Digitally Networked Clinic Information Systems: Rethinking Patient Entertainment
Poster: SySAdmin
Posted on February 25, 2016 at 8:42:01 AM
Digitally Networked Clinic Information Systems: Rethinking Patient Entertainment
NEUSS, Germany, February 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Modern medicine would be inconceivable without computer technology. Indeed, medical
technology and information technology are becoming more inextricably linked by the day.
This trend however poses considerable challenges for both technical and medical personnel.
Patient entertainment systems can play an important role in meeting these challenges,
provided they are designed not only to provide classic entertainment, but also to
facilitate bedside access by clinic staff to existing and future clinical information
systems.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160225/337435 )
Enabling medical staff to directly access patients' health records during ward rounds
or medical treatment at the bedside ensures that no information is missed. This in turn
greatly reduces the potential for misunderstanding and miscommunication. But, while
building such as system may sound simple in theory, it is in practice a complex
undertaking. Existing IT landscapes in clinics are after all highly heterogeneous, based
on a variety of different databases and programming languages. Integrating a system like
that described above is therefore no simple feat, requiring close collaboration between
the relevant manufacturers and health care providers.
Facilitating better information exchangeÂ
"By synchronizing structures, optimizing processes and creating interfaces with
clinical information systems, the value and the potential benefits of a patient
entertainment system increase considerably," explains the management of ClinicAll
International, a manufacturer of infotainment systems for hospitals based in the German
town of Neuss. "We recognized early on that the true value of a patient entertainment
system lies in its ability to integrate with other clinic information systems, and in the
consequent enabling of clinic staff to access the HIS, EMR and other patient information
systems already in place. This led to our decision in early 2015 to found and promote a
"Technology Alliance for People and Medicine" together with other market leaders from the
manufacturing and clinic management fields. The Alliance's general objective is to foster
clinic-wide accessibility to digital information with the primary aim of improving
internal processes and eradicating digital fault-lines within clinics' process
structures."
The Technology Alliance currently comprises B.Braun Melsungen AG, Intel Deutschland
GmbH, Lohmann & Birkner Health Care Consulting GmbH, Microsoft Deutschland GmbH, ClinicAll
Deutschland GmbH and Rhön Klinikum AG with its University Hospital Giessen and Marburg. It
presented the first fruits of its work to a wide audience of trade and industry
representatives at the 2015 MEDICA trade fair.
The challenges faced by health care providersÂ
With more and more patients expecting bedside entertainment during their hospital or
clinic stays, the demand among health care providers for affordable classic patient
entertainment systems that medical staff can operate easily is set to increase. Indeed,
hospitals and clinics will increasingly compete for patients on the basis of whether they
can offer easy, user-friendly access to television, radio, Internet, video and patient
information services. However, patient entertainment systems on their own, while certainly
a means of generating additional turnover, will not fulfil clinic and hospital needs in
the long-term. In the future, the role of interactive data exchange at the Point of Care
is set to take on particular importance. This state of affairs calls on providers of
patient entertainment systems to facilitate data exchange via EDI standards, to focus on
user-friendliness, and to also offer mobile/ portable IT solutions that interface with
classic hospital IT, medical technology, and wearables. Many clinics and hospitals,
however, due to their old buildings and outdated infrastructures, will find that creating
the technical conditions necessary for such patient entertainment systems is financially
unfeasible.
Connecting with HIS and other EPAÂ systemsÂ
The advantages of connecting patient entertainment systems with HIS and EPA systems
are clearly evident. Implementing this interconnection is often highly complicated,
however. The difficulties here are in part down to the lack of foresight shown by the
companies who first manufactured patient entertainment systems, as the corresponding
software architecture is unable to accommodate integration with a clinical information
system. TÃV Media Online's editorial team asked Neuss-based patient entertainment
manufacturer ClinicAll International for its view on the integration of HIS systems into
bedside patient entertainment systems. The management board's initial statement was a
sober one:
"We don't currently know of any cases in Germany where a patient entertainment
provider has successfully integrated its system with a clinic's HIS/EMR systems." But the
ClinicAll board went on to explain, "This topic is one of the most important points on our
strategic agenda, however, and is therefore at the forefront of our system development
work. We know that integrating a HIS system with a patient entertainment system on the
basis of HL7 is possible, having accomplished this at a clinic in Golnik, Slovenia.
Together with the company SRC Infonet, which provides this clinic with its HIS system, we
were able to fulfil the clinic management's specifications and successfully integrate the
HIS into our ClinicAll system.
Now, the clinic's medical staff has bedside access to the HIS system and can thus view
patient files and enter new data into the system from here."
Experts in Germany agree that the coming years will see a pronounced development drive
in the field of interactive information processing for clinic staff and patients. Clinics
and hospitals will after all have no choice but to act on the social and technological
changes taking place.
This situation necessitates closer collaboration between HIS providers and patient
entertainment providers on the German market with a view to devising effective integration
solutions. Because, while such integration is technically feasible, little has so far been
done about actually exploiting this feasibility.
