It’s now critically important for you to have accurate patient information flowing through each part of your organization. You can achieve this by connecting your vital medical devices to the electronic health record (EHR) system by partnering with an EHR connection vendor. This will provide prompt access to accurate patient data, so you can maintain patient safety and enhance clinical decision-making.
When you connect your medical devices to your EHR system, you will improve the efficiency of your workflow by accurately capturing and saving patient diagnostic information. The accuracy of the data in your EMR determines how valuable it is to your organization.
A seamless connection will eliminate transcription errors and allow clinicians to have valuable time to attend to patients. Unnecessary manual entry of diagnostic data results in delays in data entry. And a significant percentage of transcribed readings have some type of error that heightens patients’ risk. Essentially, connected medical devices reduce clinical errors significantly and in turn reduce the overall cost of healthcare.
While it is beneficial to connect your medical devices through a third-party partner, you should ask the following questions before making your final selection:
1. Does it comply with regulatory requirements?
Is the connectivity platform compliant with local and international standards? In the US, the solution must meet FDA requirements. If you plan to export your devices to Europe and Canada, the platform must comply with the requirements for those markets as well. With the lengthy process involved in studying FDA guidelines, it is better to work with a partner that has already applied the rules and received approval.
2. Does it comply with patient privacy requirements?
Across the globe, particularly in Europe and North America, there are laws pertaining to privacy and security of patient data. HIPAA in the US requires strict access controls and access logs. You must also ensure that data is protected by well-established policies and procedures.
If your devices will be used in Europe, they must comply with the GDPR. The GDPR has more requirements for data privacy. These include obtaining consent from the owner of the data before it is used.
3. Does the solution reside in the cloud?
Having a cloud-based solution makes it more cost-effective and scalable. A cloud-based connectivity platform also offers more opportunities to build other services like image/video analysis, machine learning, notifications, and big data computations. Some security requirements can also be handled from the cloud.
This type of solution is also ideal for deploying updates rapidly to devices in any location in the world. System updates will be automated and cloud connectivity will also enhance data recovery.
4. Does it have adequate security?
With any cloud-based solution, the appropriate security controls must be in place. Some of the security measures that must be in place include:
- Correct data encryption while it is in transit
- Effective password encryption
- Well-managed privileges
- Frequent data backups
- Regular security audits
- Constantly updated firewalls
- Separation of data from the application
When researching a potential provider, it is important to find out if the company has security certifications. This can be proof of the company’s ability to meet the basic standards for security.
Do You Need a Reliable EHR Connection Vendor?
LifePoint Informatics offers a large portfolio of connected devices in the healthcare industry. We can help you create platforms to connect medical devices to your EHR. Give us a call at 877.522.8378 or contact us online for a free demo today.