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Advanced Communication Technologies
Overview and Potential Uses
Alan Brookstone, MDMarch 29, 2008
Background
Family physician – Closed practice June 30, 2007 Partner – The ClearView Group August 2007 National
Physician Advisory – Canada Health Infoway Founder of CanadianEMR – National EMR service for Physicians
Provincial BC College of Physicians and Surgeons BC Ministry of Health IEHR project BC Provincial Privacy Working Group
Regional Vancouver Costal Health eHealth Steering Committee VCH Primary Care IT strategy Privacy Working Group PUG strategy
Local Richmond Hospital strategies
Question
How do we do our jobs more efficiently, accurately, enjoyably when we work in an EMR based practice setting?
The Answer will not The Answer will not Arrive through Divine Arrive through Divine
InterventionIntervention
Advanced Communication Technologies?
Used to support Communication Collaboration
Can facilitate groups or person-to-person Some are in wide scale use today
eMail Instant messaging Video-conferencing (e.g. Skype) Cell phones Blackberries etc.
Traditional Web-based Tools
Bulletin boards – Useful but static Blogs – Useful, provide interactivity. Not
real-time Wikis – Also interactive – you can edit and
contribute. Not real time
Potential Benefits
Presence (you know an individual’s status - provides context – away, available etc.)
Interactive communications Real time Allow an immediate response
Can use technologies simultaneously Can switch between different technologies Desktop and/or mobile
Potential Risks
Disruptive to workflow Cost and complexity Is it really needed?
Technical Support
Level of support - specific extent of technical assistance in the total range of assistance that is provided by an information technology product (such as a software product) to its customers.
Some companies name their levels of support basic and advanced.
Others call them level 1, level 2, and level 3, or
Level A, level B, and level C
Support
Typically, when a software user calls for technical assistance, a level 1 technician tries to answer all questions, which might include help with simple problems or general "how-to" questions.
If the question is more complex, the user is passed on to the level 2 technician. e.g. advanced features and possible product bugs or failures.
If the level 2 technician cannot help the caller, a level 3 technician may be consulted either by the customer or by the level 2 technician. Research and investigation may be required - takes time.
Some companies offer certain levels of support only on a fee basis.
Support
You are having difficulty with a certain feature in your EMR
Can’t answer question from the in-built ‘Help’ feature
Who would you call or email? Best bet: product/technical support
Scenarios
Best – question is answered immediately and you get back to work
Worst – you are escalated through higher levels of support. Your question is unanswered
Ultimate worst – “Sorry, please contact your hardware or network supplier. This is not a software problem”…. Right!
Costly and Frustrating Satisfaction level is reduced
What are the Alternatives?
Advanced communications technologies Such as:
Instant messaging
Could be used by physicians And especially medical office staff
Example
STATUS
OTHERS ONLINE
ACTION
Opportunities
What if you had a chat application that: Was secure (running on a private or encrypted
network) Provided access to: Company technical support (within hours of
operation) Users of the product who could indicate
Size of practice, specialty and location Status (online, away) Role (mentor, user etc.)
Create virtual user groups
Advantages
Technology already exists and is in regular use by millions of users
Efficient Non-intrusive Real time Appropriate Leverages user experience appropriately Cheaper for practice Cheaper for vendor
Other Opportunities
Why stop at an ‘Instant Messaging’ application?
Video-conferencing (You have to have a camera) Can have additional advantages Launch-pad to other tools It all starts with….
Putting it into Context
Just an extra tool Can help resolve issues and questions more
quickly Must not be intrusive Could result in abuse (needs rules – just
like telephone use in the office) Could prepare practices for other advanced
technologies Tele-medicine Distance monitoring
Thank You
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