Presidio’s new report reveals that obsolete systems result in lost hours each week for healthcare professionals, affecting patient care, organization performance, productivity, and safety. Presidio is a technology services and solution provider.
The study surveyed over 1,000 frontline healthcare experts in the U.S., the U.K., and Ireland. 98% of respondents said ineffective technologies are creating patient care and safety problems, which include delays or mistakes in patient care, and 89% mentioned that those problems are a frequent occurrence. 24% of respondents reported the occurrence of these incidents one or more times per shift. Typically, the respondents encountered 11 such occurrences per month.
Healthcare workers are utilizing older software programs and obsolete devices that do not make working practices efficient. A few of the main issues related to obsolete systems were dormancy problems with EHR systems, disconnected and fragmented systems, and insufficient mobile access. Because of inefficiencies, 23% of respondents stated they generally use workarounds to do the job, including basic work. That produces compliance and security problems, as patient information might be handled by vendors with unacceptable systems, for instance, unapproved applications. Using shadow IT creates weak spots for compliance teams and IT staff. Additionally, the shadow IT applications might not be HIPAA compliant, missing important security standards.
The respondents reported a few major problems, including:
- reported systems that don’t simply share information with other systems
- dependence on several workarounds to accomplish basic tasks
- technologies in use that work as a hindrance to safe and prompt care
- inadequate employees or budgets to improve systems
- reliance on obsolete and legacy programs
Healthcare organizations under HIPAA law in the United States are more inclined to have modern systems compared to their European counterparts. 36% of UK respondents stated that they have the state-of-the-art systems, 2% in Ireland, and 63% in the United States.
Whenever technology fails or records are inaccessible, patient care is affected. 95% of respondents stated patient care was adversely impacted by system failures and data access problems, and those problems happen on a regular basis. 27% of U.S. survey respondents reported that issues caused by obsolete technology happen every day, 26% stated they happen several times a week, and 22% stated they happen about once a week. Presidio mentioned that using obsolete technology not only affects productivity; it directly affects patient safety. It also contributes to clinician burnout, according to 80% of survey respondents.
Investment in technologies can help minimize burnout. The survey showed that 51% of organizations use real-time data at scale and understand that obsolete technology was a main reason for burnout. 29% of organizations are still in pilot programs and 17% are in the planning stages. This demonstrates that investment in advanced, AI-driven technology systems can considerably improve employee health.
The survey showed the biggest advantages for employees in using technology were enhanced operational performance (52%), better access to the latest patient data and analyses (48%), and more efficient tasks to guide overextended employees (41%). Healthcare professionals wish to have the following features included to save time and limit face-to-face meetings with patients:
- AI-assisted data entry automation (52%)
- Transcription and notetaking (41%)
- EHR system management (40%)
- Prescription records (39%)
- Insurance approval (36%)
The report clearly shows the urgent need to use AI systems in healthcare to enhance efficiency, yet adoption is slow-moving. Many organizations continue to be somewhat immature in their use of technology, deficient in full-scale implementation of new systems that enhance record keeping and data access. Healthcare specialists are ready to use AI, and they’re saying to IT leaders where the biggest result is needed.
Image credit; J.G Studio, AdobeStock
