Technology is constantly changing our healthcare delivery system. All of us have seen significant advances in the technology used in hospitals, diagnostic centers, even our own primary care physicians’ offices. These same advances are now being used in the home health and hospice arena to improve the delivery of care to our patients. Here at the VNA, we recently implemented a new electronic medical information system called “Homecare-Homebase,” which is revolutionizing the way we provide care.
This web-based system allows our clinicians to access real-time patient data while in the field using wireless, hand-held devices about the size of a cell phone. The electronic data is stored securely to ensure patient privacy and compliance with HIPPA and other regulations. Data is also stored redundantly, with an off-site backup, to ensure that we can access patient records as quickly and efficiently as possible in the wake of a manmade crisis or natural disaster such as a tropical storm or hurricane.
Best of all, this new system makes it far easier for our clinicians to plan and schedule patient visits. They can even chart data from patient visits while still in the patient’s home and then send the information back to our office wirelessly for use by nursing supervisors. This system also makes billing insurance carriers much easier, much faster, and much more accurate.
All of these features combine to make VNA home health and hospice care far more efficient and more effective, so we can be prepared to meet the emerging healthcare needs of our community.
