DIGITAL DICTATION
Time to go digital
Up front investment may not be the most attractive proposition in uncertain economic times, but if doctors’ notes are lost, the cost can be far higher, reports Richard Mackillican
T Jul/Aug 10
he health service relies on information. So does every single person who uses or
works in it.
For that information to be of use, it must be clear, concise and correct. Often, people’s lives can depend on both the quality of that information as well as it getting to its intended recipient on time.
Consider that some NHS organisations are still using analogue tape recorders to take down doctors’ notes. Ask yourself this: in an age when even young children have their own mobile phones, is this anyway to run a modern health
service?
Then remember that the notes on those tapes must be transported manually to medical secretaries, sometimes over quite considerable distances.
Think about how many opportunities there are during that journey for those tapes - which might contain sensitive and urgent information - to be lost, damaged or stolen.
Then consider what the consequences would be if any to the above were to happen to an analogue tape, for which your organisation was responsible.
The information on analogue
tapes would be reasonably easy to access if the tapes were stolen which causes real problems around data security. Even digital devices can be at risk if they are not encrypted properly, but at least there is the option to do so on those devices. On analogue tapes this is simply not an option.
This could cause real problems if the Information Commissioner’s Office decided that you hadn’t taken enough care with people’s records.
Commenting on another case of NHS data loss, Mick Gorrill, head of enforcement at the ICO recently said that it is unacceptable to leave portable devices containing personal information unencrypted.
This means that by not taking the right precautions
and investing in adequate technology, you are putting the quality of patient care at your trust at serious risk as well opening up your trust to potential public embarrassment.
The ICO now has powers to fine NHS organisations up to half a million pounds for not taking adequate care of patient information. Do you really want to have put your organisation at risk of that happening by not upgrading your dictation system?
If your analogue tapes were lost, damaged or stolen and they contained critical information which could potentially save the life of a patient, the ‘cost’ could of course be far higher.
Is this a risk you are willing to take as a manager in one of the world’s leading health services?
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