In Denmark, the healthcare strategy is based on five pillars:
- enabling better cooperation between primary and secondary sectors;
- providing more efficient patient pathways;
- the monitoring of chronic illnesses;
- quality improvement;
- the consolidation of acute hospital functions.
Engsig-Karup said that these goals must be reflected in the health IT activities of the regions.
Four counties merged to form Denmark's Central Health Region in 2007, resulting in a number of different legacy systems, including five patient administration systems (PAS), five electronic health record (EHR) systems and three radiology information systems (RIS) in five databases. Consolidating these legacy systems is now a top priority.
Engsing-Karpu said he expected most paraclinical systems to be consolidated by 2012, enabling direct access from the newly created regional electronic patient record (EPR) system.
He said: "In 2012 we will have one regional EPR system which includes patient administration and booking, specialty workflows as well as access to the National Medicine Chart and eJournal."
The consolidation will minimise the need for double registration of patient information, allowing referrals to be handled more efficiently. Engsing-Karpu said: "We are planning to allow hospitals to book each others' resources and enable patients to rebook their appointments on the Internet - but this is not a technical question; this is a political question."
He added: "But consolidation must leave room for innovation and if hospitals are unwilling to change their systems, it might also be due to the fact that these systems are good."
Engsing-Karpu also stated that because the old systems were almost always cheaper than the new ones, CIOs must consider the 'benefits of scale' rather than the 'economies of scale'.
Further information:
- Original news article - HealthTech Wire
- Related ePractice event announcement - IT: HIMSS Europe Health IT Leadership Summit 2010
---
Quelle/Source: epractice, 01.11.2010
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
