NASHVILLE, TN – Hospitals were already struggling with reduced revenues and reimbursements. Now the financial events of the last month are accelerating cost-cutting plans, including staff reductions.
Healthcare IT can play an important role in maintaining quality of care through the automation of administrative and clinical processes, said Gary Zegiestowsky, CEO of Informatics Corp. of America.
“Where technology can help is in the implied efficiencies in daily tasks,” he said.
Percentages vary from healthcare system to healthcare system, but gathering information on patients, which Zegiestowsky likens to a scavenger hunt, can drain anywhere between 10 to 40 percent of a nurse’s time.
“Any opportunity to reduce that time and having the information in one place will definitely drive efficiency,” he said. The efficiencies gained translate to savings in time, enabling nurses to focus on proactive care.
Having an electronic health record system, which affords a comprehensive view of a patient, also saves clinician time from having to gather patient data from other providers, he said.
Similarly, the ability for hospital systems to connect with affiliates enables clinical staff to work more efficiently. “You broaden the efficiencies and the value when you’re able to cross organization lines to share information,” he said.
The same holds true for hospital administration staff, he said. Automation of administrative processes and workflow means hospital systems can operate with less staff and resources.
The tightening of money, however, will force many C-level executives to scrutinize their IT initiatives and determine whether to go forward, scale back or scrap IT projects altogether.
“There have been cautiousness in general and some slowdown,” Zegiestowsky noted. On the other hand, he has also seen continued interest in implementations of low-cost alternatives versus enterprise-wide systems.
Under financial pressures and now with less staff, C-level executives are trying to determine how to get the most value out of existing healthcare IT systems and applications. They are also trying to determine what the consequences are if they push out some of their IT initiatives and what can be done to fill the gap.
“It’s a little too early to tell,” he said, of whether hospitals will retrench on IT initiatives or forge ahead, justifying the upfront cost with long-term benefits. Visibility may come within six to nine months, he said.