Most of the commonly available patient data management systems (PDMS) have proved their usability beyond pilot installations. The most important reason against the introduction of a PDMS is high financial costs. Beside acquisition costs (hardware, software licenses, service agreements), associated in-house efforts (e.g., labor costs) have also to be taken into consideration. In addition to the acquisition of technical competence, in-house efforts also lead to a structured reflection of the clinic’s innate processes and structure.
PDMS are able to make use of clinical documentation to derive or visualize information relevant to payroll. Interfaces for automated exchange of said information are convenient but also require high implementation and maintenance effort. However, compilation of payroll-relevant data still provides a considerable reduction of work.
PDMS provide the information necessary for rational resource management and allocation. In addition, through the use of standards, PDMS enable improved therapy and care pathway adherence. To what extent a contribution to a positive cost–benefit calculation can be achieved needs to be considered individually.