Siemens healthcare makeover centres on patients

In spite of the fact that both the public and private healthcare sectors have come under considerable pressure in recent years to improve their quality of service to the public, media reports continue to highlight inefficiencies in the systems.

Greg Bezuidenhout, Managing Director of Siemens Enterprise, a division of Siemens Communications in southern Africa, says the healthcare industry is ready for a makeover which will put patient experience at the centre of its operations as well as improve internal processes and the administration of health management.

Bezuidenhout says with a long history of providing medical, communication and IT solutions to the international marketplace, Siemens is identifying a global shift as healthcare providers turn to technology to provide improved facilities and services.

"Although healthcare providers have traditionally invested heavily in technology, purchases have largely focused on the specialised medical equipment required to offer top-notch health services. However, the world has changed and patients are demanding a more customer-friendly experience, whereas healthcare insurers, senior management and company shareholders are demanding improved efficiency and healthcare services from their nominated facilities.

"Accordingly, a considerable paradigm shift is taking place within the medical field," he continues. "Globally, healthcare providers are looking to technology to provide solutions to efficiency requirements and opportunities for differentiation."

The company has already completed implementations of its turnkey HiMed solution in Europe and the Americas, introducing far more friendly patient environments while delivering the promised efficiency and cost saving gains.

Siemens' success in these endeavours has been due its holistic understanding of the medical environment as well as its proficiencies in the areas of business consulting, networking, communications and IT. However, it is the patient-centric aspect of the emerging healthcare facility that holds the most interest.

"By providing a range of services that improve a person's hospital or clinic stay, facilities will not only be able to improve occupancy, but receive access to additional revenue streams," explains Bezuidenhout. "In the patient-centric environment, each patient has access to his or her own entertainment point, the Internet and e-mail, communication services, and of course, personal healthcare information - including costs - in real-time."

The introduction of such conveniences also allows for the reduction of manual - and often duplicated - processes. With access points available at each bedside, hospital staff and medical professionals are able to view and input data directly into the system rather than make paper-based notes or depend on memory.

Furthermore, in upgraded facilities, says Bezuidenhout, medical professionals are able to monitor patient progress through the use of portal technology, reducing travelling time and providing significant improvements in the provision of medical expertise.

"This is not a view of tomorrow; healthcare facilities are already under way in assessing and deploying solutions that will revolutionise the patient experience. In southern Africa, we have many institutions that are nearing this point with sophisticated deployment of a wide range of technologies," he concludes.