The article I read was titled “Patients go online for Pre-Operative screening.” This articled explained the new information system put in place at Brinton Lake Hospital in western Delaware County, to reduce the cost of pre- operative data collection and prevent surgery cancellations. At the Brinton Lake hospital, it was standard to collect patient medical history information over the phone the day before the surgery was scheduled. This process led to approximately 20 day- of-surgery cancellations per month, which was costing the hospital time and money for operative set-up fees. Also, the information supplied by the surgeons and other physicians was rarely detailed or accurate. To fix this problem, they have recently implemented the SourcePlus Passport program. This IS technology allows patients to complete their own preoperative medical history report online. The information then goes into a highly secure online database warehouse, where it is sorted and made immediately available to designated staff members, doctors and surgeons.
SourcePlus is not just a database warehouse, however, because it has specific features that are geared primarily to aid patients through the process. For example, SourcePlus Passport program has a patient assessment checklist that shows what items have been completed and what items are still pending completion prior to the surgery date. Now that the information is collected systematically prior to the surgery date, any health complications that would prevent a successful surgery can be avoided and discussed thoroughly.
Database programs like SourcePlus make obtaining and analyzing important health records an easier and more efficient process. I think that the application of this new program was extremely beneficial for the Hospital because it allowed them to streamline their data collection process and increase their information accuracy. The system is convenient for both patients and doctors because the medical health questions can be answered quickly at home, where the patient has the most information readily available to them like their prescription history and doctors numbers etc. Also the hospital is spending less money on hiring people to organize preoperative surgical information. Now, instead of calling patients the nurses have more time to focus on personal patient care. Another benefit of using this information system technology is that the database is setup so it can be adjusted and updated by the patients for future visits and changed to meet the needs of the medical professionals reviewing the information. Furthermore, any update made by one patient or doctor, is immediately visible to all doctors and the source of the change is tracked to the specific person using the system.
Patients Go Online for Preoperative Screening. Health Management Technology, Aug2009, Vol. 30 Issue 8, p24-25, 2p
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