Patient registration is an important part of healthcare services provision. Either short- both long-term appropriate patient care is impossible without this procedure. The purpose of patient registration is to collect basic information about the person and record the actions performed as part of the services provided. It includes both consultation and long-term treatment with all drugs, procedures, and surgical activities. A record is necessary for the quality provision of health care services since, based on this data, one can make an adequate diagnosis and further treatment.
The process of providing medical services begins with the procedure of registering a patient in almost all cases, regardless of the type of hospital. Patient registration is a process in which the name, identity, age, race, and other important personal information are recorded in a database of a particular medical institution (Warnick & Molino, 2019). Usually, this procedure is performed before providing healthcare services, however, some situations formulate exceptions. If an individual needs urgent medical intervention, then registration can be made during or after medic care is provided (Warnick & Molino, 2019). When exactly one should perform a registration (during or after treatment) depends on the patient’s condition. In other words, if the individual is in a clear mind and one’s complaints do not interfere with the registration procedure, then it can be done during the treatment.
The patient registration process is also the starting point for creating a medical record that stores all medically related information. This data is essential because, without such information, it is not possible to provide adequate treatment or prescribe drugs. It is formulated by the fact that some drugs that the patient can use are incompatible with other medications, and one may also have an allergic reaction to some groups of drugs. Ignorance of such information can lead to a severe condition or even the death of the patient.
Besides, it is necessary to document all possible contacts of the patient with other people, including family members. It is essential as it may have an impact on diagnosis or treatment. Being aware of patients’ contacts is especially relevant in the context of the COVID-19 disease pandemic, as it is highly transmissible. Further, the availability of information about rare diseases or disorders of a patient may contribute to a more accurate diagnosis. It is stated by the fact that some diseases have long-term effects that can be confused with the symptoms of other illnesses. Moreover, the presence of a recorded unique ID number for each patient simplifies staff interaction with search engines and databases within the institution.
The importance of registering patients is also formed by the procedure of recording all the processes that occurred with the patient within the institution. In the case of repeated visits to the same hospital or another institution, the staff can easily find out all medications, preparations, or procedures carried out concerning the individual. It is vital since it has a similar principle to that related to the self-administration of any drugs by the patient. In other words, to avoid allergies or side effects from medications prescribed in the past, one needs to have access to such information.
In addition to textual information, patient registration may also involve the recording and storing of other types of data. Digital imaging, CT scans, X-Ray scans, and different kinds of records are stored in medical institutions worldwide (Mahmood et al., 2020). This approach contributes to the most effective diagnosis and facilitates the procedure of treatment and prescribing of drugs. As already indicated, in the case of a repeated visit to the same hospital or another institution, the staff only needs to upload the patient’s data. After that, one will be able to see a complete picture of the patient’s disease and condition and effectively implement the necessary interventions. The digitalization of these procedures formulates the speed, accuracy, and convenience of healthcare services provision.
Further, it is also necessary to indicate cases where the patient does not need to go through the registration procedure. First, if the institution is not able to provide the required services, registration is not required. These can be complex operations or rare, expensive equipment for the necessary examination. Further, if the patient is already registered in the selected hospital, accordingly, the details of one’s medical history are available to the staff. Finally, if the patient is brought to the hospital in a dead condition, there is a different registration procedure than the usual one. These are the only situations that formulate exceptions to the necessity to register an individual. In all other cases, patient registration is an integral part of providing health care services.
The registration procedure involves several stages, after which the necessary services can be provided to the patient. Initially, the staff learns all the required information, which then must be filled in a special form. Further, the patient signs this form, and a fingerprint is also saved in some cases. Then, the document is loaded into the information module, after which a unique identification number is generated for the patient. This number, along with the name, address, and date of birth, must be given to the patient. After that, one charges a fee for the registration procedure, which formulates the final stage. If the patient is young, the form is signed by the parent/guardian. The guardian of the child must present the relevant documents confirming the identity and the right of guardianship.
However, this stage formulates the completeness of the registration process only for the patient. All collected personal is confidential and must be saved in appropriate conditions (Gensinger, 2021). In other words, the task of the staff is to develop or implement already existing programs for the secure storage of information. One may apply cloud servers, which are claimed to be safe for several reasons. First, they have sufficient protection against database hacking to sell personal information. Besides, physical data carriers located in a hospital, such as server premises, may be subject to damage such as fire or flood. Cloud storage does not need a physical information carrier, thereby formulating its efficiency.
To conclude, one may notice that patient registration is a vital procedure for appropriate healthcare services provision. It is formulated by the necessity of personnel to have all patient-related information regarding medical interventions. This data includes all prescribed medications, procedures, all surgical activities. Drugs used by the patient before may provoke an allergic reaction when mixed with others and, in some cases, lead to death. Moreover, healthcare institutions have to provide appropriate data storage conditions to prevent database break-ins.
References
Gensinger, R. (2021). (Ed.). Analytics in healthcare: An introduction. CRC Press.
Mahmood, T. S., Drechsler, K., Greenspan, H., Madabhushi, A., Karargvris, A., Linguraru, M. G., Laura, C. O., Shekhar, R., Wesarg, S., Ballester, M. A., & Erdt, M. (2020). (Eds.). Multimodal learning for clinical decision support and clinical image-based procedures. Springer Nature.
Warnick, M. S., & Molino, L. N. (2019). Emergency incident management systems: Fundamentals and applications. (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.