Patient transfers within the public-health sector and even between the public and private sectors can take a lot of time, resources, and frustration to achieve. In healthcare, we do not always have the luxury of time when a patient’s life is at stake, and we generally do not have enough human resources to dedicate medical staff to phoning around various facilities to find a bed and an appointed physician to accept a patient.
ONE of the island's leading advocates for the digitisation of medical records, Doug Halsall, has given the Government his nod of approval for its decision to approve a $780-million contract to implement the second phase of its electronic health record (EHR) management system.
The EHR system is being designed to streamline Jamaica's public health sector and create greater efficiency through the use of technology.
STARTING a technology-based business can sometimes seem like a daunting task — between finding capital, securing permits and finding the right staff many entrepreneurs get frustrated and often decide to throw in the towel.
But Douglas Halsall, chief executive officer of Advanced Integrated Systems (AIS), made the decision to venture into the computerised systems over three decades ago and hasn't looked back since.
Like many other entrepreneurs he said, "It was a process, it didn't take place overnight."
The recent Caribbean Conference on Healthcare Financing, held in Antigua, has placed the discussion of universal health coverage and health financing squarely on the table of Caribbean countries again, but this time with more emphasis on the role technology can play to facilitate this process.
This is a much-welcomed approach as the power of technology to fuel the development of the healthcare sector has been long discussed but slow to implement.
We have heard a lot of talk about Blockchain over the last few years in reference to technology and how it can revolutionise data collection, storage, and information sharing.
September 30, 2022
Advanced Integrated Systems (AIS), is seeking to bring further efficiency to the Pharmaceutical industry through the use of technology. Known for being the leading provider of health technology solutions in Jamaica, the company is providing solutions to pharmacists and doctors at reduced costs to facilitate easier and more affordable sign on.
Many types of health technology software have become available over the last decade and the world is moving swiftly towards digitising healthcare systems. The rapid changes that we have experienced in technology over the last decades have not matched user acceptance. Some societies are slower than others to adopt technology. In these areas, technology penetration is generally low, and people sometimes view new technology with suspicion.
The world is beginning to embrace health technology in a big way. So much so that the global care solutions market has expanded and is projected to continue to experience immense growth.
According to researchandmarkets.com, in 2021, the value of the global care management solutions market was estimated to be $13.2 billion. It is estimated that it will have a compound annual growth rate of about 13.3 per cent and, therefore, should be valued at approximately $27.9 billion by 2027.
In healthcare, the ability to diagnose early can be the difference between life and death or lifelong ill-health and costly medical care. Many times, ailments such as non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially cancers, can be better treated if they were detected early. Cancer is still among the top-10 causes of mortality in Jamaica and several NCDs fill out the rest of that list. Early diagnosis is key in many instances to prevent death or disability.
Technology and how it has improved the insurance industry was one of the issues highlighted at the just concluded 40th Annual Caribbean Insurance Conference, held in the Bahamas from June 5-7, 2022. CEO of Advanced Integrated Systems, Doug Halsall, who was a special guest at the event, presented on the topic: Health Insurance Trends in the Caribbean.
