Information is the heart of a healthcare environment. Instant access to complete patient information is the key to successful patient care and workflow (Gesinger, 2010). Providing access, specifically to cardiovascular information, can be an intricate process that revolves around integrating multiple systems to provide imaging as well as reporting. This has led to the development of innovative solutions that provide Cardiovascular Information Systems targeting to improve patient care through better workflow efficiency within healthcare settings (Liu & Jihong, 2010). However, the demands and requirements of these technological health solutions have been fast faced paced driven by several factors including the rise in incidence of cardiovascular diseases. This has made implementing and integrating cardiovascular information systems a challenge. In this regard, this paper seeks to review the past and current trends in cardiovascular information systems as well as future implications in response to the increasing demands and requirements. This will be achieved through the review and analysis of relevant literature to draw useful conclusions for possible implementation.
II Key Definitions
CVIS: Cardiovascular information system
PACS: Picture archiving and communication system
III Research Questions
The overarching goal for this paper is to review the past and current trends in cardiovascular information systems as well as future implications in response to the increasing demands and requirements for CVIS. For the successful achievement of this goal, the purpose of this paper will be to meet the objectives of answering the following research questions:
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1. What role does CVIS and related technologies such as PACS play in the health care sector? This question will be explored in order to provide an in depth understanding of the significance of CVIS in patient care. The benefits of this aid to patient care will be discussed under the subheadings of technical, clinical, and business benefits of CVIS.
2. What are the areas of application of CVIS in current healthcare sector? Answering this research question will highlight the specific fields and subfields of cardiovascular medicine that CVIS currently has application. In addition, prospects of future trends of the system’s use in other fields or in intervention for other conditions will be explored.
3. What are the trends in market demand for CVIS? This research question will lead to discussions on the economics of CVIS in order to understand the dynamics of supply and demand for the technological health solution. This will be assessed to determine the trends over time and subsequently analyze the factors in play responsible for driving the change, if any, on such parameters.
4. What are the challenges facing the utilization of CVIS in patient care? This discussion topic will delve into an in depth understanding of not only the risks but also the costs that the implementation of a CVIS in a hospital or other healthcare setting poses to the organization. An attempt to discuss the barriers to effective utilization of CVIS will also be provided in succint.
5. What does the future of CVIS hold? This research question seeks to sum up the next phase that CVIS is poised to be in. In this aspect, the discussion will involve highlighting the opportunities for further implementation of CVIS as well as possible challenges that are anticipated and need to be addressed in order for the system to prove its effectiveness.
IV Discussion
The provision of healthcare today has changed in a number of ways not only due to technological advancements but also due to health reforms taking place in various countries across the world (Fornell, 2015). With constrains in budgets based on the requisite service provision, healthcare providers have been under pressure to devise ways of improving efficiency in patient care in a cost effective manner (Kapitula & Ireland, 2013). The CVIS technology therefore, provides health care providers with the ability to streamline the rather complex cardiology services and operations. Although the benefits of CVIS to the healthcare system are significant, challenges facing the system need to be addressed in order to poise it better for continued transformation of healthcare into the future.
Benefits of CVIS
The utilization of CVIS provides several technical benefits to healthcare provision. One key benefit is the ability of the system to provide a single platform and storage of patient information, records and imaging results (Ludwick, & Doucette 2009). Such a centralized platform of storage provides the opportunity for the establishment of one entry point through which all cardiologists; referring physicians, staff, as well as administrators can access patient information. This makes the sharing of patients’ images, procedure reports and business information much seamless compared to the traditional multiple storage devices. The utilization of this paper-less technology also saves on time for healthcare practitioners providing more time at their disposal useful in patient care. Case in point, a survey by Medscape in 2014 indicated that 29% and 34% of self-employed and employed cardiologists respectively spend an average of 10 hours per week on paper work (Research and Markets, 2018). This time could be made use of through better patient care by implementation of CVIS. The other benefit that the implementation of a CVIS system accrues is improved flow of work in healthcare settings through connection of all the disparate silos of patient data (Fornell, 2015). Some of the additional technical advantages come from the ability to manage the hardware architecture and not be tied to the vendor proprietary products.
CVIS utilization provides a myriad of clinical benefits that optimize patient care. As noted previously, CVIS allow for single point access to all cardiologists, referring physicians, and staff to patient information which ultimately provides improved patient care through better workflow. In essence, contrary to past experience where a cardiologist attending to for instance a critically ill patient reviewing diagnostic tests and prescribing a treatment plan, may have ended-up in numerous different departments and access several information sources and charts in order to obtain health information or images, CVIS allows real time access of such information while at the patient’s bedside, which shorten the turn-around-time, a key contributor to better patient outcome (Kapitula & Ireland, 2013). CVIS utilization is also associated with cost and administrative benefits to a healthcare organization. From an administrative point of view, to have reliable information about patients at just one click of a button is priceless. As such, a well selected CVIS system provides administrators with the ability to manage supply inventory, billing, statistical reporting, and department performance in a live environment not to mention the ability for accurate data mining due to standard use of terms and definitions (Kapitula & Ireland, 2013). Clearly, the use of CVIS in healthcare offers cost effective clinical benefits to the patients and organization.
