Healthcare technology is continually evolving, and digitization in this segment has changed how every bit of healthcare data being processed. We know that medical facilities and healthcare institutions maintain a massive amount of patient data for further assessment. 

Will transforming these records into a digitized form simplifies medical administrative tasks? Or will it trouble you even more? Let us see what are the advantages and disadvantages of healthcare database systems.

Pros of Healthcare Database Systems

Higher Efficiency

Healthcare database systems store several details of patients, each time they visit the hospital. By filtering and identifying only specific patient information, doctors can quickly treat them and focus their time on the ailment.

Quick Data Transfer

Instead of manual file transfer, now the administrators can quickly share the patient data within any department of the hospital or different hospital altogether.   With the help of Electronic Medical Records (EMR), they can easily exchange data from the healthcare database.

Error Reduction

With the computerized orders from doctors and healthcare specialists, the number of errors related to transcription or misunderstood handwriting is lessened to a greater extent. The erroneous records will be flagged if it is not entered appropriately.

Data Privacy and Security

We know that paper documents will have to pass through several hands. However, the digitized records have fixed this issue. In the healthcare database system, one can only share the data with restricted rights. It reveals only the essential information to the other department to complete their required task.

Fraud Detection

With the help of healthcare databases, you can quickly detect fraudulent medical claims. This feature is proven to save billions of dollars in the medical insurance sector. As per the experts, healthcare technologies helped them save $1 billion in 2016.

Cons of Healthcare Database Systems

Privacy Concerns

While the healthcare database system is treated as a medical breakthrough in the data mining capabilities, we must consider its privacy concerns.  The healthcare facilities face several such concerns regularly, such as litigation, regulations, data collection, and standardization.

Disconnected Healthcare Database Systems

If you did not know, the digitized records in a healthcare database system are not connected to a central system, due to which the providers have to fax, mail, or FedEx records on CD-ROM. They cannot consistently perform the electronic transfer of patient health data.

Technical Glitches

If a healthcare database system goes down, it may result in the worst issues, especially in emergencies. For instance, if your database system is down, doctors may find it challenging to order the pain medication for severely ill patients. With no backup system in place, tech support will perform poorly.

Conclusion

We know that both the healthcare database systems and medical technology are paving the way for better medical care in the future. And we can expect the upcoming systems to solve some of the concerns mentioned above practically.