Efficiently Collaborating Health Environments

An explosion in the availability of information due to technology innovation, has increased awareness and enabled access to clinicians, healthcare workers and infrastructure when and where required, thereby increasing healthcare expectations.

At the same time, 3 new trends in healthcare have come to the fore. They are:

From Care to Health Focus is shifting to early diagnosis and treatment, bringing down cost and increasing productivity. Avoidance of disease is gaining priority, taking us beyond just curing the disease.

From Hospital to Home Modern technology and healthcare practices allow minimization of hospital stay, resulting in lower costs and dislocation. The larger prevalence of chronic diseases implies that the primary location of patient care is the home, rather than the hospital or clinic.

From Prescription to Participation As the location of care shifts to the home, the need for participation by the patient and caregiver increases. In case of chronic diseases, the nature of treatment dictates that patients take charge of managing the condition and hence the recovery process. All of this is enabled by increased information availability, making the patient more empowered to deal with disease. Evidence based medical practice begins to gain greater importance.

The above trends signal a change in the priorities of various healthcare stakeholders. Clinics, hospitals, laboratories, providers of support services, emergency responders, home and longterm caregivers, the Government and private players who are part of the healthcare ecosystem, must work collaboratively to meet the new expectations and needs of their patients.

Collaborative Care

There are several areas in which better efficiencies and effectiveness could be achieved through closer collaboration in the ecosystem.

Collaboration between the patient, care-giver and doctor: As patients demand to take charge of their own health, the need for empowerment is increasing rapidly. The role of the practitioner is undergoing a change, even as the patient and their care-givers become better informed and equipped to take action on their own.

Collaboration between the doctor and nurse: Collaboration between various departments allows quicker exchange of information and application of specialized knowledge to specific situations or patient needs. Apart from such interactions, the ability to reach a resource (physical, human or informational) is critical to delivering speedy service to the patient. These resources maybe spread across the hospital and outside of its boundaries. Improved patient outcomes also result from increased collaboration between nurses, physicians, and the supply chain network.

Collaboration between specialists: This is important especially in complex medical response situations. The ability to exchange information rapidlynot just send information back and forth, but also to be able to discuss interactively, based on evidence, is critical. The timeliness of such an intervention adds to the benefit.

Susheela Venkataraman,
The author is MD, Internet
Business Solutions Group
maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in