Sharing Information.

There are several compelling arguments for the sharing of patient administrative and clinical information.
Of course patient confidentiality must be preserved but the traditional recording of notes on paper affords no real protection for sensitive patient information in any case.
Improvements in medical science, new reporting requirements imposed by the government and the increase in litigation all contribute to the information explosion. It is more important than ever to have comprehensive records and audits.
For a hospital or indeed any organisation, to work effectively and efficiently it is important that certain information is shared between user groups.
The benefits for a patient are clearly obvious:-

• All my carers have access to my details.
• I'm only asked the same question once - not several times by admin, the nurse, the physio...
• There is a comprehensive set of notes on my history which will not be lost.
• Critical test results will be conveyed quickly to my consultant/GP

Not only does electronic data capture protect the patient's provacy, it also serves the clinician in several ways:-

• Automatic audit including date and time stamp of when notes were recorded.
• Administrative details shared between admin departments and wards.
• Clinical information automatically available to other doctors/clinicians.
• Notes available almost anywhere; on the ward, remote surgery, even off-site if required.
• Immediate access/notification of important test results when they become available and without having to read the low priority results first

Clearly, there are more benefits than these, but we believe that by providing the interfaces and developing effective tools in conjunction with the end user, it is possible to share sensitive information without compromising patient confidentiality in such a way that all parties benefit.