The use of information technologies in the field of health care can improve the efficiency and quality of medical care in Russia.

Information technology in healthcare

Information technologies are becoming increasingly dense in all spheres of our daily life. Therefore, high-quality IT service is so important now, which ALP Group is always ready to provide you. Our company has been successfully carrying out its work for many years and is constantly expanding the circle of satisfied customers. We cooperate with representatives of various fields of activity. And today we want to talk about one of the most significant for each of us – medicine.

On February 16, 2018, a consortium began its work in the Russian Federation, aimed at introducing the latest digital technologies in the field of domestic medicine, called, respectively, “Digital Healthcare”. The key task of the consortium is the development of high-tech medical care for the population, involving the use of the latest developments in the field of information technology. "Digital Health" was established by the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, as well as a number of research and educational institutions and representatives of the business community.

In connection with the introduction of telemedicine in Russia, the law on which came into force on January 1, 2018, the consortium will try to combine the efforts of all interested structures in the implementation of digital technologies in the healthcare system, as well as the development of products and services in order to present a competitive offer on the market digital health care.

What is telemedicine

First of all, telemedicine provides for the possibility of remote medical care within the framework of online medical consultations and remote monitoring of the health of patients. The full introduction of such a practice requires modern high-tech solutions.

Therefore, the created consortium will develop and agree on the main technological standards, according to which Russian digital medicine will begin to develop. Also, "Digital Health" will promote the agreed interests of the participants in the process and their common vision of the prospects for digital health in government agencies and local governments, including the "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation" program.

In parallel with the development of innovative products and solutions, measures of state support and regulation in this area will also be worked out. Testing of the latest technologies and architectures will be carried out first in several Russian regions, which will be determined in the first half of 2018.

IT in medicine

Information technology is now used everywhere.It is clear that such an important sphere of human life as healthcare cannot be left aside. The latest digital developments have a positive impact on the development of the most promising methods of organizing the provision of medical care to the population around the world. At the same time, the effective construction of an IT infrastructure is becoming increasingly important. Many states have been actively using innovations in the medical field for a long time. Among them:

• teleconsultation of patients and staff;
• remote recording of physiological parameters;
• exchange of patient data between different institutions;
• control over surgical interventions in real time, etc.

All this became possible thanks to the introduction of IT in medicine, which made it possible to bring its informatization to a new level and had a beneficial effect on improving the provision of medical care to the population. New software products are being actively developed that make a significant contribution to the development of medical high technologies.

Prospects for Informatization of Russian Healthcare

At the moment, medical IS (information systems) are increasingly developing, which helps healthcare institutions to work more efficiently and quickly. Informatization of the healthcare sector in Russia, for obvious reasons, is currently experiencing an increased level of attention from the government. Financial investments in the creation of new medical technologies have a positive effect on this process and the improvement of existing services.

First of all, this refers to the development of unified systems, the creators of which are constantly trying to optimize the operation of this software for clinics. Periodic updates provide product users with the ability to use all available IT in medicine.

Also in our country, there is now an urgent need for the rapid introduction of effective innovations into the domestic healthcare system. In this regard, the issue of ensuring the most effective protection of information becomes especially important. For this reason, systems are currently being actively developed that block the threat of external intrusion to confidential medical data.

Informatization of health care includes many activities aimed at informing physicians about the latest scientific achievements. This contributes to effective training and professional development of clinic and hospital staff.

With the help of medical IT, physicians have been able to quickly learn about the latest discoveries that can help them work better. This is especially important for medical workers working in remote settlements of Russia.

Experts say that the introduction of innovations in medicine is carried out quite quickly and without any problems.The interface of medical systems is accessible and intuitive to untrained users, which helps hospital staff to easily master new technologies. In addition, developers usually help to understand the intricacies of using software products. After completing a short training, health workers can already:

• work in computer networks – both local and global;
• use information resources;
• use reference systems and databases;
• hold teleconferences.

As part of the informatization of Russian healthcare, it is planned to create a national telemedicine system. The correct solution of this complex problem will significantly improve the quality of medical care and optimize the cost of it. In particular, doctors will not have to allocate funds for travel to conferences, because they will attend them remotely.

Application of modern technologies in medicine

As not only Russian but also world practice shows, the introduction of information technologies in the healthcare sector provides an opportunity to improve the quality of patient care, significantly speed up the work of medical staff and reduce costs for patients. Currently, these benefits are becoming available to almost every medical institution. Modern software products allow bringing the clinic to a fundamentally new level of work.

IT in the field of healthcare allows to solve the following tasks:

• keeping records of patients;
• remote monitoring of the condition of patients;
• control of the prescribed method of treatment;
• storage and transmission of survey results;
• advising new employees;
• remote learning.

The use of modern IT allows you to carefully monitor the health of patients. Maintaining instead of the previous paper electronic medical records will help reduce the loss of time for filling out forms, because of which it can be spent on examining patients. All patient data will be presented in a single document that will be available to hospital staff. All information about the examinations and the results of the procedures will be entered immediately into the electronic medical record. This will help other physicians evaluate the quality of treatment for a particular patient, revealing its incorrectness or inaccuracy of diagnosis in time.

Also, the use of information technology in healthcare enables doctors to consult patients online at almost any time. This should increase the accessibility of medical services to the population, especially those living in remote areas. Now it will be possible to receive qualified assistance remotely. It will also help people with disabilities who are in confined spaces or in an emergency.

Patients and doctors will no longer have to travel considerable distances for examination and consultation. With the help of IT, a specialist will be able to assess the condition of the person who applied to him and get acquainted with the results of all his examinations. Such methods of interaction will be useful not only for physiological problems, but also for those who need the help of a psychologist or psychiatrist. Audiovisual communication provides a convenient opportunity to establish the necessary contact between the doctor and the patient and provide him with the required support.

Benefits of using information technology in healthcare

The enormous potential for innovation allows them to positively impact virtually every aspect of healthcare delivery. They help to train inexperienced employees at a distance, without the need for their long-term absence from work caused by trips to courses, seminars and other events. In addition, information technology helps to communicate with colleagues, exchanging experience with them or seeking help in difficult cases. It also allows you to constantly be in the know, quickly learning about everything new in the field of healthcare.

Plus, this makes it possible to more effectively manage a hospital or clinic. A multifunctional medical system will automate administration, personnel work, planning and budgeting, warehouse management and many other tasks. In addition, this will help the medical institution to interact more effectively with the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund and territorial authorities. Information technologies in medicine will allow optimizing the actions of both the doctors themselves and the registry, the emergency room and all other services.

The introduction of innovations should also help to simplify the scheme for providing a polyclinic or hospital with medicines. With their help, it will be possible to register income and expenditure transactions, control stock balances, draw up applications for the supply of medicines, monitor the use of medicines, write off expired drugs, generate and submit reports to the appropriate authorities.

In addition to all of the above, innovative digital technologies are already actively used in the field of medical education. Remotely conducted classes allow high-quality training of students of universities and colleges. Modern developments in the field of IT provide an opportunity for people who are just starting their path in medicine to attend lectures by prominent specialists, which previously seemed unlikely. Summarizing all that has been said, we can state that information technologies have already found their widest application in medicine.