8 USES OF HOSPITAL RECORDS II

We will continue our discussion of Hospital Records in this post.

1.     Detection, Prevention And Control

Also, good records can help you to detect flaws in your hospital process.

 For example, the record of patients who come for daily wound dressing may lead you to discover that most of your surgical patients return with infected/septic wounds. This in turn may cause you to detect a flaw in your instrument sterilization process. A good doctor will then work to prevent future occurrences.

2.     Process Improvement

The natural consequence of flaw detection is process improvement. I explained the various variables involved in process improvement in one of my e-books (ELIMINATING WASTE AND INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY IN YOUR HOSPITAL).

3.     Profit

The continuous improvement of your hospital process means that your quality is constantly improving. This is the secret of industry leaders. They constantly look for better ways to do things. Without good records, it is unlikely that you will receive the impetus needed to improve. Improved quality will attract ‘quality’ people. ‘Quality’ people bring ‘quality’ money. Eureka! We are talking profit already!

4.     Provides Confidence

           

Good records give you the confidence that you have dotted all your‘t’s and crossed your ‘i’s. When you look at properly kept records, you experience a quiet assurance that you are doing the right things and doing things right. Confidence is like the vertebral column that gives you stability. Confidence helps you to make better decisions. Confidence also affords you the leverage to go ahead and improve your skills.

5.     Effective Resource Management

You cannot effectively manage your resources if you don’t know what you have, when you had it, how you got it and where it is presently. Good records give you that knowledge. It helps you to know where you are today so that you can define where you want to be tomorrow. This knowledge will help you manage what you have successfully. For instance, to control your hospital inventory, you need good pharmacy records. If you don’t know the quantity of cefuroxime in your pharmacy/store for instance, you will find it difficult to tell if it’s being stolen or not. You also will not know when you need to restock your pharmacy.

6.     National Security

National security is vital to the survival of any nation. A healthy nation is a strong nation. A strong nation is a secure nation. A secure nation is a prosperous nation. What is the No.1 killer disease in our nation today? Malaria, HIV/AIDS? Hold it! Think again. Are you really sure? Ok, let’s agree with your answer. What is being done to reduce the incidence of that disease? What is the 5year plan of the government in that regard? You see, the government cannot do much without the correct information. The correct information can only be provided by YOU. 

The medical records from YOUR FACILITY will form the basis for government policies. So, if you give out wrong data, it affects us all. We need to build up our National Health Database from the primary healthcare centre up to the tertiary institutions. This will ensure that the government formulates policies that will enhance our collective health and security as a people.

 Cheers!