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Integrated patient care systems aim to consolidate medical information from different providers and settings into a unified view for healthcare professionals and patients. These platforms aggregate data from electronic health records (EHR), labs, imaging results, specialty referrals and more. The goal is to give doctors, nurses and other care teams a complete picture of a patient’s health that they can easily access and update in real-time.
Benefits for Healthcare Providers
For providers, integrated systems can streamline workflows and clinical decision making. Important details are just a click away rather than requiring faxing or mailing between offices. Test results from external labs integrate directly into charts to avoid misfiling or losing reports. Referral requests also generate automated notifications when specialists accept or decline cases. Duplicate tests and unnecessary delays are less likely to occur when records are shared across the care continuum.
Coordinating Care Between Settings
Transitions between inpatient and outpatient settings are a vulnerable time for patients. Integrated systems help bridge these gaps by syncing updates between primary care physicians and hospitals electronically. After discharge, follow up care instructions, medication lists and procedures are immediately available to doctors in their offices. Hospitals likewise have full visibility into a patient’s medical history and community providers when they present for emergent or scheduled care.
Patient Engagement Tools
Many integrated platforms also offer portals that give patients secure online access to key health data. This empowers individuals to play a more proactive role in self-managing chronic conditions at home. Portal functionality varies but commonly includes features like viewing test results, medication lists, appointment schedules and discharge summaries. Secure messaging lets patients communicate non-urgent issues with their care teams to avoid unnecessary office or emergency visits.
Data Analytics and Quality Improvement
Aggregating clinical information also supports strategic decision making across healthcare organizations. Integrated systems with analytics capabilities generate reports on quality metrics, outcomes, readmissions rates and more. Key areas of risk or opportunities for optimization are easier to identify when the full population is visible. Analytics tools facilitate data sharing between payers, providers and public health agencies as well. Dashboards gauge progress on clinical programs, utilization patterns and other system-wide indicators.
Optimizing Specialty Care
For specialists in particular, integrated patient care systems smooth handoffs by surfacing referrals, consults, operative plans and follow up instructions comprehensively. Record sharing prevents the need to re-request tests or histories from primary doctors. Specialty groups gain an efficient way to coordinate complex cases between surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and others on the multidisciplinary team. Patients benefit from seamless navigation of specialty services with full clinical context readily accessible everywhere.
Addressing Interoperability Challenges
While the potential benefits of integrated systems are significant, achieving true interoperability across the healthcare industry also poses major technological and organizational challenges. Proprietary platforms may not interface or exchanges data standards seamlessly. Legacy systems from small physician practices may lack compatibility entirely. Regional health information exchanges (HIEs) aim to be that connecting layer, but require adoption and funding commitments from all stakeholders. Financial motives can work against open sharing, as can privacy compliance and security risks if records are not carefully controlled and monitored. The high costs of EHR migrations and interface development also present barriers as the industry works toward nationwide connectivity and patient agency over their digital health data.
Overall though, many experts agree integrated patient care systems represent the future state needed to transform healthcare delivery for clinicians as well as the patients they serve. Advancements in data analytics and the internet of medical things are bringing that vision closer to reality each year. Continuous efforts to address challenges around funding models, technical integration and governance will determine how fully this potential can be realized. But when interoperability succeeds on a broad scale, the benefits of streamlined, personalized and preventative care should be significant across populations.
