Health IT: making care better or worse? (cont)
I notice that the E-Health-Insider website also picked up on the increased mortality reported in Pediatrics after the implementation of a drug management system (see FHIT entry). This led to an interesting exchange of views the most important points coming out of it so far are:
- IT systems do not automatically result in a net benefit. They may make care worse—at least for a while;
- IT systems can distract carers from patient care; and
- IT systems can improve patient safety—studies report that e-prescribing reduces errors, for example.
No-one knows how many people die as a result of medical accidents in the UK NHS—estimates vary from a few hundred to 40,000 a year (see "Patient safety: safer on a plane than in hospital").
I believe healthcare IT will improve patient safety, but its paradoxical nature needs careful management.
See "Increased Mortality Rate After Drug Entry System Installed" on the E-Health-Insider site.
