The hospital management system (HMS) is a complex software product, the main purpose of which is the automation of all the main management processes related to the work of medical institutions of general and narrow specialization. Automated medical systems allow you to quickly and efficiently establish electronic document flow, flexibly structure work with patients, keep operational records of the work of administrative personnel, and control all organizational and financial issues.
HMS or Hospital Management System simplifies the work for all the departments and people involved. In plain, this system helps to solve a number of problems. As a rule, each HMS consists of blocks responsible for the automation of various components of the medical institution’s activities. Among them:
- registry and electronic medical records of patients;
- medical research data;
- doctor’s and nurse’s workplaces;
- distribution of the institution’s resources, their schedule;
- financial management and accounting;
- administrative information and means of communication between employees;
- medical appointments, appointment log;
- standards of medical care and much more.
Let’s figure out what tasks can be solved with the help of HMS and how it will generally affect the whole organization of work.
Data management and process optimization. The system allows you to manage large data sets about patients and the results of the medical organization’s activities. All information entered in HMS is stored and available at any time at any point of entry into the system. In this way, the approach to patients is unified, and medical documentation is drawn up according to one model.
Data integration and reporting. HMS allows you to create electronic structures for hospitals, their branches, and separate offices, to combine several institutions into a single electronic system. Most hospital management systems have flexible algorithms and intuitive reporting tools.
Availability of information. All information in HMS is available for analysis and processing – it is, in fact, a huge electronic archive. The system allows you to provide access to different sections of different user groups (for example, supporting a separate portal for patients or an internal portal for doctors with the possibility of communication and information exchange).
Essential functional components of HMS
Complex medical systems, as a rule, consist of various modules. This allows you to assemble and configure your own HMS in the desired configuration for institutions of diverse types and provide the necessary functionality with the possibility of further adding or removing modules. The structure of the system – separate components that can be combined into several large groups:
1. Analytical and management components. Management accounting modules and tools, tools for analyzing the quality and efficiency of medical services being provided. These elements allow you to examine the condition of your medical organization, identify problem areas and optimize business processes. At the user level – search for medical records by any criteria, taking into account restrictions on the level of access. The results of the analysis can be displayed on the screen in the form of graphs, tables, or printed.
2. Medical components. All modules related to patient registration, electronic medical record-keeping, sick leave records, treatment protocol management, information support for patient treatment in various types of institutions (ambulatory, polyclinic, inpatient), medical statistics and analytics, medical history, and much more.
3. Financial and economic components. These comprise tools for keeping records of medicines, managing stocks, calculating the cost of treatment and tariffs for the provision of medical services, calculating allowances for doctors, tools for conducting an economic analysis of the organization’s activities, etc.
4. Data exchange components. Maintenance of unified registers, catalogs, and directories, data exchange in the system of health care institutions, and processing of the data received.
5. General technical components. User access control components and database protection tools, as well as support for integration with other systems and programs.
Advantages of using HMS
If the medical information system has been chosen successfully, its implementation will have a positive effect on the work of the organization. But everything will depend on the type of system, its functionality, and the specifics of a particular medical institution. It is impossible to imagine our life without modern medicine – so what are the benefits of using MIS for various participants in this process?
Benefits for medical facilities:
- Eliminates filling out paperwork.
There is no need to copy or double-enter records and information into other documents: doctors, labs, and other medical staff who have access to the patient’s card can familiarize themselves with the medical history, course of treatment, research results, etc., from a single database.
- Improving the quality of service and reducing the influence of the human factor.
Automated document flow allows you to reduce the amount of paperwork and successfully manage a customer base, relying on current information about research and services provided. It is much easier for doctors to make a diagnosis, and the risk of losing important data is reduced, as is often the case with the results of analyzes in paper form: they can be trivially attached to someone else’s card, due to which the study has to be repeated.
- Telemedicine.
Doctors get the opportunity to consult in real-time with colleagues and other specialists regarding the correctness of the diagnosis (especially in an emergency situation), the appointment and correction of treatment, remote monitoring of the condition of patients, etc.
- Consistency of work.
It is convenient for clinics to have an online registry, maintain general hospital databases of patients, and distribute them among branches taking into account the workload and schedule of specialists while having the opportunity to assess the demand for certain services and private centers – to form pricing.
Benefits for patients:
Thanks to HMS, patients get access to their data, can quickly receive the results of laboratory tests and track them together with the doctor, make an appointment with him, maintain feedback, etc. The probability of falsification and loss of medical data decreases because the patient monitors them independently. The online pre-registration system allows you to avoid waiting in line at the hospital.
In conclusion
The integration of HMS is a smart way to take health care to a whole new level and show patients the level of medicine in general. Choosing a system for the automation of a medical facility is an important and responsible matter because it defines whether you will achieve the desired results after implementing the chosen system. The good news is that there are different HMS business automation software solutions on the market, and you’re guaranteed to find the one that fits your needs.