Five signs that your patient data is trapped in your IT system

Throughout the care continuum, healthcare data can become caught up in bottlenecks and even lost. The culprit? Piles of paper, disconnected systems, manual processes, complicated workflows and other productivity zappers.

In an article appearing in Becker’s Health IT and CIO Review, a Ricoh healthcare IT specialist discusses common roadblocks that can prevent healthcare facilities from efficiently sharing critical information.

Here are five signs that indicate critical healthcare information is not moving quickly and smoothly among those who need it:

Sign 1: Managing incoming and outgoing faxes is a time-consuming, labor-intensive chore.

Sign 2: Physicians enter pharmacy and lab orders on paper as well as electronically.

Sign 3: Notes from important meetings aren’t captured electronically and critical information doesn’t get communicated.

Sign 4: Staff notice key patient information is missing after the patient has left the facility.

Sign 5: Nurses stand by printers and fax machines waiting for documents.

Each of these scenarios points to a lack of quick access to accurate and secured digital information. Connecting people and data efficiently and effectively is critical to achieving value and quality patient care. Read the full Becker’s Health IT and CIO Review article for more about how to avoid and eliminate these data traps.