November 19, 2021
Their aim? Better patient safety and streamlined workflows within their health and social care services sector. To help them reach their goal, regional administration Region Kalmar County and local municipalities decided to optimize their IT system. The result? Thanks to the introduction of Cambio COSMIC, both workflow and patient safety have improved. Not only that, these local authorities are now also better equipped to comply with Sweden’s new law on health information exchange, which is intended to take effect in 2022.
Finding enough hours in the workday is a constant challenge for many employees working within Sweden’s municipal and regional governments and Social Services. The more time they spend on administrative tasks, the less time they have for patients. Barriers to cooperation between institutions is yet another challenge they face. The ability to access a patient’s complete medical history and health records with their consent makes life easier for both patients and care providers.
No need to learn a new e-health system
Region Kalmar County and its 12 municipalities are care providers who have successfully overcome the above challenges. How? They asked for Cambio’s help to find a solution that would improve cooperation, workflows and patient care.
“The Region has granted local municipalities access to Cambio COSMIC and our mobile solution, Nova, which offers them a flexible work method. We’re also laying the groundwork for integrating the municipalities’ operational systems with COSMIC. This will make municipal health records accessible to regional employees with no need for the municipalities to learn how to document information in a new system,” explains Pär Holgersson, Senior Advisor at Cambio.
“Ultimately, it’s about providing better health and social care services.”
The project’s aims have been to lighten employees’ workloads and improve patient safety within the local health and social care services sector. Another important aspect of the initiative has been developing a standard solution accessible by all of the Region’s and municipalities’ suppliers.
“We’ve developed integration solutions based on international standards, and these solutions use not only Cambio’s own products but also other system suppliers’ solutions,” Holgersson relates.
Work on the system has been carried out while the pandemic raged, which has obviously presented a challenge.
“Those municipalities that now have access to the new work methods can clearly see what a difference they make. The new functions made employees’ jobs easier during the difficult situation that arose during the pandemic. For example, the protocols for managing test results and notifications have been streamlined and their patient safety aspects improved. This has boosted workers’ confidence in the system, and has helped them make the right decisions under pressure. Ultimately, it’s about providing better health and social care services,” says Holgersson.
Access to the right information and efficient workflows give an organization a sense of confidence.
Pär Holgersson
Regional-municipal cooperation increasingly important
A new bill regulating health information exchange in Sweden is currently being circulated for consultation. The proposed law intends to make it easier for various institutions, including Social Services, to exchange patient data. The plan is for the new law to take effect from 1 July 2022.
“Digitalization within the health and social care services sector will only continue onward and upward. Since the pandemic hit, the spotlight has been squarely focused on regions’ and municipalities’ need for a means of easy access to one another’s health records that maintains patient safety and allows them to make the right decisions at the right time,” says Holgersson.
As far as Sweden’s regional administrations are concerned, Holgersson believes that the ability to share information between the Region and local municipalities will bring major benefits to public institutions, government employees and residents alike.
“Access to the right information and efficient workflows give an organization a sense of confidence. At Cambio, we view the future with optimism, and we want to play our part in making progress a reality. When it comes right down to it, it’s about patient-centred care, and the fact that we all want to achieve health and social care services with the highest possible levels of patient safety and efficiency,” Holgersson concludes.
Would you like to know more? Feel free to contact Pär Holgersson.
