will assist you in managing, sharing, and protecting your data with ease.

Our DMS solutions reduce reliance on tedious manual entry to minimize errors, streamline and/or automate workflows to eliminate staff frustrations, and point the way to a higher level of performance and patient care through better use of data.

Reap the benefits data interoperability can bring to your healthcare organization. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant today and learn how our document management solutions can help serve you — and help you serve your patient base — better.