Public Health

Digitisation in the health care system will improve patient care while reducing costs and error rates. In the future, the interdisciplinary and topic-spanning communication between service providers such as doctors, hospitals, but also e.g. diagnostic laboratories, as well as cost bearers such as private and statutory health insurance companies will be largely digital, based on the Electronic Patient Record (EPA). Large parts of the digital infrastructure, i.e. both medical and laboratory information systems, medical devices, software-based medical products, as well as communication systems, e.g. for billing, must ensure secure and cross-system networking. The key to this interoperability is the use of established communication standards, such as HL7 and IHE profiles and interfaces. In order to develop and implement this complex system, a broad professional expertise about the interaction in the health care system and detailed IT know-how is required. We have both, and can support you in your projects.

Digitisation offers the chance to simplify processes in the health care system in such a way that they become more transparent and secure for everyone involved. Patients are moving from being perceived as “objects” to becoming the focus of decisions and self-determined participants in the medical decision-making process. Communication with doctors is more direct and the exchange of data easier. Dependencies are reduced through simple and uncomplicated access by patients to their data, which is managed in an electronic patient file (ePA). This enables the patient to release his data for all those involved in the treatment process in a targeted and simple manner.
For cost units such as health insurance companies, the process costs per patient will decrease if large parts of the previously paper-based processes become digital, treatments become more specific and multiple treatments – due to ignorance or lack of access to already collected patient data – are eliminated.
Service providers such as doctors, clinics, nursing institutions or health care professionals can easily access historical patient data, even if they have not collected it themselves, with considerably less administrative effort and can exchange data with colleagues much more easily. This makes treatment more targeted and effective.
Ultimately, such a digital infrastructure is only possible if it is based on a secure and tamper-proof system that meets the needs of users in a targeted manner.
The key to this is the framework established by the IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise). This defines basic security and access mechanisms for data and provides clear processes for each data exchange. This describes target definitions, procedures, up to exchange formats and communication protocols between systems. Continuous monitoring and globally uniform methods for checking the compliance of all systems involved in the infrastructure (Connectathon) ensure that the exchange of data actually works across system boundaries.
When implementing such an infrastructure, it is essential to describe exactly which activities are digitised with which processes and procedures, based on clear target definitions. On this basis, an experienced partner like PTA will help you to professionally implement the right systems and interfaces and to achieve success in the digitisation process in a short time.