Resilience and inter-application connectivity: 2 imperatives for hospital information system

IT Social article of 27 May 2020

More than ever before, the information systems of healthcare professionals are being put to the test, particularly in view of the health crisis we are experiencing. In this context, it is clear that the notions of good application communication, resilience and taking into account the new devices deployed, such as connected objects, have become strategic data.

 

Making numerous applications communicate and coexist

On this point, each year we are witnessing an increase in the number of applications used by healthcare professionals. This trend is part and parcel of the digitisation of healthcare establishments and the gradual implementation of the Digital Hospital Plan. The challenge is therefore clearly to make all the operations of healthcare establishments more fluid in order to facilitate the work of healthcare and administrative teams and, ultimately, to significantly improve the quality of the patient relationship.

Perfect interoperability of the information system is therefore a key component to be implemented. In this sense, the use of so-called “EAI” platforms seems to be becoming widespread today and is becoming a real prerequisite for building a high-performance, communicating IS that is open to internal applications, but also to the IS of external partners.

 

The impact of connected objects

The rise of connected technologies has also greatly changed the way traditional management processes are used. As a result, dozens of sensors, tablets and other connected equipment are now found in hospital rooms, corridors, meeting rooms, etc. All of these devices collect strategic data. All this equipment collects strategic data that must be shared and integrated into the information system. Here again, interfacing is an absolute necessity. This data is a key point that must be taken into account by Information Systems Departments.

 

Creating resilient information systems

These different elements highlight the fact that the IS must continue to modernise and integrate new components (applications and hardware) in order to be operational, scalable and resilient. This sensitive point is a key issue in the field of healthcare, because the HIS must be permanently operational in view of the criticality of the data that passes through it. A paralysis of the IS can have serious consequences which are therefore unacceptable.

One thing is certain, the last few weeks have left their mark on people’s minds and will have a profound impact on health-related issues in the long term. In this context, the digitisation of the hospital should continue to accelerate in order to enable it to maintain a level of excellence and to offer ever higher quality in terms of care and patient relations.