How are knowledge management systems used in healthcare?
Knowledge management systems are already employed by industries to boost efficiency and organizational learning. These same knowledge base systems employed by businesses are quickly becoming a part of the fabric of IT infrastructure for healthcare organizations, and it’s easy to see why. Healthcare knowledge management is particularly important as healthcare professionals are faced with constant information overload yet rarely have the systems in place to actually find the updated health, patient, and processes information that they need.
The stakes are much higher within the healthcare industry for quick and accessible information. Healthcare professionals know that their patients depend on it.
The healthcare industry is complex, expansive, and relies on one key thing to serve its patients: knowledge. A knowledge manage (KM) system is increasingly crucial to health care organizations across the board. Whether it’s at a rehab facility, a hospital, or a specialized clinic, health care providers, more so than employees of any other industry, can benefit from the advances in information technology.
Examples of the benefits of knowledge management in healthcare
Support informed decision making
The healthcare sector sees new trials, findings, and advances every day. Practicing evidence based medicine is only possible when healthcare professionals have access to share, update, and iterate on collective medical knowledge. A searchable knowledge base is simply the tool that will help to cope with, and unify, the ongoing flow of new health information. An advanced and structured knowledge base would allow medical professionals to track both individual patient electronic health records while also giving them the tools to quickly and efficiently search for symptoms, procedures, and findings that will allow them to provide the best possible care.
Avoid malpractice
Medical malpractice is costly in more ways than one. An institutionalized knowledge management system of new findings and firsthand experiences will empower health care providers to partake in knowledge sharing in a way that’s never been done before. This level of access to health informatics and information management systems would cut down on fatal misdiagnoses and ultimately streamline medical decision making. By setting up repeatable processes and a repository of medical knowledge, a doctor could search for and tap on the findings of a study conducted across the globe to effectively diagnose a patient that might otherwise have been misdiagnosed and mistreated within minutes.
Encourage innovation
Health information is complicated and new knowledge is a constant. The application of knowledge management systems in healthcare organizations creates a culture of ongoing collaboration and innovation. By putting emphasis on a culture of knowledge sharing, healthcare employees are more likely to engage in continuous learning and education.
Discover a knowledge management system that works for the healthcare industry
KM systems are crucial across industries, but the unification of organizational knowledge is particularly meaningful in the world of healthcare. Because of how complex the industry is, the unification of KM systems will be multifaceted. From internal care team knowledge sharing, to broader network-wide information systems, and eventually a global healthcare industry-wide knowledge repository.
Like every part of our culture, the healthcare community is more interconnected by technology than ever. This goes beyond the traditional healthcare international journal. By unifying global medical findings, and making them searchable with intuitive tools, healthcare organizations have the opportunity to share in their findings on a scale that has never been seen before. Leveraging knowledge base tools will give health care systems the opportunity to unify their findings and provide innovative patient care.
Effective knowledge management requires structure and needs to be intuitive for the user while also minimizing the burden for asset administrators. Quality of care is dependent on the tools, support, and knowledge that health organizations have at their disposal. A knowledge management tool can connect communities of practice, encourage public health innovation, and improve the overall efficiency of the health care system. Get started with your healthcare knowledge management system for free with Guru.
