With more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare technology solutions market, one of the conclusions I have come to on several occasions is that the industry has a lack of formalized processes.
Considering the demands of post-pandemic patients and the constant evolution of technology, there is a need for professionalization of processes in the healthcare industry. But despite this scenario, many institutions prefer to delay the professionalization of processes because it requires cultural changes in the organization and involves clearly defining processes in advance beyond systems. For this reason, at Kern we always say that having previously defined and explicit processes would add value when contracting a technological solution.
Currently, for a clinical analysis laboratory receiving a spontaneously presenting outpatient, the cost for specimen processing is less than 30% of the total cost, including also equipment and plant expenses. However, patient care and pre-analytical tasks account for approximately 70% of a laboratory’s costs. In other words, most of a laboratory’s costs are concentrated in other services that have nothing to do with sample processing.
Continuing with the professionalization of processes in the healthcare industry, one reality is that today the technology is available to make this happen. Why do I say this? Currently, the physician can give the patient a digital order for studies and analyses, that order can be captured by the laboratory to incorporate it directly into its system, and the laboratory can charge for it completely electronically.
This scheme results in a reduction of processes for the laboratory and in turn reduces the waiting area and patient attention period by 50%. Among other benefits for the laboratory, we can mention that it does not require human resources for the pre-process of reception, eliminates transcription errors and loading of medical orders, and mainly allows providing a better image to the patient.
On the technical side, cloud technology now predominates in laboratory systems. It is no longer necessary to have a server to host the systems. The importance lies in the solutions themselves, not in the hardware. On the other hand, it is also essential to focus on the security of the solutions with respect to accessibility, considering that healthcare data is sensitive because it contains a patient’s medical history. In terms of security, the solutions should include: permanent renewal of passwords, security tests, provision of tokens, suitable and trained teams, and constant improvements in computer security, among other aspects.
Based on the above, there is no doubt that it is essential to professionalize the processes within the healthcare industry. Not only for the laboratories’ business to grow and improve, but also to improve the quality of patient care. Technology is there, and today more than ever, it must focus directly on the patient.
*By Rodolfo Renner, commercial vice-president of Kern Software Technology.
Interview conducted within the framework of JIS-2024 for INNOVA magazine, by Htal Italiano.
Source: https://www1.hospitalitaliano.org.ar/landing/innova-salud-digital/articulos/con-el-enfoque-puesto-en-el-paciente