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CMC GEARS FOR  PAPERLESS OPERATIONS   
ARE WE READY TO BE PAPERLESS?
                       (By :  Ms.  Helena V. Bumatayo – IT Head)

        The introduction of computer technology into the health care environment has been fraught with difficulty. The literature has identified that while there are many applications that have been successfully implemented, there are others that have met significant resistance. As such, the diffusion of computer technology has been scattered and uneven in the health care arena. Some scholars attribute the problems of resistance to structural variables such as value conflicts, power conflicts, and ones that involve the man-machine interface. Others view it as process-oriented, citing such key factors as inadequate training, lack of user involvement, and discomfort due to organizational change. The essence of resistance to computerization in clinical settings is based upon the difference between the mindset of the user and that required by the computer. It appears that since the decision-making methods of the user tend to favor intuitive processes, he or she becomes more resistant to use a system that forces qualitative information into quantitative niches.
          Paper has played an integral part in all aspects of our lives. Given the recent major developments in the storage and sharing of information, however, it is worthy to reconsider the role that paper plays in modern society. The development of the computer was an unequivocal breakthrough on myriad fronts.  The implications of this electrical wonder and its application to day-to-day life were furthered with the development of   wired and   wireless communication and the internet. The speed of communication via electronic mail (email) all but killed the use of the conventional postal service for personal communication and replaced the fax in a majority of cases rendering two major uses of paper for communication obsolete. Electronic communication has relieved paper from further duties: direct debit and internet banking.
               At this point, going paperless is extremely advantageous, even saving lives. Realistically, though, could life as we know it function without paper? Computer e-billing is increasing; the company emails you the bill, you pay it electronically, no paper exchanges, nothing gets lost in the mail. With countless writing programs that easily allow you to attach a document to an email, long reports, and even entire books can be read without paper. For the past eighteen years in the healthcare industry, I’ve seen a lot of  advances.  Although paper is necessary for prescriptions and to affix a hard copy of the Pharmacy’s dispensing record onto the back of the prescription, more work is done on faxes and scanners. Nurses now use a barcode reader to access the dispensing machines. Because the system uses barcode scans, nurses can access only certain machines and can get medications only for patients whom they have authorization. Very soon, Doctors will be using electronic chart rather than bulging papers.  As a result, medication errors are easier to prevent.
               Pharmacies have the electronic computer check as a back up to ensure that the right medication, strength and directions from the prescription are correctly dispensed for the patient. Scanning the prescription into the computer, it then becomes easily available to pull up and scan the stock bottle for the Pharmacist. Different systems will provide ways to detect errors which flash messages saying NON-MATCHED! or printers that won’t print if the wrong medication barcode is scanned. Elimination is a radical plan, but the tried-and-true practices to reduce, reuse and recycle are as reliable as ever. To be paperless will be a long process but since we have already started minimizing the use of paper, we will eventually achieve this goal. With the fast evolution of technology, this will not remain a wishful thinking but a reality.  Who knows? By the time CMC reaches its SAPPHIRE YEAR transactions within and beyond will then be paperless.