Healthcare Information Systems Joining the Mobile Scanning Revolution
Health Information Systems (HIS) are a crucial aspect of any hospital or health system. Patient information electronic health records or EHRs need to be up-to-date, accurate, and secure in the information system for their health and safety. Any health record is only as good as what information it has and how it is used. According to HealthIT.gov, “EHRs can enhance patient safety and provide safer health care through comprehensiveness, speed, flagging potential conflicts, verifying medications and dosages, and reducing the need to repeat risky tests and procedures.”
How Does an HIS Work?
Everything in a hospital, or in the healthcare industry involving a patient, should be recorded whether on paper or electronically. With an HIS, everything is recorded electronically primarily using a barcode. Barcodes have become an essential part of the healthcare industry storing a wealth of critical information and eliminating data-entry errors.
Most people have witnessed the HIS workflow first hand but may not have understood all that was going on every time they lifted their arm for a wrist band to be scanned. Most hospitals or healthcare facilities have dedicated barcodes scanners on carts in each patient room, office, lab, surgical room, and so on. Patients wear wristbands with a barcode printed on them. This barcode holds all of the patient information located within the EHR. Every time a nurse, doctor, or other healthcare professional interacts with the patient, they scan the wristband to see the medical history, allergies, time of last medication administered and dosage, etc. When the healthcare provider administers a new IV or medication, they scan the barcode on the medication or IV bag to make sure it matches the patient’s information and there are no conflicts with that particular medicine. This also updates the EHR in real-time eliminating charting errors.
According to Health Management Technology, “When doctors and nurses can work more efficiently and care for patients more thoroughly during their shift, they save the hospital time and resources. Additionally, as more healthcare practices convert to electronic medical records, barcode solutions eliminate manual data collection and allow all patient information to be easily and instantly collected and recorded electronically, further reducing potential human error.”
Healthcare facilities require quick, reliable, and accurate scanning that reads every barcode with ease. More hospitals and healthcare facilities in the United States rely on Code than any other brand thanks to the powerful decoding algorithm found in Code’s scanning innovations. Code’s technology reads more than 40 barcode symbologies with zero-miss functionality on any surface – a mission-critical aspect for the healthcare industry. We stand behind, in front of, and next to our products. In short, Code barcode readers simply outlast and outperform the competition with a warranty exceeding industry norms and extended warranty options that match refresh cycles.
The healthcare industry also identifies mobility as a critical factor. A nurse or healthcare professional needs to have the ability to move from place to place as part of their job function. After decades spent learning and understanding the different healthcare workflows, Code understands mobility better than anyone. As a result, the most popular healthcare barcode scanning solutions are the Bluetooth® wireless CR2600 and CR2700 as well as the CortexDecoder software-based, mobile scanning solution that integrates within a mobile HIS system.
What is a soft-scanning for Mobile HIS?
Many of the major health information systems have an application (app) version of their HIS operating system that connects in real-time and holds all of the information from the main HIS. Using the app on a phone or tablet turned the EHRs mobile and offered healthcare organizations a more cost-efficient option to many of the patient care workflows.
In the beginning, manual data entry errors and inefficiencies plagued early adaptors. Pitfalls included an inability to gain quick access to the mobile HIS work environment and the inability to find patient information quickly. The integrations of software-based barcode scanning as a feature within the mobile HIS app delivered the needed functionality that had been missing. The soft-scanning innovation offered, for example, the option to scan a badge to gain instant access to the mobile HIS or scanning a patient wrist band to find any patient information on record. By using the camera on their mobile device to capture the valuable barcode data and Code’s powerful barcode scanning algorithm to decode it, healthcare teams now have the mobile enterprise solutions they had been asking for.
Today, mobility means carrying a powerful computer in your pocket, and soft-scanning integrations offer enterprise-grade barcode scanning with no scanning hardware. Healthcare and IT teams have a choice when looking at patient workflows and many no longer see the need for the additional expense of dedicated desktops in patient rooms.
Scanning Software (Soft-Scanning) to the Rescue
You can find integration of Code’s soft-scanning (CortexDecoder) embedded in many of the top mobile healthcare information systems. The Integration of mobile soft-scanning is a huge win for healthcare. If your HIS is missing this valuable barcode scanning feature, we would love to chat and help you explore the different options available. Your healthcare network of users will be grateful and so will their patients.
Wrap Up
We are staring at the very real future of enterprise mobile adoption for healthcare information systems. Barcodes and accurate barcode scanning have proven essential for efficient, accurate, and safe patient care. Not all software-based barcode scanning is created equal. Enterprise soft-scanning from Code has been engineered to deliver the ability to scan and decode barcodes of any symbology, color, size, or on any surface. Compensating for reflection, low light, or damage Code not only scans a single barcode, but can scan many at the same time depending on workflow needs. Code scanning technology has been the data capture solution for over 20 years in healthcare and will continues to champion innovation far into the future.
Sources
https://www.healthit.gov/patients-families/better-information-means-safer-health-care
https://www.healthmgttech.com/the-role-of-barcode-technology-in-patient-safety-and-identification.php
