Guest post by Alan Orth, Manager, Sales North America, Healthcare and eDocumentation, Wacom for Business

Paperwork is the bane of healthcare professionals everywhere. Each patient visit can generate dozens of pieces of paper, placing a substantial burden on providers. In addition, many records require both patients and healthcare professionals to enter sensitive data, confirm data accuracy, and capture patient signatures. Despite the introduction of electronic health records (EHRs), most facilities have not fully resolved these issues, with surveys indicating that more than 75 percent are still using at least some paper forms and records.

As the paperwork burden grows, it becomes ever more important to find opportunities of efficiency gains, such as the introduction of digital ink and electronic signatures. For many years, healthcare professionals have relied on traditional pen and paper to update medical records, to explain conditions, diagnoses, and treatments using simple drawings and annotations, and to capture patient consent. In the age of ever-improving EHRs, a reliance on outdated data input methods negates some of the gains of electronic records.

Patients are often still required to utilize a traditional pen and paper for registration paperwork, consents, billing information, and medical histories. This leads to compounding inefficiencies, especially if patients are referred to specialists, because paperwork must be faxed and then often re-faxed multiple times.

By replacing pen and paper with digital pen and ink technology from Wacom, healthcare providers can maintain the natural person-to-person interactions they are used to, while capturing all their data with a digital pen input. Whether at the registration desk or in an exam room, healthcare providers can use digital pen hardware inside their EHR to capture annotations and diagrams of signatures. This approach eliminates the inefficiencies of printing, scanning, and faxing, and can help healthcare facilities close the gap between the digital and analog worlds.

Wacom focuses on delivering an intuitive, natural digital pen experience that replicates the experience of wet ink on paper. Case studies have shown a consistent improvement in key efficiency metrics utilizing Wacom devices, including a:

  • 75 percent decrease in average minutes per patient registration
  • 60 percent increase in patients registered
  • 52 percent decrease in paper consumption
  • 100 percent decrease in scanning costs

Visit Wacom at HIMSS19 in the Citrix Ready Partner Pavilion (Booth 527) to learn more about how we can help you in your cloud and paperless journey.

Since 2015, Wacom has partnered with Citrix to address these issues. Utilizing Wacom and Citrix, facilities can simplify IT management; utilize modern, sleek, Citrix Ready hardware; enhance data security; and improve patient experiences. Together, Citrix and Wacom are enabling healthcare providers and facilities to achieve the benefits of going digital without compromising the personal interactions that remain at the core of patient-centered care.

Learn more about what we have lined up for you at HIMSS19.