Patient History at a Glance for Better Treatment

Q: What needs is Ominé seeking to address in the health sector?
A: Compared to sectors such as banking and insurance, the healthcare industry is still lagging in terms of digitalization; information is not yet properly valued. Many hospitals and other healthcare institutions still function in the traditional way, following a physical paper bureaucracy. These players have the means to go digital but face a cultural obstacle. People have difficulty understanding that healthcare can be translated into electronic data because they perceive healthcare as only the immediate clinical examination and the personal attention the patient receives. Yet, technology can improve even these aspects of care.
We want to take the industry beyond paperless operations. In the public sector, for instance, doctors dedicate 15-20 minutes for every appointment but most consults end up being five to 10 minutes. The reason is the large line of patients waiting outside. Because doctors do not have access to the patient’s full medical records, they also need to spend time asking questions before they can address the symptoms. This forces them to make important decisions based on incomplete information. Access to an electronic database would allow doctors to check the patient’s history at a glance and make the right decisions. As a result, patients would receive better treatments and doctors would have some of the burden lifted off their shoulders. In general, the care process lacks information that is timely, up-to-date and relevant to each activity, impacting both care professionals and patients. We want to address that issue.
Q: How can Ominé improve the experience of both patients and medical professionals?
A: Digital transformation is not our goal but the means to an end. The goal is ensuring a better experience for all parties through greater efficiency and higher care quality. Besides providing details on patient records, the Ominé platform also allows communication between doctors of different specialties: the care team. Using a virtual space, they will be able to share their advice and perspective, which means decisions will not be based solely on the knowledge of a single person but complemented and validated by their peers. The result will be a more unified and aligned care strategy that will lead to better results and fewer errors.
Patients and their family are left with a considerable part of the care process and they often have to make a wide range of decisions, from nutrition to scheduling labs, without the proper guidance or training and without anyone to ask when they need an answer between two medical appointments.
Q: What other benefits can Ominé provide to the healthcare sector?
A: Even the most prestigious Mexican hospitals suffer due to a lack of coordination, which translates to operational errors, prescription errors and mistakes in dosage and administration of medications. Medical services without good coordination and information are simply a disaster. In the US alone, between 200 and 400 people die every day due to poor quality care, as well as negligence. Digital platforms provide all the necessary information throughout the care process to ensure appropriate decisions are made.
Although the biggest problem is one of management and operational quality, in many cases, bad decisions are made simply because health professionals do not have access to the patient’s complete record. A complete analysis of the patient’s history can elucidate problems that would not be visible through a simple examination of symptoms. A good example of this would be chronic diseases like diabetes. A one-time test of glucose levels is never going to provide the full picture. This patient’s health is not a photo; it is like a video that shows an evolution in glucose levels in relation to physical activity and nutrition. It is hard to give accurate advice based on incomplete information and not every doctor is an expert in diabetes. In most cases, patients with diabetes are treated by general practitioners.