Cellma, Our EMR Software for Rheumatology: Streamlining Care and Boosting Patient Outcomes
Table of Contents Help Others Discover – Click to Share! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Table of Contents The rheumatology department in any healthcare facility has a very unique challenge. The rising number of patients with chronic joint and autoimmune conditions means that hospitals are severely strained in terms of resource and care coordination. While treatment in medicine is advanced, patients often require the services of multiple healthcare providers: a rheumatologist, physical therapist, and pain management specialist, among others. Consequently, there is constant demand by these chronic conditions for greater efficiency in the sharing of information, seamless tracking of patients, and for flexible scheduling. This is where Cellma, an EMR software, comes in-by offering fully digital solutions designed to streamline rheumatology care. Read the blog to learn how our EMR software, Cellma transforms rheumatology care and hospital’s management and operations. Rheumatology is a branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting joints, muscles, and bones. Examples of common conditions include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, osteoarthritis, and gout. All these diseases are lifelong; hence, they require long-term medical attention and alteration in treatment plans. Therefore, it is important for the healthcare providers to have ready access to accurate patient records quickly and coordinate care with minimal hassle. According to Versus Arthritis report published in 2024, over 10 million people in the UK have arthritis. That is one in six people living with the pain, fatigue, and reduced dexterity that it can cause. Prevalence estimates are available for many types of arthritis. There are an estimated 10 million people with Osteoarthritis (OA) in the UK, an estimated 5.4 million with knee OA, and an estimated 3.2 million with hip OA. 450,000 adults have a recorded diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis, and 190,000 adults are estimated to have Psoriatic Arthritis. One in three people in the UK has an Musculoskeletal condition – over 20 million people (20,295,706). This includes: 11.6 million women and 8.7 million men of all ages. The Strain on Rheumatology Departments: With such a high prevalence, departments across the UK are overwhelmed with that many patients every day. The demands pose complex lifelong conditions that call for specialised, and often repeated, after-care. These demands stretch the resources thin, and hence, it becomes very challenging for healthcare providers to maintain quality and personalised care for every patient. Factors that challenge the departments include: High patient load management: With the high number of patients, it’s hard to provide immediate care to all the patients in time, leading to lengthy waiting times and possible delayed care. Care coordination: Patients often need medication and therapy along with continuous monitoring, which calls for timely care coordination and proper treatment plan tracking. Access to Detailed Patient Records: Rheumatologists need immediate access to patient histories, lab results, and past treatment responses. However, limited data management tools can limit such access. Follow-Up Adherence: It is a chronic condition, and the patient needs follow-up consistently, but it does become challenging to track when each one of them follows a unique schedule. How does Cellma Help Manage Rheumatology Care? Core modules Cellma provides several modules that are suited to improve efficiency and outcomes. Here is how each module plays an important role in supporting the needs of the rheumatology departments: Electronic Patient Record (EPR) Module: Cellma’s EPR module contains all patient information in a central, electronic location, thus providing the most accessible source of information to authorised healthcare providers. All details ranging from the first assessments up to the ongoing treatment records are logged and stored with complete security. The EPR module captures all the patient data in the whole care pathway regardless of where the services were rendered for a seamless flow of information. With its two-way connectivity, this easily lets the rheumatologist gain and up-date access into the information, so coordinating care can be effectively achieved while having the option of getting information and making wise judgments over the complex condition concerned. Patient Administration System (PAS) Module: Cellma PAS module helps in the simplification of administrative procedures. This module contains patient registration, scheduling of appointments, and admitting/discharge. For the department, where routine follow-ups and specialist consultations are made, the PAS streamlines the process. Patients can also book appointments through a web portal or app from Cellma, making it easier to access and easing administrative burdens on the department. Document Management Module: Most care plans involve several documents that sometimes need to be prepared. Among them are consent forms, treatment plans, diagnostic reports, and care summaries for ongoing care. The Cellma Document Management module brings all the documents together into a digital repository. Through this digital repository, healthcare providers can easily locate their necessary documents without any trouble of hunting through files in paper format. This system minimizes misplaced or lost documents and contributes to operational efficiency and safety in data storage. It saves rheumatologists the task of referring back to earlier treatments in formulating care decisions for chronic care patients. Imaging Module: Imaging module plays a key role in diagnosis and tracking conditions such as musculoskeletal in rheumatology through assessment of joint damage among patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Cellma’s imaging module makes integrating reports and digital images which include X-rays, MRIs, and ultrasounds with the patient electronic records straightforward. This enables the healthcare providers to observe and analyse the images at their place within Cellma, which improves the time and accuracy of diagnostics. Besides, it allows for imaging across departments and specialists who can collaborate quickly and reach proper assessments with timely intervention. Lab Module: The majority of patients with rheumatology need lab tests for the follow-up of inflammatory markers, renal functions, and other appropriate measures. Cellma’s Lab module incorporates the direct results of the laboratory in the EPR to let providers view real-time critical test results. Utilising automatic workflows, test results such as ESR, CRP, and kidney function are noted on the records of patients right away they are generated. This minimises delays and prevents errors. E-Pharmacy The E-Pharmacy module of Cellma offers prescription
