Being new to healthcare, I had no clue what ancillary services were. Your Dictionary, Medical (n.d.) defines these services as being "Relating to or being auxiliary or secondary." So since these are secondary and supplementary to the primary medical functions, why would it be advantageous for them to have their own computer systems dedicated to their functions? What benefits are there to using systems of this nature and what are the limitations?
First off let us discuss why these services should be automated and computerized and also what is the current state of technology in regards to clinical ancillary. As part of an abstract for a paper, Michael Minear and Jeff Sutherland (2003) wrote the following:
Digital computers have been successfully incorporated into specialized clinical instruments to offer advanced digital devices such as fetal monitors, heart monitors, and imaging equipment. But these devices are often not fully integrated with clinical management and operational systems. Beyond ancillary department applications, the result of almost 30 years of trying to automate the clinical processes in health care is large investments in both computer systems and paper medical records that have resulted in paper-based, computer-assisted processes of care. This expensive combination of partial clinical automation and archaic paper-based support processes is a major obstacle to improvements in care delivery and management. (Minear & Sutherland, 2003)
So as you can see not having these processes computerized is causing a disadvantage to patient care process, delivery and management. For example of how the current systems are set up in some places, let us look at the operating room (OR). The OR is an example of leading edge technology advances, but in many cases, in many HCOs, the ancillary systems are not integrated with each other or into the core systems (Minear & Sutherland, 2003). One of the benefits of having computerized, integrated ancillary systems is having all of the "players" related to the patient care delivery process working as a synchronized unit (Minear & Sutherland, 2003). If this is not the case then it is hard to stay on track, stay informed and the process will suffer.
Another advantage of ancillary applications is creation of a knowledge base. Minear and Sutherland (2003) said that, "Knowledge-enabled software is inherently flexible and delivers much more sophisticated support to clinicians." Another advantage is the enforcement of standards throughout the organization (Minear & Sutherland, 2003).
One limitation is the "major amount of work to rewrite and test a new system that has no guarantee of satisfying all the needs of the ancillary services (Andrews, n.d.)." Another is the coordination of so many dissimilar projects. Other limitations are difference data definitions for storage, formal processes to integration taken over by committees and formulating a process for management of the data.
As you can see there are benefits (correlation and standardization of care and knowledge) with clinical ancillary applications. There are also limitations especially when it comes to integrating these into a core system. It is up to the HCO to determine if the benefits outweigh the limitations, and this can be based on many difference factors.
References:
Andrews, R. D. (n.d.). Integration of Ancillary Data for improved Clinical Use: A Prototype within the VA's DHCP. Downloaded from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=20&ved=0CHUQFjAJOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpubmedcentralcanada.ca%2Fpmcc%2Farticles%2FPMC2245652%2Fpdf%2Fprocascamc00017-0608.pdf&ei=cLkEUfyHBMzdqAHj2oCIDg&usg=AFQjCNFcLdttxcfqEXbHyP44u8A_HFVV-g&sig2=au_3UNpsjJzUZdksizXJog&bvm=bv.41524429,d.aWM
Minear, M. N. & Sutherland, J. (2003 June). Medical Informatics-A Catalyst for Operating Room Transformation. Seminars in Laparoscopic Surgery, 10(2), pgs. 71 - 78. DOI: 10.1177/107155170301000203
Your Dictionary, Medical. (n.d.). ancillary medical definition. Retrieved from http://medical.yourdictionary.com/ancillary
