How Tallahassee can improve patient outcomes by investing in digital health
Increased investment in digital health by Tallahassee’s medical communities can improve patient health outcomes. Digital health utilizes health information technology such as health information exchange (HIE), patient portals, mobile devices, software, etc., to electronically share data among providers and patients to yield positive experiences in healthcare. Healthcare providers are increasingly adopting digital health or eHealth to meet the consumer demand for the best outcomes at reduced costs.
According to Florida’s key transparency website, FloridaHealthFinder, Tallahassee hosts 637 various licensed healthcare practices such as hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, etc., forming the largest medical community in the Big Bend region. Most practices are generally capable of creating and sharing electronic referrals with each other and transmitting electronic prescriptions to pharmacies.
However, HIE and patient portals are the two key areas where most providers are lagging, and they must invest in these two technologies for improved patient experience.
Digital health requires electronic patient data at authorized providers' fingertips. Unfortunately, when seeing new physicians, care seekers still need to reproduce their medical conditions and medications based on their memories. Often, they recount inaccurate information to their attending physicians, raising the likelihood of medical errors.
Utilizing various secure electronic data-sharing services such as Florida Health Information Exchange (FLHIE), the statewide health information exchange service, and Centralis Health, a regional health data-sharing platform, our healthcare providers can overcome the above barriers. These programs enable subscribing providers to receive alerts on their patients’ admissions, discharge, transfer, and other health-related data almost in real-time. These notifications allow providers to arrange follow-up care with their patients after emergency department visits, thereby reducing prescription drug overdose, facilitating medication reconciliation, improving patient outcomes, decreasing readmissions, and lowering healthcare costs.
FLHIE and Centralis also facilitate connection to the three national health exchange programs - eHealth Exchange, Carequaltiy, and CommonWell Health Alliance - that support transactions of patient data throughout the country. This allows physicians to have a comprehensive medical history of their patients at the point of care electronically, allowing them to create an informed care plan for their patients.
Tallahassee is also significantly behind in utilizing various patient portals. These portals are advanced software technologies that allow patients to manage doctors’ appointments, and view their clinical data, medication, lab results, and prognosis of their conditions over time. An increasing number of providers are offering patient portals; however, there is an apparent lack of interest and knowledge of patients about the many benefits these portals offer. In fact, by making comprehensive data available to patients, these online tools empower citizens to take control of their health. Medical practices in Tallahassee must embrace and promote these technologies and educate their patients on the importance of these portals.
By adopting and promoting digital health, we can vastly improve the quality of care for Tallahassee residents. Technologies are foremost when it comes to achieving excellence in healthcare. It is awareness and education that can make all the difference in promoting digital health.
ABM Uddin is a healthcare and IT consultant living in Tallahassee. Views expressed in this column are his own.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Send letters to the editor (up to 200 words) or Your Turn columns (about 500 words) to letters@tallahassee.com. Please include your address for verification purposes only, and if you send a Your Turn, also include a photo and 1-2 line bio of yourself. You can also submit anonymous Zing!s at Tallahassee.com/Zing. Submissions are published on a space-available basis. All submissions may be edited for content, clarity and length, and may also be published by any part of the USA TODAY NETWORK.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How Tallahassee can improve patient outcomes by investing in digital health
