IT at the Asian Heart Institute

The Asian Heart Institute has deployed a hospital information system to collate, process and retrieve patient care and administrative information from various departments. CHITRA PADMANABHAN looks at the benefits

T P MOHAPATRA points out that hospitals have traditionally emphasised investments in medical equipment since this translates directly into revenue. As compared to this, investments in IT impact revenue on a long-term basis

IN THE medical world, IT is getting integrated into diagnostic equipment. Consequently, hospitals are investing in the latest medical facilities rather than in information systems to enhance healthcare. Specialised hospitals such as the Asian Heart Institute (AHI) in Mumbai have made significant investments in integrating technology with their medical facilities. Founded in November 2002, AHI has pumped in about Rs 1.5 crore into IT systems. Currently, it has a real-time, interactive hospital information system (HIS) from Symphony that caters to its diagnostic, administrative and operational functions. The system also helps AHI manage routine activities such as maintenance of the patient master index, scheduling of patient appointments, formation of clinical profiles, and billing.

Technology strategy

Growing competition, the demands for better return on investments, and the need to provide customer satisfaction were some of the factors that prompted AHI to formulate an IT strategy that supported a hospital-wide healthcare delivery system. The entire facility is designed as per the guidelines of the Cleveland Heart Clinic in the US. “We decided to adopt Symphony’s HIS for all our transactions. Traditionally, hospitals have emphasised investments in medical equipment since this directly translates into revenues. As compared to this, investments in IT impact revenues on a long-term basis,” says T P Mohapatra, AHI director. The authorities understood that unlike a company, a hospital takes a long time to pick up workload, so it is advisable to make IT investments in phases. However, given the nature of the industry, it was important to find the technology solution that fitted the hospital environment. AHI embarked upon its IT investments with the goal of improving patient care, enhancing management efficiency and quality measurement, and extending patient care beyond the boundary of the hospital.

In terms of process improvements, the hospital banked upon the fact that by automating most business processes, it would be able to extract better productivity from its staff that was not directly related to medical processes. One of the objectives of IT at AHI was to set up a transparent system that would help analyse the outcome of various healthcare delivery processes.

Integrating the workflow

AHI has a typical workflow which starts with the patient seeking an appointment with a doctor. The HIS contains all the information relating to the appointment, as well as the doctor’s schedule. When the scheduled date arrives, the patient registers at the counter by filling up a form. This data is fed into the system with a Unique Hospital Identifier (UHI) number allotted to the patient so that by the time the patient meets the doctor, the latter already has the basic information.

“One of the biggest advantages of the HIS is that medically relevant information about the patient is available at a click of a button. The system acts like an ERP for the hospital with the automation of various back-end areas including finance, accounting and inventory, which can be synchronised with billing,” says Mohapatra. The work of the hospital is basically divided into two areas: one is information that is directly related to the admission and discharge of the patient, the second is information related to back-office departments such as housekeeping, engineering, finance, materials, purchase and HRD.

Pay-off

Measuring the outcome of treatment and correlating it with financials is a major challenge. For instance, if a patient has undergone a series of tests, it is important that he is charged the right amount. Anomalies here will culminate in a dissatisfied patient or losses to the hospital. Through an integrated system, the hospital has been able to implement a process to measure outcomes. A structured approach lets all data captured by the system be used by management in the analysis of the hospital’s functioning. “At AHI, we are using the HIS system to develop extensive MIS (Management Information Systems) that suit various levels of management within the hospital in order to evaluate the performance of every function,” says Mohapatra. Apart from this, the HIS system is used to manage human resources. All processes such as employee records, roster management, leave records, approvals, salaries and tax deductions are automated so that employees need not get in touch with the HR department for routine information.

Automating diagnosis

A lot of manual procedures in the diagnostic process have been eliminated. For example, when a doctor carries out a regular visit to the ward, all prescriptions and details relating to diagnosis are entered and made available online. The comprehensive patient information management system aids the hospital staff in following up on developments right from the patient’s first visit to the OPD (out patient department) to post-operative care. “The discharge of a patient typically involves plenty of paperwork in the form of diagnostic documents, billing for all clinical services rendered, and instructions concerning further visits. Through the online system, the time taken for carrying out these formalities has been drastically cut down,” says Mohapatra. Additionally, records concerning prescriptions made by visiting doctors are available online. The computerised anaesthesia management system lets an anaesthetist keep a computerised record of the patient without having to maintain manual charts. Also, with the help of the integrated laboratory and radiology management system, it is possible to broadcast results online on the hospital network.

A cathlab is among the most expensive pieces of equipment used in detecting arterial blockage. Typically, this instrument produces analog images that are then used by doctors for diagnosis. The instrument is integrated with digitally compatible equipment that lets doctors view these images on a computer screen.

Extending patient care

The availability of patient details online has helped the hospital embark upon initiatives to provide services beyond its physical premises. “We have realised that expert doctors will continue to be a scarce resource in India. Through telemedicine, it is possible to bring the patients, GPs (General Practitioners) and experts at AHI together without anyone having to travel,” says Mohapatra. The hospital has already conducted a trial of telemedicine. It looks at this technology as a business strategy that will help AHI provide services to patients in remote locations both in India and abroad. Through telemedicine, the hospital plans to manage remote ICUs and OPDs, collaborate with other hospitals that need advanced cardiac care, conduct medical education programmes, and also provide post-operative consultation for outstation patients.

chitra@expresscomputeronline.com