Royal Solutions Group LLC is a provider of electronic health record services, and they recently deployed their Report Guard engine for the connection and integration of community health information. Health Information Exchanges (HIE) help coordinate access to a patient's entire medical records between hospitals, without the need to relay the information through the public Internet or even through a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This allows doctors and nursing staff to give patients the most accurate medical care possible without worrying about information being compromised.
To clarify why HIE services are so important, Royal Solutions Group CMO Rafal Pisarski said, “Eliminating the necessity for VPN eliminates cost and complexity, as well as a common point-of-failure between interconnected systems.” As powerful as they are, the risk of a VPN failing leaves doctors without the ability to access medical records, and depending on a VPN too heavily could spell disaster in this situation. Pisarski goes on to say that, “When your VPN fails, our communication fails – the exchange of health information should not afford that failure.”
Report Guard centralizes connectivity options and automates workflows, which allows for fast, secure and efficient processes that would otherwise take much longer. Pisarski also wants the service to be affordable, saying that “Interoperability is about more than just addressing the technical challenges, it's about enabling a paradigm shift in how companies work together – it should be something that is attainable for every healthcare organization.”
Beyond the elimination of a VPN, hospitals that use Report Guard host a number of distinct advantages. For example, files loaded with one type of software or format are quickly translated into whatever format users need to use, allowing for everyone to use the software they are most comfortable with.
The integration of medical devices and records into a unified computer network is a large step forward for the healthcare community because it will make it easier for doctors to quickly get the information they need and act accordingly. Test results can be electronically delivered instantly when completed, instead of having to wait hours waiting for results to be sorted manually. Ultimately, this means shorter hospital stays and more effective treatment.
Edited by
Ryan Sartor
