Information Technology’s role in providing high quality healthcare is rapidly growing, according to consultants at Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH).

“As Information Technology increasingly penetrates the healthcare industry, physicians and patients are experiencing the benefits of on-demand access to medical information where, when and how it is needed,” said Booz Allen Principal leading the IT Strategy Practice in the Middle East Ramez Shehadi.

“Facilitating the flow of information within a healthcare organization is becoming a quality differentiator among healthcare providers competing in the GCC region.”

Healthcare has traditionally seen lower levels of investment in IT than other service industries. This has resulted in a number of problems for healthcare providers, with systems in desperate need of modernisation to overcome the challenges that have arisen over the years - disparate mix of software systems that struggle to share information, infrastructure that hinders rather than helps expansion or growth, and programs that are not optimally aligned with clinical workflows.

“As expectations for improved healthcare continue to evolve, older IT systems will increasingly struggle to deliver a truly integrated flow of information having been designed traditionally around provider needs, rather than around a patient’s needs,” said Shehadi.
 
Recent advances in IT are enabling providers to improve the quality of patient care. Today’s healthcare IT is much more than traditional isolated computers and unfriendly applications.

Increasingly, patient care is exploiting the new tools and information that systems can provide, while maintaining a patient-centric approach to their use. Software that supports the core medical processes, hardware that allows easy access to information at the point of care, and standards that make the integration of different systems easier than ever before are all key features of the new healthcare IT systems.

“With increased investment in modern IT systems as well as new facilities, organisations are improving healthcare for patients, and raising it to a world-class standard,” said Booz Allen vice-president leading the Healthcare Practice in the Middle East Richard Shediac.

Fundamental to the success of investments in IT, however, is ensuring a holistic approach to the technology, which means understanding the strategic goals of the organization and understanding how IT, from technological and organisational perspectives, can help to achieve them. – TradeArabia News Service