The current state of ICT in the field of Social Healthcare

The results of the latest Trends Report show that in conducting their business, most organisations employ a range of software for processing administrative and clinical information, as part of their multidisciplinary approach to Health and Social Care (HSC) (doctor’s surgeries, nursing stations, etc.).

The large number of organisations which offer HSC and their variability in terms of size (support teams, places and beds) highlight the heterogeneity of the area as a whole.

Over the last year, virtually every organisation has employed such software, thus accounting for the high average satisfaction ratings for the different modules. Although many providers use the same products, there are none that, in terms of frequency, stand out from the rest, although a large proportion of providers have created their own software. It would be interesting to find out what motivates organisations to create such alternatives to commercial software.

Likewise, the data show that in the majority of resources in the HSC area, both for inpatient and outpatient care and support centres, between 20-40% of organisations still rely on paper to record their activities. Meanwhile, the results of the survey show that the electronic health records used in the different contexts have limitations when it comes to displaying information from other resources or services: the home and residential support teams have in particular have problems with obtaining electronic health records which are shared with the rest of the institution, and with recording information in real time.

The institution’s IS solution: A desire to change

The data indicate that although most entities use ICT to assist patients and their relatives, the use of specific software to offer healthcare and social welfare programs, such as cognitive stimulation therapy, physical therapy or caring for people with palliative needs, is rather heterogeneous, suggesting that it is a field in which there is room for development and growth. Finally, in relation to the use of ICT tools to improve communication, the results indicate that a high percentage are used to connect the organisation to the professionals and the professionals to each other; On the other hand, the use of ICT in communication between doctors and patients still has a long way to go: less than half of the social healthcare organisations have developed this possibility.

We would like to thank the following for their collaboration in this article: Ingrid Bullich, Pau Sánchez and Concepció Cabana (Master Plan for Healthcare Services).

For more information, please contact us at: mapatendencies@ticsalutsocial.cat