Integrating It in Healthcare: Hurdles and Opportunities. Can We Avoid Chaos? Review of the Wcit2010 E-Health Event and the Future Vision.
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Abstract
The necessity for integration of IT solutions into the healthcare environment is obvious. It is worldwide acknowledged at arm’s length.
Today’s healthcare suffers for bureaucracy, multilayer management and tremendous overhead in personnel. All covered by a sauce of conservatism. As many different disciplines there are, as many different cultures exists. Because the lack of interoperability innovations are often deemed to fail.
The IT society has resolved most of its cultural differences. Integration of hardware, software, financials, global and multi disciplinary cooperation became the most significant achievements of the IT society the last three decades. Some deliberately, others dictated e.g. by the European Commission.
This strong IT society offers enormous opportunities for automation, communication, standardization, identification of diseases, etcetera to the health care society. Not the least, healthcare can learn from IT how to resolve cultural differences.
The central role of the patient has to be acknowledged in this process of innovation. Rapidly this society of “ill†people is evolving from a “mute†into a ‘shouting†group. Occasional dictating the healthcare society to innovate. This evolution is enhanced by internet access, increased access to medical databases and active patient driven forums.
We recognize an increased control of governments and regulatory bodies. New regulations on quality control and dictating rules create extra hurdles to achieve an (r)evolution in healthcare.
Today’s challenge is to bring all these critical players together and on the same level of understanding. In “the front side of automationâ€, van Kraanendonk et al, 1987, interesting guidelines are published for a successful integration of IT solutions. This wheel does not have to be reinvented.
The first and foremost important part of the process is to achieve a full commitment of the health care society. However, rules cannot be dictated. This will cause resistance and is contra productive. It is therefore recommended that sociologists and human resource experts become part of the team to drive this process.
It is important to identify that the healthcare society is not afraid for innovation. Many innovations in medical technology have been welcomed. On the other hand, these innovations have not rarely further widened the gap with the rest of the world. It is the fear to open their knowledge to lay people or even colleagues which limits the process of successful integration of IT into healthcare.
An important message to these manufacturers is that they should integrate IT solutions from the “outer†world into their devices to reinforce the implementation of IT into healthcare. Also, instead of making their own innovations, global players like Microsoft should seek close cooperation with them. They cannot reshape the healthcare society according to their rules.
Regulatory bodies and governments should refrain from new regulations. Just by guidance they can adapt legislation accordingly after completion of the process.
The concern is that healthcare reform will be empowered by patients only, without control and consent of all parties involved, at risk of chaos. Therefore, all parties should be teamed together at the same time.
Today’s healthcare suffers for bureaucracy, multilayer management and tremendous overhead in personnel. All covered by a sauce of conservatism. As many different disciplines there are, as many different cultures exists. Because the lack of interoperability innovations are often deemed to fail.
The IT society has resolved most of its cultural differences. Integration of hardware, software, financials, global and multi disciplinary cooperation became the most significant achievements of the IT society the last three decades. Some deliberately, others dictated e.g. by the European Commission.
This strong IT society offers enormous opportunities for automation, communication, standardization, identification of diseases, etcetera to the health care society. Not the least, healthcare can learn from IT how to resolve cultural differences.
The central role of the patient has to be acknowledged in this process of innovation. Rapidly this society of “ill†people is evolving from a “mute†into a ‘shouting†group. Occasional dictating the healthcare society to innovate. This evolution is enhanced by internet access, increased access to medical databases and active patient driven forums.
We recognize an increased control of governments and regulatory bodies. New regulations on quality control and dictating rules create extra hurdles to achieve an (r)evolution in healthcare.
Today’s challenge is to bring all these critical players together and on the same level of understanding. In “the front side of automationâ€, van Kraanendonk et al, 1987, interesting guidelines are published for a successful integration of IT solutions. This wheel does not have to be reinvented.
The first and foremost important part of the process is to achieve a full commitment of the health care society. However, rules cannot be dictated. This will cause resistance and is contra productive. It is therefore recommended that sociologists and human resource experts become part of the team to drive this process.
It is important to identify that the healthcare society is not afraid for innovation. Many innovations in medical technology have been welcomed. On the other hand, these innovations have not rarely further widened the gap with the rest of the world. It is the fear to open their knowledge to lay people or even colleagues which limits the process of successful integration of IT into healthcare.
An important message to these manufacturers is that they should integrate IT solutions from the “outer†world into their devices to reinforce the implementation of IT into healthcare. Also, instead of making their own innovations, global players like Microsoft should seek close cooperation with them. They cannot reshape the healthcare society according to their rules.
Regulatory bodies and governments should refrain from new regulations. Just by guidance they can adapt legislation accordingly after completion of the process.
The concern is that healthcare reform will be empowered by patients only, without control and consent of all parties involved, at risk of chaos. Therefore, all parties should be teamed together at the same time.
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