Think about all of the information that is manually passed through your department on a daily basis, then consider the effect of automating that information. With all of these issues covered, the HIM department's cost to the organization would decrease significantly, while service and customer satisfaction would increase. Most insurers would likely use the Internet to request and receive the information needed to support rapid and accurate billing and reimbursement if they were confident it was secure. Many facilities are making use of the Internet today to host Web sites that provide, among other things, medical information for patients, medical content for physicians, capture and storage of patient information, branding, and links to other Web sites and advertising. These may also feature information specifically aimed toward consumers, such as healthcare news updates, fitness and nutrition tips, answers to frequently asked questions, links to Web sites focusing on specific diseases, and patient chat groups.
Facilities benefit from providing such sites in many ways.
For example, Web sites demonstrate specific areas of expertise and help build a link to the community. As a nice added bonus, all of the information is available to the entire world. To make sure that community members are getting credible health information on the Internet, one healthcare official has sent hospital staff members to public libraries and schools to give presentations about finding healthcare information on the Internet. The hospital's information systems department also issues a list of credible healthcare Web sites to libraries and schools. They can provide services that would interest physicians, such as links to medical news and literature updates, literature search capabilities and easy access to reference materials, and communication links with other professionals.