IT Benefits in Healthcare Performance and Safety

Abstract

There is no doubt that carefully designed IT solutions enhance the capture of performance and critical incident reporting data in clinical environments. This chapter will examine the effectiveness of recent initiatives in this area and the value of the information that can be generated. While outlining the proposed savings to healthcare systems that can be anticipated by improved performance monitoring and incident reporting, the authors will also explore the additional value that the IT solutions can offer to clinicians in terms of improved learning experiences and ethical behaviour. Extensions of these applications will be discussed, with the necessary prerequisites (e.g. ease of data entry, single data entry/multiple data use, speed of data collection, rapid and accessible feedback of results, etc.) that underpin these advances. The potential barriers (e.g. technophobia, fear of performance monitoring, poor ethical standards) to successful uptake and implementation in healthcare are also considered.