Report: Outdated IT costs healthcare industry $8.3 billion

Healthcare professionals’ use of pagers and other old communication technologies is costing the U.S. healthcare industry an estimated $8.3 billion annually, according to a May 8 Ponemon Institute report.

The report, entitled “The Economic and Productivity Impact of IT Security on Healthcare,” said use of outmoded technologies decreases productivity, increases patient discharge time and limits physician/patient interaction. This conclusion stemmed from a survey of 577 clinicians, IT practitioners and other healthcare staff.

According to the report:

• Clinicians waste an average of more than 45 minutes each day due to the use of outdated communication technologies. Inefficiency of pagers, lack of Wi-Fi availability, inadequate email systems and inability to text message all were cited as barriers.
• Outdated IT lengthens patient discharge time, which currently averages about 101 minutes. Of those surveyed, 65 percent of survey respondents believe secure text messaging could reduce discharge time by 50 minutes.
• HIPAA compliance requirements reduce time for patient care, hinder access to electronic patient information and restrict the use of electronic communications, according to respondents. As a result, many turn to older communications, like pagers, to bypass regulatory compliance requirements.

The research was sponsored by Imprivata.