CCHIT Certification: A Vital Cog in Health Care Cost Control
Medical malpractice premiums are at an all-time high in this country. Nearly 200,000 people die in hospitals every year due to possibly preventable medical errors. A huge proportion of those errors involve improper medication. A person allergic to penicillin is given amoxicillin; someone taking a drug is prescribed one that is contra-indicated with the one he's already using.
In addition, certain foods or nutritive supplements shouldn't be taken with certain medications: grapefruit, for example, is not to be eaten by a person taking the anti-seizure medication often prescribed for neurological pain, such as diabetic neuralgia. The juice of the fruit slows the breakdown of the drug and the relief of pain.
These figures are terrifying to anyone entering a hospital for a surgical procedure or an illness. His condition may already be life-threatening or debilitating. The patient doesn't need the added risk of death due to an improper mixture of medications. An ambulatory outpatient keeping an eye on his own treatment can monitor the situation by researching medications or reading the literature that accompanies his prescription. An inpatient is pretty much dependent upon his caretakers to take care in the administration of medication. He is unlikely to have the option of researching any drugs prescribed, and family may not be aware of a conflict.
Imagine a computer program that will identify unhealthy combination, or red flag a given patient's allergies, operated by someone who knows and understands the program.
CCHIT—The Certification Commission for Health-care Information Technology, is a non-profit organization established privately for the purpose of certifying health-care information technology. Endorsed by at least thirteen professional medical organizations, CCHIT evaluates medical software and ensures that it is accurate, effective, and conforms to specific criteria. Anyone who uses a computer knows the term garbage in-garbage out and knows that software is only as good as its information. Poor information is worse than that lodged in the doctor's brain.
The Certification program available through CCHIT certification is vital to the nation's control of health care costs. Reducing errors reduces malpractice, which reduces malpractice lawsuits, which in turn reduces malpractice insurance, which reduces the doctor's cost of remaining in business. One would hope that such a saving will be passed on to the patient.
That outline covers just one facet of health information software. In addition, doctors will have a vast library of cataloged symptoms available, including recommended treatments for a given condition, and accurate records of what has been done for each patient. To top that, millions of jobs will open in health information technology.
Advanced Data Systems Corporation (ADS) is a leading provider of Electronic Health Records (EHR/EMR), Medical Billing Software, Practice Management and Radiology Information Systems (RIS/PACS) solutions, currently serving over 30,000 physicians and health-care providers in every medical specialty and practice size.