Areas of Application of CVIS
CVIS application has grown over the years to become intricately applicable in various areas of cardiology. Notably, cardiac and peripheral catheterization were the market leaders in areas of CVIS application and this has been so due to the upward trend of coronary angioplasty procedures being carried out (Market and Research, 2018). Other areas where CVIS continue to be of use in cardiology include electrocardiogram management, hemodynamics monitoring and reporting, in echochadiography where it is used for picture archiving and communication, in nuclear cardiology, and in vascular ultrasonography (Fornell, 2015). Evidently, CVIS is widely employed in the field of cardiology.
Trends in Market Demands
The economic dynamic of CVIS systems has witnessed significant trends over time driven by several factors. According to the data provided by Research and Markets (2018), in 2017 the global CVIS market was values at $696.7 million which is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% between 2018 and 2026. This exponential rise in the demand for CVIS products has been driven by several factors. A significant driver of this rise has been the number of cardiovascular diseases that have been on the rise globally. Currently, cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of deaths globally. According to the data provided by the World Health Organization [WHO] (2017), in 2016 cardiovascular diseases accounted for 17.9 million deaths globally and this accounted for 31% of all deaths. In the US, 0.8 million deaths occurred as a result of cardiovascular diseases in 2016. This significant proportion that has been rising over years has necessitated innovations such as the CVIS to improve patient outcomes. Technological advancement and need for an integrated CVIS system has been the other driving force behind the proliferation of CVIS technologies (Gesinger, 2010). Notably, CVIS vendors have been on the frontline in attempting to completely redesign new software platforms based on the newest technology trends to move beyond the limitations of their previous systems (Fornell, 2015). Clearly, the health and economic burden of cardiovascular diseases coupled with the alarming growth in the prevalence of such diseases has been a major driver for the increase in demand for CVIS products.
CVIS Challenges
The utilization of CVIS has also been associated been with particular risk and cost challenges. The initial risk posed when implementing a CVIS technology is risk of adoption of the new working environment and unease among the workforce and administrators (Kapitula & Ireland, 2013). Consequently, organizational needs need to be analyzed beforehand in order for an organization to choose a CVIS that particularly meets its needs for better adoption by the workforce and administrators. The initial cost of procurement of CVIS technology is also a challenge which necessitates careful analysis of an organization’s immediate and strategic needs in order to set vouch for capital for CVIS.
The Future of CVIS
Significant transformations have been witnessed in the field of CVIS in the recent past, which makes one look into the future of CVIS with much optimism. Recent trends in CVIS include the development of Web-based CVIS platforms implying that the platforms are “zero footprint” with regard to the need of hard drive to house the CVIS software. This has eliminated the need for tethered workstations, so now staff can work on any Web-based computer or mobile device, regardless of their location (Fornell, 2015). Mobile integration of the system by most vendors is yet another recent development that has changed the operations in cardiology. As such access to feature such as ECG interpretation and cath lab activation in emergency situations can be conveniently performed through the phone, a great contribution to efficiency in patient care. A major concern for the future of CVIS is the consolidation of hospitals systems to facilitate inter-hospital patient care. In this regard, major concerns arise in reference to the interoperability of the hospital systems, how to reduce the need for multiple logins, the need for one viewer for all modalities and reports, and the need for a centralized archive (Fornell, 2015). Before adopting a new cardiac PACS, the main questions to ask should thus be related to its integration and interoperability as these are key in leveraging IT investments in health. Evidently, the future of CVIS promises to continue transforming healthcare in the delivery of the complex cardiology operations and processes.
V Conclusion
Cardiovascular diseases continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Currently, they cause more deaths annually more than any other cause which necessitates for continued research into better ways of reversing this trend. This is the rational that led to the focus on cardiovascular information systems in this paper as it has proven ability of improving work efficiency in cardiovascular medicine and optimizing patient care. Through an analysis of relevant literature, it is clear that CVIS plays an important role in improving healthcare services delivery in various departments by centralizing the process of obtaining patient data. Technological advancements have significantly improved the functionality of CVIS but still, inter-hospital consolidation is an aspect that needs further development in order to improve the already useful health care delivery technology.
References
Fornell D. (2018) 10 Questions to Ask When Purchasing a Cardiovascular Information System | Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology Retrieved from https://www.dicardiology.com/article/10-questions-ask-when-purchasing-cardiovascular-information-system
Fornell, D. (2015a) Recent Advances in Cardiovascular Information Systems | Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology Retrieved from https://www.dicardiology.com/article/recent-advances-cardiovascular-information-systems
Fornell, D. (2015b) Key Trends in Cardiovascular Information Systems | Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology Retrieved from https://www.dicardiology.com/article/key-trends-cardiovascular-information-systems
Gesinger, R. (2010) Introduction to healthcare information enabling technologies Chicago, IL: Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, print.
Kapitula, V. & Ireland, J. (2013) Cardiovascular Information Systems (CVIS): Optimizing Cardiovascular Operations and Services Ascendian Healthcare Consulting 3(1); 1-12
Liu, Y. & Jihong, W. (2010) PACS and Digital Medicine: Essential Principles and Modern Practice CRC Press,
Ludwick, D. A., & Doucette, J. (2009). Adopting electronic medical records in primary care: lessons learned from health information systems implementation experience in seven countries. International journal of medical informatics , 78(1), 22-31.
Research and Markets (2018) Cardiovascular Information Systems (CVIS) - Market Size & Share, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Trends, Key Players, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts (2018-2026) Retrieved from https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6m2hn7/cardiovascular?w=5
World Health Organization (2017) Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) | WHO Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds)
