A paperless society is an ideal almost every industry strives for, reducing reliance on archives, loss of data, and poor security for sensitive information. The healthcare industry has embraced technology, and the introduction of electronic health records (EHR) has proved to be a worthwhile investment in streamlined and efficient patient care management.
Oracle, a global software development company, has developed an AI-powered EHR solution that promises to revolutionize patient data management systems. Set to enter the market in 2025, this solution will enhance existing EHR systems and create a more streamlined, secure, and integrated process for data entry and management.
Healthcare workers often have to make quick decisions, and having the most accurate, relevant patient information, alongside diagnostic resources, can be a huge benefit. The days of rifling through charts, spending extra time logging patient information, and searching through paper archives to establish patient history are over.
Here’s how Oracle Health is transforming EHR technology:
Benefits of EHR
The well-being of any patient is dependent on the collaboration of the team of healthcare workers from the start of a consult or emergency, through healing and recovery. If a patient goes into cardiac arrest, first responders usually require a lot of information very quickly.
Suppose the patient was out with friends, running an errand, or at work during a medical emergency; the chances of acquaintances or bystanders knowing the patient’s medical history are slim to none.
With the assistance of EHR technology, emergency medical service providers could instantly input the patient’s particulars and gain access to their entire history. This would allow them to provide not only rapid care but also informed care. They would then input the treatment they administered, which would be available to the next set of medical practitioners in the emergency room.
This simple scenario demonstrates an elementary use case and some benefits of using EHR technology. The added benefits include:
Access to complete patient information, available with real-time updates
Easy and efficient access to patient data, enabling coordinated care
Secure storage and transmission of patient data
Access to resources that assist healthcare practitioners in diagnosis, reducing medical errors, and improving safety in care
Safer administration of prescriptions
Improved document processing by enabling legible, complete, and accurate documentation for effortless coding and billing
Improved patient data privacy and security
Time and cost savings through reducing paperwork
How Oracle Enhances EHR
A key element to providing stellar solutions for the healthcare industry is remaining responsive to the needs of everyone in the ecosystem, from physicians and lab techs to administrators and billing specialists.
Oracle’s products are geared towards assisting healthcare providers with making rapid clinical decisions by empowering practitioners with all the information they need quickly and reliably. With Oracle Health EHR, medical professionals can benefit from a number of key features, which include:
Critical-first view: Clinicians can opt for a chart view that prioritizes the most important information
Update-as-you-go: Improved documentation tools that allow for on-the-go updates and consultations.
Prescription tools: Enhanced medication procedures designed to identify and prevent errors, boosting patient safety.
Hospital administrative tools: Refined order management features with closed-loop tracking for better accuracy.
Remote and Mobile Settings: Upgraded mobile charting functions, enabling clinicians to update patient records in near real-time from anywhere.
Connecting data to support better patient care
Oracle Health’s primary goal is to support clinicians and administrators in providing excellent healthcare. The prevailing belief is that better data empowers better decision-making, and access to clean data can revolutionize clinical practice.
Oracle Health Seamless Exchange was introduced to the EHR suite of solutions to support this. This program enables authorized sources to easily access and manage patient data that can easily integrate across existing EHR systems.
Why is this important? Well, imagine the same scenario of a patient going into cardiac arrest, but instead of this occurring somewhere in his locale, it happens out of state on a business trip. So, rather than the paramedics pulling data from local hospitals or GPs, they might need access to national networks. The same is true for the hospital.
Oracle Health Seamless Exchange also recognizes that while sharing data should be frictionless, it also needs to be safe. According to the HIPAA journal, an average of 364 571 healthcare records were breached daily in 2023.
Oracle Health Seamless Exchange prioritizes the safety and security of healthcare data. Only authorized sources can input patient data, and the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) policy is adhered to, to secure data transmission.
Addressing Clinician Needs with AI and Automation
Burnout rates among primary healthcare physicians are a major concern in the US. In 2022, just over 70,000 doctors formally exited the profession. Looking at some of the symptoms, Dr Debra Houry, the Chief Medical Officer at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said, “Fatigue, depression, anxiety, substance use disorders and suicidal thoughts are on the rise.”
Doctors blame the healthcare system, which adds to their workload with bureaucratic processes and procedures such as “endless prior authorization requirements” and creates a “revolving door of patient visits.”
Oracle Clinical Digital Assistant is an AI-powered solution that relies on generative AI, clinical intelligence, and a voice—and touch-based interface to provide a smart solution for consultations. When integrated with Oracle Health EHR, this tool can reduce the administrative burden on clinicians by automating note-taking during conversations.
Advancing security and performance
Let’s go back to a hypothetical patient going into cardiac arrest. Imagine he was in the Emergency Room when he suddenly started feeling symptoms of a second heart attack, except this time, another doctor had just started their shift.
They would need to access information about the patient immediately. Accessing critical information quickly is key in healthcare, and Oracle Health has invested time and resources into developing several enhancements to improve performance. They also have practical use cases for enhancing administrative workflows.
As mentioned earlier, patient data security is a significant concern globally. Hospitals are increasingly the object of cyber attacks, and threat actors can earn substantial money by selling health data on the dark web.
Oracle Health launched the Autonomous Shield initiative to ensure the safety and security of healthcare data. Often, threat actors will look for the chink in the armor, which could be any of the many systems and programs a hospital or practice uses. Oracle’s response has been to strengthen the Autonomous Shield Initiative.
Concluding Thoughts
Oracle Health is transforming electronic health record (EHR) technology by integrating advanced AI, automation, and enhanced data security into its solutions, positioning itself as a leader in healthcare innovation. With its new EHR platform launching in 2025, Oracle aims to streamline data entry, improve patient care coordination, and support clinicians with critical, real-time patient information.
These improvements are designed to reduce the administrative burden on healthcare providers, allowing them to focus more on patient care and less on time-consuming documentation.
Critical components like the Oracle Health Seamless Exchange and Clinical Digital Assistant exemplify Oracle’s commitment to improving data accessibility and usability across healthcare networks. Oracle’s solutions also address the growing need for efficient, interoperable systems that support rapid emergency decision-making by enabling secure, nationwide data sharing.
Moreover, Oracle’s focus on security with the Autonomous Shield initiative offers healthcare organizations robust defenses against cyber threats, a critical need in today’s digital age. With continuous enhancements and innovations, Oracle Health promises better patient outcomes and aims to ease the pressures on healthcare providers, fostering a safer, more efficient, and patient-centered healthcare environment.
