Human error is part of life - everyone makes mistakes at one time or another. However, in the healthcare system human error can have much more serious consequences. It’s absolutely critical to reduce human error in medicine as much as possible, and that’s where a reliable document management software can play a big role.
What is human error in healthcare?
Medical errors are defined as “the failure of a planned action to be completed as intended or the use of a wrong plan to achieve an aim.” Human error in healthcare leads to low morale among healthcare workers and a lack of trust and satisfaction from patients. Human error in healthcare results not only in unnecessary patient deaths, but also billions of dollars in excess costs - up to $29 billion per year in healthcare systems nationwide. And according to two major studies, between 44,000 and 98,000 people die every year in the U.S. healthcare system from preventable errors.
What causes human error in medicine?
Some of the common root causes of human errors in healthcare are:
- Communication breakdowns: This is when physicians, nurses, healthcare team members, and patients are not communicating efficiently or adequately.
- Insufficient information flow: This can lead to lack of communication about test results, medical orders, medications and crucial information, all of which make it difficult to effectively care for the patient.
As well as inadequate policies when it comes to proper documentation and procedures.
How can you reduce human error in medicine?
So how can you minimize human error to ensure your hospital or healthcare system runs more safely and efficiently? By facilitating better communication and record-keeping - both of which are much easier with a document management software.
Form management is one of the most costly and complex areas of healthcare administration, and manual form management (working with paper) can cost staff up to 30 percent of their time. Additionally, there are often 2,000 to 3,000 different forms being used each day, which leaves a wide margin for human error in healthcare, especially when forms are paper-based.
Document management software (DMS) is a cloud-based software that helps healthcare professionals capture, store, index, distribute, and retrieve important forms and documents. This means that no matter where a patient is being treated, healthcare professionals can ensure quality treatment plans through proper documentation. And if you use a DMS like DigiDoc, you’ll also have the benefit of no downtime. Even if your internet connection is out or your EMR system is down, you can still access all of your documents and files.
How do you know if you’re in need of a DMS? Here are some surefire signs it’s time to look into this critical component of healthcare systems:
- You can’t find important paperwork when you need it
- You’re tired of working with endless paper documents
- You’re worried about the security of your system’s documents
- Your team is distributed throughout multiple locations
- You’re ready to acquire new hospitals or healthcare systems
Find your next DMS with DigiDoc today
The easiest way to get started? Contact DigiDoc. Our DMS can help you save time, money, and stress. Let us help you find the right document management software for your hospital or healthcare system today.
