An EHR is often installed quickly, to earn incentive payments or to save on implementation costs. But by doing so, the associated workflow processes may not be optimized for your organization. For example, the system may enable patients to email their physician, but this may result in a flood of such emails. An optimization effort may introduce a triage step where nursing staff or a care team help categorize the email. Which email must the physician address immediately? Which can wait, or be handled by others?
A diverse range of breakthrough technologies are doing more than streamlining healthcare; these emerging technologies have the potential to fundamentally change the way medicine is practiced. Rather than simply inventing new technology to address healthcare pain points, these technologies will enhance existing healthcare procedures by applying established technology to the healthcare sphere.