Under the Affordable Care Act, any systems or technology that are used within the healthcare industry are supposed to operate together so that they can be more efficient overall. These new systems are designed to work on everything from a patient’s medical records to their billing, and that means that a lot more information is being accessed more easily in order to provide better care to patients. And in order to achieve those goals, there have been a lot of technological developments in the industry. These are some of the top healthcare software systems and how they can help both the patient and physicians.

Medical Practice Management

Also known as MPM, medical practice management systems are an easy way to oversee a variety of different processes in the clinic. This includes scheduling and billing appointments as well as running monthly expense reports and other duties related to the general run of the clinic. This means that one person doesn’t have to keep track of it all, the system can simply do it for you. That makes the sharing of all of that information that much more efficient for everyone, which is one of the main reasons you need it in your medical office. Other reasons include that you get more time to actually see your patients instead of having to check all of their information yourself, and it often makes you more accessible to them too. If they can’t get you on the phone because the clinic is busy or because it’s after office hours, then they can access the information online. This is usually done through a mobile app or a patient portal that they have to log into securely. There are a slew of different MPMs available for you depending on what kind of features you’re interested in and the size of your clinic.

Electronic Medical Records

This is a newer kind of software that’s started becoming more popular in the last few years. It’s a program that allows you to keep Electronic Medical Records or EMRs of your patients. That means all the medical information from your own clinic, as well as anything else from past clinics they’ve been to, test results, and anything else can be accessed through their file. This is done through the process of enterprise imaging which allows all of these records to be uploaded in similar formats so that they may all be viewed from the same file. This kind of imaging is slowly replacing the old radiology system to ensure that all clinics can have the same information sharing system to make it easier on both them and their patients if they need to transfer medical records from one clinic to another.

International Statistical Classifications

And behind one of the biggest information sharing systems is the World Health Organization. They have created the ICD-10 website or International Statistical Classification diagnostic tool to make it easier to identify illnesses and their causes. Physicians and clinics who use this tool will be able to code information relating to any illnesses they identify, any symptoms they find, as well as external causes. This keeps all the diagnostic information of a number of known illnesses and makes it easier for physicians to treat their patients more confidently, especially in the case of illnesses they are not familiar with themselves. This software is relatively new and is only possible because of how far technology has come in the last few years. Students that are currently studying to become doctors are learning about this tool before they enter the medical field to make it easier to understand. That’s one of the biggest ways technology has started changing the industry for the future.

So technology is nearly revolutionizing the healthcare industry. It can ease patient’s access to their own medical information and keep clinics running smoothly without breaking a sweat. The rise of information sharing is taking shape through being able to access different parts of one patient’s medical records using the same software. And if that’s not enough, a global organization is working to make it easier to diagnose and treat illnesses that may have been previously unknown about in other parts of the world.

Author(s)

  • Kevin Gardner loves writing about technology and the impact it has on our day to day lives. When not writing, Kevin enjoys working out at the gym and hiking in the mountains. Follow his adventures on twitter.