DIGITISATION ALONG THE PATIENT PATHWAY IN HOSPITALS Research paper

The European health care system faces massive challenges due to different influences such as an aging population, multi-morbidity and an innovation-sceptical industry. Above all, hospitals are in the focus of interest, given their central importance and networking of the supply system. Due to a lower availability of resources, but at the same time increasing demands and expectations on the quality of care, hospitals are under particular pressure to optimise. Digital technologies and information systems promise valuable potential along the patient pathway with regard to increasing efficiency and improving the quality of care. This paper provides a structured literature review on the digitisation of the patient's pathway and closes the research gap to a holistic view. As part of a quantitative empirical research study, 130 German hospitals were surveyed regarding their digital potential. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the current state of digital documentation and communication, as well as the identification of digitisation and integration in hospitals. The study shows interesting results regarding digital potentials, particularly concerning the internal and external communication of hospitals.