Useful Technology for Meaningful Change

At HIMSS in New Orleans earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) hinted at pushing health information technology as a foundation for healthcare system payment and delivery reform. 

Critical test results management (CTRM) probably isn’t the first thing you thought of, or even the third, especially since the focus of the CMS and ONC is primarily on meaningful use and Electronic Health Record (EHR) adoption. However, a CTRM system can truly make an impact in hospital labs everywhere when it comes to care delivery. This technology can help you: 

• Improve patient outcomes with fast notification of critical results 
• Decrease length of stay (and increase patient satisfaction) with fast notification of negative results 
• Improve documentation in the Laboratory Information System (LIS) 
• Prevent wasted time and unusable specimens due to insufficient test instructions 
• Save thousands of dollars in unbillable procedures because necessary information is missing from the LIS 

Saving money while simultaneously increasing efficiency is the epitome of positive change. What are some other, non-EHR related information technologies you can think of that have the potential to improve healthcare delivery?