Healthcare’s Reliance on Outdated IT Putting Patient Safety and Cybersecurity at Risk
Outdated systems are causing healthcare professionals to lose hours each week, impacting patient care, organizational performance, efficiency, and security, according to a new report from the technology services and solution provider Presidio.
The report is based on a survey of more than 1,000 frontline healthcare professionals in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Almost all respondents (98%) said inefficient technologies are causing patient care and safety issues, including delays or errors in patient care, and 89% said those issues are a regular occurrence, with 24% reporting that these incidents occur at least once per shift. On average, the respondents experienced 11 such incidents a month.
Healthcare employees are using legacy software and outdated devices that do not support efficient working practices. Some of the main problems associated with outdated systems were latency issues with EHR systems, disconnected and fragmented platforms, and a lack of mobile access. Due to inefficiencies, almost one-quarter of respondents (23%) said they often resort to workarounds to get the job done, even for basic tasks. That creates significant compliance and security risks, as patient data may be handled outside of approved systems, such as unapproved apps. The use of shadow IT creates blind spots for compliance teams and IT departments. Further, the shadow IT tools may not be HIPAA compliant, lacking key security safeguards.
Some of the main problems reported by the respondents were systems that do not easily share data with other systems (23%), reliance on multiple workarounds to complete basic tasks (23%), technologies in use that act as a barrier to safe and timely care (23%), insufficient staff or budgets to modernize systems (23%), and dependence on outdated and legacy systems (23%).
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Healthcare professionals in the United States are more likely than their European counterparts to have modern systems, with 36% of UK healthcare professionals saying they have modern systems, and just 2% in Ireland. In the United States, 63% of respondents said they used modern and effective systems, but that leaves 37% who do not.
When technology fails or data cannot be accessed, patient care suffers. 95% of respondents said patient care was negatively affected by system problems and data access issues, and those issues occur regularly, with 27% of U.S. respondents reporting that errors due to outdated technology occur daily, 26% said they occur a few times a week, and 22% said they occur around once per week. As Presidio explained, the use of outdated technology does not just affect efficiency; it directly drives patient safety incidents. Further, inefficient and outdated technology is a significant factor contributing to clinician burnout, as reported by 80% of respondents.
Investment in technology can help to reduce burnout. The survey revealed that more than half of organizations using real-time data at scale (51%) recognize that outdated technology was a major driver of burnout, compared to 29% in pilot programs and 17% still in planning phases, demonstrating that investment in modern, AI-driven technology systems can significantly improve workforce health. “In a competitive labor market, where skilled healthcare professionals are in high demand, this becomes a strategic advantage,” suggests Presidio.
The survey revealed the biggest benefits for staff were improved operational efficiency (52%), better access to real-time patient data and analyses (48%), and more streamlined tasks to support overextended staff (41%). Top of the wish list for healthcare professionals were AI-assisted automation of data entry (52%), transcription and notetaking (41%), EHR system navigation (40%), prescription entries (39%), and insurance validation (36%), all of which were a drain on their time, limiting face-to-face time with patients.
It is clear from the report that there is a pressing need for AI systems to be used in healthcare to improve efficiency, but adoption has been slow. “Most organizations are still relatively immature in their technology practices, lacking full-scale deployment of new technologies that improve record keeping, access to data, and efficiency,” said Presidio in the report. “Healthcare professionals are ready for AI, and they’re telling IT leaders where it can have the biggest impact.”
