User-friendly, digital solutions in the rehabilitation sector
Medical files that are available anytime and anywhere, secretaries who no longer spend time looking up, doctors who now handle the digitised paper files conveniently. Digital working is a prerequisite for the Electronic Health Record (EHR). Reade is satisfied with Archive-IT’s partner, who has expertly supervised the transition to digital files. And about the software, which allows you to work digitally in exactly the same way as with paper files.
Silvia Pintabona programme manager for EHR at Reade in Amsterdam explains: “To be able to keep up with all developments from the outside world and because we have several branches, digitising was an important first step. The 2500 current paper files at the Overtoom location were immediately digitised by Archive-IT. The 5,200 files from the 2008 to early 2011 volumes are located in Archive-IT’s heavily secured archive depot in Reuver. They are quickly available digitally with scanning on demand. More than 15,000 current paper files can be found at the Jan van Breemenstraat location.”
Trends and developments
Within the rehabilitation sector there is a lot of movement and far-reaching measures are being implemented or imposed. The financing system was adjusted in 2012 and the risk appetite of health insurers will be further increased. Centres will have to continue to work on the quality and efficiency of care, tested by means of HKZ certification (harmonisation of quality assessment in the healthcare sector) and the VMS Safety Programme. Performance funding, market forces, cutbacks, competition and transparency are continuing in the healthcare sector. Increasing scarcity on the labour market and continuous pressure to make savings call for creative solutions. E-Health is a relatively accessible and user-friendly option to keep healthcare better, more accessible and more affordable. This allows care centres to increase their customer value and at the same time reduce the pressure on staff. Products and services can also be developed in co-creation with the patient. Reade also wants to respond actively to cooperation in the transmural chains.
EHR
Silvia Pintabona explains: “We have started with the implementation of an EHR. With the EHR, all information about and around the client and his treatment is recorded in an unequivocal manner. The information is timely, correct, complete and always available. An EHR improves the quality and efficiency of the information exchange between clients and professionals, between professionals themselves, and with other healthcare professionals outside the rehabilitation institutions. Silvia Pintabona: “The medical information in paper medical files has not yet been digitized for all Reade locations. If we do not digitise, both the EHR and the paper file must be consulted at each contact moment. This is inefficient and can lead to an increase in the contact time.”
Objectives of the EHR
With the Rehabilitation and Rheumatology EHR, Reade achieves several goals that are of strategic importance:
- Fully digital client files;
- Optimal accessibility and transparency of data;
- Efficient data entry and reuse;
- Error reduction, improved continuity and data transfer;
- Connection to national developments and compliance with national ICT standards.
- Reducing risk in rehabilitation care and treatment.
“Making paper medical records digitally accessible is crucial for the realisation of these goals,” concludes Silvia Pintabona. “Without the client data from these archives, the EHR will not be complete.”
Collaboration with Archive-IT
Silvia Pintabona is very pleased with how the process went and with the open cooperation with Archive-IT. “Reachability and speed of action are very good. The quality of the scanned file information is excellent. All questions were answered quickly by e-mail. Clear communication, professional support, good accessibility, flexibility and expertise are of great help in these kinds of intensive transitions. However, for our part, there was a greater need to be involved with the hand. This has been a fascinating learning experience for all of us.”
Reade, the centre for rehabilitation and rheumatology, was created by the merger of the Amsterdam Rehabilitation Centre and the Jan van Breemen Institute.