All hospitals in Estonia should have a unified IT system
All hospitals should have a unified IT system in Estonia for several reasons:
Data Uniformity and Consistency: A unified IT system ensures that all patient data is standardized and consistent across the country.
Efficient and Rapid Information Sharing: When all hospitals use the same system, information flow is much faster and more efficient. This is especially important for making quick and life-saving decisions.
Better Collaboration and Coordination: A unified system allows different medical institutions to collaborate and coordinate patients more effectively, improving the overall quality of healthcare services.
Cost Reduction: Maintaining and developing a single IT system is cheaper than managing multiple different systems currently in use. This helps save resources that can be directed towards other healthcare improvements.
Patient Safety and Monitoring: A unified system allows better tracking of patient treatment and history, increasing patient safety and reducing the risk of complications.
Simplified Training and User Support: When all medical staff use the same system, organizing training and user support is much simpler and more efficient.
Data Analysis and Health Research: A unified system enables the collection and analysis of health data at the national level, aiding in healthcare planning and policy-making.
Regulatory Compliance: Using a unified system ensures that all hospitals follow the same data protection and privacy rules necessary for regulatory compliance.
Patient Convenience: Patients find it easier to move between different medical institutions as their health data is easily accessible in all institutions where they receive care.
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7 thoughts about the healthcare sector’s main problems
- Health concerns are not solved by the healthcare sector alone in the big picture, but rather by the economic success of society and the understanding at all levels of society that investing in health is worthwhile.
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Additional suggestions
Not only a unified system for hospitals, but general practitioners should also have the same information system as hospitals. Such a system should be created and funded by the state.
If something was created in the past that is actually good but currently isn’t working as it should or needs further development, then it should be done. Someone (the Ministry of Social Affairs?) must have a comprehensive overview of everything that exists (hospital IT systems, nationwide databases, etc.) and think through and decide what we actually need, how these systems should interact, and how and what kind of information should flow into the nationwide information system. We cannot have a situation where each healthcare institution decides for itself what information to share and what not to. There must be rules that apply to everyone and that everyone follows. We are such a small country with so few people—how can we afford to develop, manage, and maintain dozens of different information systems (most of which are probably funded by the state) when our resources are limited?
Another thought: It seems that in today’s society, there is too much fear about sharing information. Why these fears, and what exactly are we afraid of? Smart IT solutions are for our own benefit. If there is, for example, one nationwide information system where all the patient’s data is consolidated, then all healthcare workers who have the necessary licenses should have access to it—only then does it make sense. Maybe there is a fear of shutting down existing systems because a lot of money has been invested in them, but there’s no need to be afraid—we all make mistakes sometimes, it’s a normal part of life. Let’s boldly make the necessary and reasonable changes!
Working in healthcare, I see how the IT systems of different hospitals are not interconnected, and information doesn’t flow between them. When a patient arrives for treatment or diagnosis at a different hospital, there’s often no information available about previous tests that have been conducted. We are in the 21st century, yet some test materials are still being sent to laboratories with paper referral forms. Currently, each hospital is responsible for its own IT systems, leading to a fragmented system. As a unified country, we should have a single, integrated system for everyone. For example, I can point to the medical image bank used in healthcare—this system works and is the same for everyone, right?
How does this idea differ from the e-health system created 20 years ago, which is functioning and whose goal has been and still is to consolidate data based on standards and make it accessible?