Patient data is personal medical information held by a healthcare provider. It is information about demographics (name, address, contact details), admin (appointments, waiting lists) and key medical details about any conditions, symptoms or treatments.
Data protection in healthcare is a hot topic as the demand for access to healthcare data grows. To achieve this, healthcare providers are typically using patient portals so that people can access their own information, but data sharing in healthcare carries inherent risk regarding access to this highly personal information.
Securing patient records is a little easier thanks to the healthcare data standards enshrined in law, but there’s still an onus on health and care organisations to provide further safeguards against attack, theft, or privacy breaches.
In this article we will explore why data security is so important in healthcare, the specific issues facing security and how to address them, as well as the costs of data security issues in healthcare and our recommendations for electronic patient records.
Getting organisations and services within the NHS to collaborate has been a goal for many years, but with the NHS Long Term Plan well underway, collaboration is now firmly in focus.
You may have already read our previous article about Collaborative Working in the NHS, which is the crux of the subject matter, but NHS Trusts in England are a big part of the execution of this collaboration.
In this article we’ll explore how NHS England is enacting this collaboration and what it entails, as well as looking at the FutureNHS collaboration platform and the role it is playing in encouraging communication and partnerships across the country. NHS Trusts will already be aware of the NHS collaboration goals, but we want you the reader to see this and to see our top tips for Trusts about how to foster these relationships and establish the correct communication channels. We want our readers to come away from this article thinking that they have a much better understanding of – and an appetite for – collaborative working, and that starts here.
Digital solutions are becoming the backbone for businesses across the world and healthcare is no different. Technological innovation has digitally transformed healthcare commissioning, providing a range of cost-effective solutions accessible using cloud technology.
Not only has cloud-based commissioning disrupted the market, but also enabled NHS procurement teams to streamline processes, connect providers and patients, react quickly, and support the provision of consistent, high-quality care.
Discover why healthcare is turning to cloud services and what the full advantages of using cloud commissioning technology, like the Access adam healthcare solution, can do to transform procurement services.
Virtual wards are the future of healthcare, designed to allow for greater patient independence, a faster discharge, and to help avoid any health deterioration due to an extended stay on a hospital ward.
With modern medicine improving life expectancy, we're ourselves part of an ageing population; witnessing in real-time how science is combating issues like cancer, dementia, heart disease, and so much more. This means more demand for healthcare than ever.
Hospitals have a myriad of difficulties to overcome, but the virtual ward is now more than a concept. Case studies of NHS virtual wards have shown they help to relieve demand for hospital beds, reduce overcrowding, and improve the overall patient experience.
In this article we answer what is a virtual ward, what is a ward, and how a virtual hospital ward differs from the traditional approach. We also expand upon NHS virtual wards and virtual ward pathways; how do they fit into the existing care flow from diagnosis to treatment?
Healthcare CRM refers to customer relationship management in healthcare. Maintaining good relationships with patients and clients across the health and care spectrum is important to help effect the change needed to ensure recovery or wellbeing in general, and to preserve business operations to support healthcare operations.
This makes it a little tricky for software solutions: handling both the patient side and the business side of care operations are two very different requirements. It may even be that you need two interoperable solutions to handle each side; a health CRM and an EHR solution.
Software solutions are the best way to handle the management process without burdening staff with undue amounts of administrative work, but it’s our belief that many organisations aren’t able to differentiate between healthcare CRM and electronic health records (EHR) and to decide which they need. This is why we have an official guide about Why Electronic Patient Record (EPR) systems aren’t just for hospitals, to help private or voluntary care organisations understand the market.
In this article we will explore that market and guide you towards the best solution for you – whether that’s a healthcare CRM or an EPR. We’ll explore what CRMs do, covering the definition of CRM in healthcare, before moving on to patient relationships, the benefits of CRM, and the specific impact CRM can have on mental health care. We will then conclude with the solutions themselves; what do they do, how do they differ, can they integrate with your existing software, and most importantly which will allow you to make better decisions for staff and patients, so that you can deliver better service.
What is CRM in healthcare?
To pinpoint the advantages or disadvantages of electronic medical records and the software solutions that enable them, you first need to know what they are.
Electronic medical records are digitised versions of patient notes and personal details, with information such as demographics and psychographics. These records are managed through electronic patient records (EPR) software – sometimes called electronic health records (EHR).
You might be wondering why electronic medical records are such a talking point. The NHS is pushing for trusts across England – and leaning on devolved NHS partners elsewhere in the UK – to onboard these solutions in all hospitals as a way to optimise the administrative and data processes involved in managing patient care.
In this article we will explore the impact of electronic records on the quality of care and any supporting evidence, before discussing the benefits and the challenges that face healthcare professionals and their organisations.
Do electronic medical records improve quality of care?
Knowing how to start a supported living business is important for the provision of supported accommodation. Many homes available to rent aren’t suitable for people with disabilities or the elderly, which is why special provision must be made for them.
Without them people are unable to enjoy independence and the freedoms they deserve, which is why setting up supported living accommodation can be such a positive business pursuit. This isn’t ignoring the fact that it’s a business venture, and as such there are ways to balance benevolence and good deeds with financial sustainability.
In this article we cover that balance – explaining what a supported living business is, how to set up supported living accommodation, the requirements surrounding housing for people with disabilities, and crucially how technology can benefit supported living businesses. This last part is obviously where our expertise at Access comes into play, but it’s also an interesting insight into the nature of modern health and care tech, and how it’s easier than ever to provide a high-quality service.
Supported Living Business
To understand patient engagement strategies, we first must define what a patient engagement strategy is – or at least what its purpose is.
A patient engagement strategy is a plan of action to further improve patient engagement with the healthcare provider and their own care. Research has shown that better patient engagement leads to better care outcomes, and this is the main purpose of any healthcare provider – to provide the best care possible.
Patient activation (how proactive a patient is with their own care) is generally fairly low, but the traditional doctor-patient relationship is being altered slowly but surely. Now the process is much more collaborative and a conversation, with younger generations especially – thanks to modern technology – taking a greater interest in their healthcare.
More software applications are being developed too; to avoid inequality in care by being easy to learn and easy to use by those who may lack the digital literacy of the younger generations, thus being inclusive and giving everyone the opportunity to be part of their care journey and to feel more involved.
In this article we will be exploring the patient experience, general strategies for engagement, how these tactics can be used within healthcare specifically, and how healthcare organisations can build upon this to develop a framework for future rollouts of patient engagement strategies.
The UK domiciliary care market is continuing to grow year on year. In 2020 it was recorded that over 810,000 people were receiving homecare across the UK and it is clear that number is continuing to rise rapidly.
In fact, The Department of Health and Social Care have predicted that 57% more adults aged 65 and over in England will require homecare in 2038 compared to 2018.
As the demand keeps increasing so does the pressure on care providers to arrange and deliver the care and support individuals require to delay future care needs, help reduce discharge delays, and allow individuals to remain as independent in their own homes for as long as possible.
In order to reach this demand successfully, local authorities need to overcome the home care challenges which care providers, caregivers, care workers, and the individuals themselves have to deal with.
But what are the challenges that are facing the domiciliary care market and how can they be avoided or overcome?
This article will review what domiciliary care is, the challenges facing the market and how best to overcome them with technology, so local authorities can be better prepared for the demand now and in the future to ensure the best quality and continuity of care is always delivered.