Text source: TÃV Media GmbH - Online Editorial teamÂ
Image source: ClinicAll Deutschland GmbH, Technologie Allianz für Mensch und MedizinÂ
ClinicAll Germany GmbH, Contact: Ms Sabine Hering; Email: sh@clinicall.de; Phone:
+49-2131-528-13-30
Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160225/337435
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160225/337435
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160225/337435
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
ClinicAll
NEUSS, Germany, February 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Modern medicine would be inconceivable without computer technology. Indeed, medical
technology and information technology are becoming more inextricably linked by the day.
This trend however poses considerable challenges for both technical and medical personnel.
Patient entertainment systems can play an important role in meeting these challenges,
provided they are designed not only to provide classic entertainment, but also to
facilitate bedside access by clinic staff to existing and future clinical information
systems.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160225/337435 )
Enabling medical staff to directly access patients' health records during ward rounds
or medical treatment at the bedside ensures that no information is missed. This in turn
greatly reduces the potential for misunderstanding and miscommunication. But, while
building such as system may sound simple in theory, it is in practice a complex
undertaking. Existing IT landscapes in clinics are after all highly heterogeneous, based
on a variety of different databases and programming languages. Integrating a system like
that described above is therefore no simple feat, requiring close collaboration between
the relevant manufacturers and health care providers.
Facilitating better information exchangeÂ
"By synchronizing structures, optimizing processes and creating interfaces with
clinical information systems, the value and the potential benefits of a patient
entertainment system increase considerably," explains the management of ClinicAll
International, a manufacturer of infotainment systems for hospitals based in the German
town of Neuss. "We recognized early on that the true value of a patient entertainment
system lies in its ability to integrate with other clinic information systems, and in the
consequent enabling of clinic staff to access the HIS, EMR and other patient information
systems already in place. This led to our decision in early 2015 to found and promote a
"Technology Alliance for People and Medicine" together with other market leaders from the
manufacturing and clinic management fields. The Alliance's general objective is to foster
clinic-wide accessibility to digital information with the primary aim of improving
internal processes and eradicating digital fault-lines within clinics' process
structures."
The Technology Alliance currently comprises B.Braun Melsungen AG, Intel Deutschland
GmbH, Lohmann & Birkner Health Care Consulting GmbH, Microsoft Deutschland GmbH, ClinicAll
Deutschland GmbH and Rhön Klinikum AG with its University Hospital Giessen and Marburg. It
presented the first fruits of its work to a wide audience of trade and industry
representatives at the 2015 MEDICA trade fair.
The challenges faced by health care providersÂ
With more and more patients expecting bedside entertainment during their hospital or
clinic stays, the demand among health care providers for affordable classic patient
entertainment systems that medical staff can operate easily is set to increase. Indeed,
hospitals and clinics will increasingly compete for patients on the basis of whether they
can offer easy, user-friendly access to television, radio, Internet, video and patient
information services. However, patient entertainment systems on their own, while certainly
a means of generating additional turnover, will not fulfil clinic and hospital needs in
the long-term. In the future, the role of interactive data exchange at the Point of Care
is set to take on particular importance. This state of affairs calls on providers of
patient entertainment systems to facilitate data exchange via EDI standards, to focus on
user-friendliness, and to also offer mobile/ portable IT solutions that interface with
classic hospital IT, medical technology, and wearables. Many clinics and hospitals,
however, due to their old buildings and outdated infrastructures, will find that creating
the technical conditions necessary for such patient entertainment systems is financially
unfeasible.
Connecting with HIS and other EPAÂ systemsÂ
The advantages of connecting patient entertainment systems with HIS and EPA systems
are clearly evident. Implementing this interconnection is often highly complicated,
however. The difficulties here are in part down to the lack of foresight shown by the
companies who first manufactured patient entertainment systems, as the corresponding
software architecture is unable to accommodate integration with a clinical information
system. TÃV Media Online's editorial team asked Neuss-based patient entertainment
manufacturer ClinicAll International for its view on the integration of HIS systems into
bedside patient entertainment systems. The management board's initial statement was a
sober one:
"We don't currently know of any cases in Germany where a patient entertainment
provider has successfully integrated its system with a clinic's HIS/EMR systems." But the
ClinicAll board went on to explain, "This topic is one of the most important points on our
strategic agenda, however, and is therefore at the forefront of our system development
work. We know that integrating a HIS system with a patient entertainment system on the
basis of HL7 is possible, having accomplished this at a clinic in Golnik, Slovenia.
Together with the company SRC Infonet, which provides this clinic with its HIS system, we
were able to fulfil the clinic management's specifications and successfully integrate the
HIS into our ClinicAll system.
Now, the clinic's medical staff has bedside access to the HIS system and can thus view
patient files and enter new data into the system from here."
Experts in Germany agree that the coming years will see a pronounced development drive
in the field of interactive information processing for clinic staff and patients. Clinics
and hospitals will after all have no choice but to act on the social and technological
changes taking place.
This situation necessitates closer collaboration between HIS providers and patient
entertainment providers on the German market with a view to devising effective integration
solutions. Because, while such integration is technically feasible, little has so far been
done about actually exploiting this feasibility.
Text source: TÃV Media GmbH - Online Editorial teamÂ
Image source: ClinicAll Deutschland GmbH, Technologie Allianz für Mensch und MedizinÂ
ClinicAll Germany GmbH, Contact: Ms Sabine Hering; Email: sh@clinicall.de; Phone:
+49-2131-528-13-30
Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160225/337435
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160225/337435
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160225/337435
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
ClinicAll