More healthcare organizations across the nation are working toward interoperability, while also ensuring that they abide by federal regulations in terms of HIEs, EHRs, and patient security. The move from paper-based systems to electronic ones may seem overwhelming, but according to some experts in the field, healthcare organizations need to stay focused on their goals and keep it simple.
Dr. Charles Gutteridge, chief clinical information officer and consultant hematologist for Barts Health NHS Trust in East London, spoke with HealthITSecurity.com about what healthcare organizations need to keep in mind when switching to an electronic system.
Dr. Gutteridge helped East London consolidate to a single electronic patient record system and is also speaking on the topic at the Cerner Health Conference this week.
One of the first steps when moving toward an electronic system – and one of the most important – is working with patients on issues of human interaction and consent, he said. In order to exchange data across HIE platforms consistently greatly depends on each of the parties involved signing and agreeing to data sharing agreements.
“We spent a fair amount of time securing data sharing agreements with what we call ‘general practitioners’ and what the U.S. calls ‘family practitioners,’” Dr. Gutteridge said. “That, to a large extent, defines the rules to which we allow data to flow and allow data to be exchanged.”
From there, it is necessary to ensure that the system itself is secure. Dr. Gutteridge explained that in the U.K. there is a dedicated broadband connection supplied by British telecom and that is not available to the general public. Therefore, the data is secure from a technical point of view. Moreover, Dr. Gutteridge explained that encrypting the data for transmission and exchange is crucial.
“It’s got to start with the people whose data you’re looking after,” he said. “You have to secure their consent to looking after their data. It is about ensuring the way you host data, whether remotely or locally, that you work to the highest technical standards and that the protocol agreements between different parts of the system work and are fully monitored.”
Another important security piece is employee training, Dr. Gutteridge explained. Data losses are often due to careless use of systems, such as an individual leaving a USB stick with private information on a train, he said. Essentially, technical safeguards are crucial in an approach to information governance, but there has to be a sense of security for all staff members and anyone who handles patient data.
Design a simple plan for interoperability
An important aspect for healthcare organizations to keep in mind is to set out a “clear and simple vision” of what needs to be done in terms of EHRs and HIE interoperability, according to Dr. Gutteridge. Moreover, the size of the facility does not matter – what’s necessary is create a concise plan and why it’s a good thing to do.
“There’s a tendency in any system to write out a strategy that’s 50 pages long and very complex,” Dr. Gutteridge said. “And in the end, what you want is one page with a picture that just sets out what it’s like now and what it might be like in four or five years-time to do what it is you want to do.”
According to Dr. Gutteridge, when he helped create a single electronic system for East London, there were just a few key areas that they focused on. First, they knew that they wanted a single system. The second part of the strategy was that the organizations would work with any partner in terms of connecting.
“So we’ll connect using our health platform to other healthcare delivery systems, and crucially, we’ll work with patient groups and individual patients to try to connect them into the system,” he said.
Finally, there has to be a very clear picture of what a facility wants to do with the data, Dr. Gutteridge explained. For example, an organization could make it a point for patients to have the ability to access their own data so they can use it to keep themselves well.
Access to online data is “beginning to revolutionize how others think about their health,” he explained. With a simple plan and a secure system, healthcare organizations of all sizes have the opportunity to make a difference.
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