Trend

Hospitals turn to HIS for growth

The demand for quality healthcare and the need to streamline processes have convinced hospitals to adopt information systems, says Abhinav Singh

HIS can result in workflow improvements and enhance efficiency levels of hospital staff Prakash S Kamat managing director SoftLink International	In case of a hospital with a nationwide chain in India, we can expect to see HIS being integrated across its branches Ashwini Kumar executive vice president Medicom Solutions

Indian hospitals, nursing homes and polyclinics are waking up to the power of Hospital Information Systems (HIS) that have changed the way healthcare is managed. Although the HIS market is still at a nascent stage, Indian hospitals, particularly those that are professionally-run, are gearing up to offer facilities comparable to the best in the world. HIS is expected to play a major role in this transition.

A case in point

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences at Whitefield, Bangalore, is using a HIS from Medicom Solutions. Healthcare-related information is maintained in Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and is available online on a real-time basis. As part of the HIS, a full-fledged Laboratory Information System is implemented with an automatic transmission of lab results from the analysers, and this has helped the hospital go paper- and film-less. Sai Institute is also contemplating the integration of the database of its healthcare unit at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh with its own to create a single interface to the IT systems of both of its hospitals. The integrated system will have a central database of patient records for both hospitals that would be connected by means of a leased line. A real-time, online tele-health consultation based upon the patient’s EMR will also be made operational. This is but one example of how HIS has become an integral part of the Indian healthcare segment.

Nascent market

Although there are no estimates of the Indian HIS market, the healthcare segment is pegged at Rs 90,000 crore. Ahmed Zakariah, deputy director with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), who is responsible for the healthcare vertical, says, “Of their total revenues, hospitals in India spend around 54 percent in enhancing infrastructure, which includes investments in IT. Out of this, 12-15 percent is spent on IT, which is mainly on desktops, printers and billing systems.” He adds that things will change if the Indian Healthcare Federation (IHCF) makes the adherence to certain standards a precondition for hospitals that wish to acquire its accreditation. The new quality standards will be effective from January 30, 2005, and are likely to drive hospitals and health institutions towards HIS implementation. In the next few months, all major corporate and super-speciality hospitals are expected to fall in line and start investing in HIS. The market potential is huge as these systems can start at Rs 2 crore and go up to Rs 250 crore (inclusive of hardware, networking, PCs and HIS).

Streamlining processes

Says Prakash Kamat, managing director, SoftLink International, “HIS can result in workflow improvements and enhance efficiency levels of hospital staff in delivering healthcare. They will be able to deliver quality healthcare and reduce patient turnaround time resulting in more revenues. HIS is also expected to bring transparent processes that will help in meeting the medico-legal requirements such as maintaining patient records.” With HIS in place, patients will be in a position to access their health record (in the form of radiology reports, CT Scans, blood test reports, ECGs, MRIs) at the press of a button. Doctors will be able to check and compare a patient’s past record with current medical reports on their PCs. In some cases, prescriptions written by a doctor may not be legible to some patients. All this is done away with as records, recommendations and diagnosis are available in a digitised format.

Faster processing

Thanks to a HIS, all patient records are available online. This makes it easier for patients and hospitals to extract records. Once a patient registers for a claim, the insurance company will approach the hospital to verify the genuineness of the claim. The hospital, which has an electronic record of its transactions with the patient, is able to verify everything quickly, which in turn brings down the verification cycle time. Claims are settled with 99 percent accuracy. Of late, there has been a flux of medical tourists in India, who look for hospitals that have full-fledged HIS to ensure a hassle-free insurance claims process.

Integrating HIS & PACS

Many hospitals that have opted for a HIS are integrating it with Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS). PACS archive a large number of images pertaining to cardio-vascular tests, pathology scans, MRIs and CAT scans, and can be integrated with the HIS to help doctors or staff maintain a patient’s medical records in a digital format.

The future is going to see rising levels of competition among hospitals in India, especially in the private sector as they aggressively market their services. To do that they will need excellent infrastructure and a HIS is expected to be part of that strategy. Comments Ashwini Kumar, executive vice president, Medicom Solutions, “In case of a hospital with a nationwide chain in India, we can expect to see HIS being integrated across branches.” The idea is that even if a patient approaches a different branch of the hospital chain, the patient’s record can be accessed. Though there are minor hiccups in HIS implementations, over time these wrinkles should get ironed out. The adoption of HIS as far as government-run hospitals are concerned is still far away, though you never know. The Babu too might wake up.

abhinav@expresscomputeronline.com