Healthcare data interoperability major obstacle to staff deficit, says exec
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES—Amid U.S. healthcare staffing shortages and financial pressures, a healthcare software executive identified the lack of data interoperability as the main barrier to efficient organizational management.
“Disparate datasets – emitting from legacy EMRs, practice management systems and third-party software – have created operational blind spots preventing health systems from precisely managing the allocation of care,” DexCare Chief Executive Officer Derek Streat wrote on MedCity News.
The Association of American Medical Colleges predicts a deficit of 139,000 physicians in the next decade. U.S. hospitals are struggling to meet the surge in patient demand as nurses are leaving the profession due to burnouts caused by extreme workloads.
Streat believes that the latest artificial intelligence and machine learning models are the solution to this problem. These technologies can ingest, learn, and organize massive amounts of data. This will free up worker capacity, which can be allotted to direct patient care.
“Achieving data intelligence enables us to move to a “find care” model that shields providers – creating time to treat pressing, chronic conditions – and delivers the operational controls to predict and auto-heal the demand for care against fluctuating needs, while maintaining quality care,” Streak continued.
Emphasizing the urgency of the situation, Streat states, “Data intelligence is no longer a luxury, but an operational imperative to manage an entire portfolio of care.”
He acknowledges that the real hurdle is not technology but a willingness to change how healthcare operates.
Meanwhile, other organizations are utilizing virtual nurses to plug in workforce gaps. In this care model, patients receive treatment from a direct care registered nurse, an on-site nursing assistant or licensed practical nurse, and a registered nurse who provides virtual support.
