Oncology and Technology: Understanding the True Meaning of Data and Workflow Integration

If there was ever a moment for healthcare organizations to assess their EMS systems’ ability to handle data and workflow integration properly, that time is now. Oncology and Technology welcomed back Carvive’s Director of Product Management, SarahLena Keckler, to lend her expertise and insights on the topic.

“The more technology becomes a part of our lives, and of our healthcare, the more important it is that systems can talk to one another,” Keckler said. “No two systems are alike, and it’s no secret that our healthcare has scattered technology. Today, no one system covers everything. And so, this term, EMR integration, is really critical because it gets right to the core of this issue and highlights the need for different systems to work together and share information.”

The complexities of working inside a de-centralized healthcare system is a challenge when trying to track patient data, sometimes scattered over many doctors and hospitals. In addition, it poses barriers for both the patient and their care teams.

“This potentially creates siloed information, and it leads to gaps in understanding of a person’s complete medical situation,” Keckler said.

Carvive recognizes the need to not create another place for patients and care teams to have to go for information. Hence, its solution integrates into a healthcare organization’s current EMR platform.

“We’ve reduced a little bit of burden and taken a small step forward in a more efficient, and therefore more effective healthcare system,” Keckler said. “The more systems can integrate with each other, the more complete the picture becomes for care team members, and more engaged for users.”

And while having centralized access to data is essential, it’s the proper integration into workflows that provides the measure of success. “The best data integration in the world is meaningless if nobody’s using it,” Keckler said.