Why patients are falling through the cracks

"Healthcare's most dangerous moments often do not happen in the emergency room, but when the patient moves from one system to another-from hospital to home or from specialist to primary care. In transitions, communication breaks down easily, plans fall apart, and information that should (and needs to) follow a patient doesn't. The result: There are no triggers for critical follow-up appointments, physicians lack notifications that a patient has new medications, and rehabilitation centers lack insight into care plans."

"At best, a patient's records are faxed days later; more likely, they remain siloed and are of no use for coordinating care. While health record digitization has come a long way, significant gaps remain that cost patients and employers millions of dollars annually, and, in some cases, even lives. Every failure drives up insurance premiums, strains a fragile workforce, and adds costs to an industry that's almost a fifth of the American economy."

"Providers need easier access to patient data, and they also need to receive automatic alerts for potential issues and critical next steps for each of their patients. Since 2008, the healthcare industry has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into building a digital infrastructure to move patient data between systems. Almost 500 million health records have been shared through federal interoperability frameworks."

Medical emergencies often end with discharge paperwork, prescriptions, and instructions that may not reach the next appointment. Communication breaks down when patients move between systems such as hospital to home or specialist to primary care. Critical follow-up triggers are missing, physicians may not be notified about new medications, and rehabilitation centers may lack visibility into care plans. Records may be faxed days later or remain siloed and unusable for coordinating care. Despite progress in digitizing health records, gaps persist that cost patients and employers millions of dollars annually and can lead to serious harm or death. Providers need easier access to patient data and automatic alerts for potential issues and critical next steps.

Read at Fast Company