20-22 April 2010, Berlin, Germany.As a platform for connecting healthcare IT, conhIT has been set up by VHitG e.V. to encourage an active dialogue between manufacturers, users and science. It is intended for decision-makers in IT departments, in management, medicine and care, as well as for physicians, medical networks and medical care centres, who wish to learn more about developments in IT in the healthcare system, establish contacts in the industry and acquire high level improvements to their existing knowledge.
As an integrated three-day event, conhIT features information, products and services of particular interest to this sector. The Congress and the Academy are intended to meet the specific requirements of exhibitors and users for expanding their professional knowledge, and the topics will be drawn up by representatives of the main target groups. The Industry Fair, which forms the nucleus of conhIT and is the leading exhibition for healthcare IT in Germany, provides information about the range of products and services and presents innovations, trends und established IT solutions. The timing and subject matter have been carefully coordinated to ensure that participants obtain the maximum benefit from everything offered by this event.
Physicians in modern hospitals are well accustomed to using screen-based technology for entering data about their patients, or for studying new X-ray images or laboratory findings in clinical information systems, and it is therefore surprising to learn that the work of archiving all this data can still present enormous challenges. But it does, and not only must all digitally created findings and documents be clearly attributable to a particular doctor or nurse, it is also essential that such information remains accessible over an extended period of time. "Many documents have to be retained for at least ten years in hospitals, and in some cases 30 years is recommended. Changes may take place in hardware and software during this period, but nevertheless the documents must remain readable," as Professor Paul Schmücker of the Institute for Medical Information Technology at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences points out.
A digital archive results in more efficient everyday clinical processes
Here is just one example: clinics that stored their data exclusively on diskettes ten years ago now have a problem on their hands. For archiving purposes modern clinics do not simply purchase CDs, DVDs or other data media and keep them on shelves the way that they used to do with ring or box files. Instead they employ highly specialized archiving solutions, whose suppliers often take responsibility for using data migration or exchange to ensure that the storage media remain readable. "One current trend involves using storage systems equipped with digital media, which significantly reduces the problems associated with data migration," Schmücker reports. Another advantage of storage systems is that they also enable older documents to be rapidly accessed. This avoids unnecessary delays in the provision of patient care. Accounts prepared on flat rate per case basis can produce genuine financial benefits. Moreover, centralized digital archives make data from a variety of sources jointly accessible. Whereas in the past highly paid staff of the clinic ensured that files were obtained from the basement, X-ray images from the radiological department, and histological findings from the pathology lab, nowadays digital archives enable all the data to be displayed together at the click of a mouse.
The paperless clinic: the answer to reduced budgets
However, not only does digital archiving improve the operating efficiency of clinics, it can also help to achieve savings in the healthcare system. "Each year some 5.5 billion documents are produced in Germany's hospitals, and archiving them costs more than two billion euros per annum," according to Schmücker. The use of digital archives can reduce these costs, assuming that the documents are digitally produced in the first place and do not at any stage need to be printed or scanned. Here too the devil lies in the detail: dispensing with paper altogether means that medical documents have to be signed electronically to comply with the law. Only in this way will it still be possible many years later to establish who prepared a medical report or possibly altered it.
The electronic signature is becoming an important subject for clinics
The technology required for electronic signatures is already available, but many hospitals are still reluctant to adopt it. They are waiting for a clear decision by politicians, for example in connection with the development of a telematics infrastructure. "Nevertheless clinics should already be addressing the subject of electronic signatures if they do not want to be left behind later on," advises Andreas Kassner from the German Association of the Healthcare IT Industry (VHitG). Proof of the effectiveness of this development is available from Klinikum Braunschweig, which has already signed and archived over ten million pages of medical documents using an approved electronic signature from an accredited trust centre. Although no hospital is using a completely paperless digital archive with digital signature yet, the way forward is already clearly marked.
Thematic tours of the conhIT industrial fair
Visitors to conhIT 2010 can learn about document management and digital archiving from the German Association of the Healthcare IT Industry (VHitG), which is organizing guided tours dealing with these subjects. The SigDMSArchive working group, part of the VhitG, has also prepared a VhitG Innovation Report on Document Management, which can be downloaded free of charge from www.vhitg.de.
For further information (for visitors and exhibitors), please visit:
http://www.conhit.com