Health Care Info Sys: Managing Patient Data Since 1920s - Paper Example

Introduction

The health care information systems is a tool that is designed with the primary goal of managing the health care data, and some of its responsibilities involve collecting, storing, managing, and transmitting the medical records of a patient electronically. The health care information systems date back to the 1920s when the professionals in this field started to utilize electronic devices to document the outcome of the patient care and the treatment process offered. The Association of Record Librarians of North America (ARLNA) was established in 1928 by the American College of Surgeons (ACOS) to ensure that the medical records were standardized and physicians could easily use the details in these documents irrespective of their region of operation. The paper records were used until the 1960s when the technological computer systems were introduced, leading to the use of different structures in handling the recording process. The establishment of Medicaid and Medicare in 1965 ensured that there was efficiency in the usage of the healthcare information system. In the 1970s, there was tremendous growth on the way that technology was used with systems, such as Eclipsys, Health Evaluation through Logical Processing (HELP), Computer Stored Ambulatory Record (COSTAR), and the Regenstrief Medical Record System in 1972 playing a significant role in the development and growth process. Currently, the healthcare information system focuses on the creation of value as opposed to the provision of fee-based care, and this has supported the improvements in the provision of patient care and support the decision making process. It is possible to predict the future for the advancement in technology is likely to have a significant effect on the way that activities are conducted. There is a great need to ensure that data is harmonized and integrated to ensure that it is available to all users.

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The emergence and the adoption of the healthcare information systems are critical, for they are the factors behind the growth and advancement of the sector. There exist various driving forces that support the growth of the industry, and this includes the technical drivers. The HIT manages to provide the users with significant benefits that make the system popular and with high demand. The ease of use is ensuring that the users do not have to possess a significant skill levels, and this is a move that is supporting the increased utilization of the system. The technology manages to fit with the various systems used in various healthcare units. The social drivers supporting the adoption of the HIT include the users’ general competency and information technology literacy. In recent years, advancement in technology has led many people to gain the technical skills that are enabling them to operate the various electronic devices they possess. Therefore, the electrical literacy levels are high, and this is supporting the usage of the HIT. The personal attitudes towards innovations are also influencing the adoption process, with a significant number of people accepting the changes that are happening in the technological world (Menius & Rousculp, 2014). The organizational drivers, such as the leadership processes as supporting the usage of the HIT systems. Currently, management in many of the health care units, mostly in the developed world has ensured that their facilities have the latest technological system to ease the offering of services and improve the efficiency levels. The move is making sure that the subordinates are integrated with the system, and they can manage to seek additional training on the way to utilize the HIT systems. The desire to reduce the gulf between technology, physicians, clinicians, and managers is triggering an emergency in innovations and the desire to utilize the introduced systems.

The typical HIT applications used in the health care systems include electronic health records (EHRs), decision-support tools, and the Computerized Physician Order Entry Systems (CPOE). The EHR is used in the electronic capture of the health details of a patient, and the details are available to the entire health care system. It is easier to have a computerized reporting of laboratory results, and the EHR adoption is high in the ambulatory care settings, and this is a move that has led to quality improvements and cost savings in the health care sector. Currently, it is easier to exchange data among the patients, suppliers, providers, and the other authorized personnel, making it easier to offer the treatment services and undertake other operations in the industry (Thompson & Dulin, 2019). The Computerized Physician Order Entry Systems is mainly used in the ordering of tests, drugs, and the various procedures that are involved in the offering of treatment services. The application has led to a reduction in transcription errors, and this has dramatically supported improvements in the health care sector. The computerized decision support and the incorporation of data on current medications, patient diagnosis, and drug interaction history managed to reduce the errors encountered in the prescribing process. The clinical compliance is on the rise, ensuring that there are no variance in the health care process, and the overall costs involved in the issuance of the health care services are reduced. The Decision-Support Tools utilization is supported by the health care data standardization and EHR creation. The application is utilized when there is a need for patients, and the health care provides to access the details about a particular patient. The program may help identify negative interactions that may arise between a drug that a patient is getting a prescription and another that the person may already be consuming. The clinical-data repository is a platform that is used in the process of collecting and storing patient care data that is obtained from various sources.

SWOT Analysis/ Healthcare Information Systems

Strengths

Some of the strengths that are realized in this field include the availability of trained personnel. The technicians’ availability in this field makes it easier to use the system and raise its reliance on the sector. When relying on this system, physicians manage to have personalized attention, and this is a move that is critical in realizing the desired goals in the provision of health care services.

Weakness

Some of the problems encountered when using the health care information systems is the lack of good governance with some of the senior management teams failing to adopt the right tools that will ensure that the information is utilized in the right way. Some of the health care units fail to use the data collected in the right way means that there is no optimal utilization of the details available. There are instances that some of the health care professionals, such as the pathologists and doctors, have their systems that are working differently from the sub-systems leading to information exchange breakdown.

Opportunities

The advancement in technology is a move that is likely to lead to the healthcare information systems managing to realize the desired outcome with a high level of effectiveness. The existence of political will is another move that health care facilities can implement to realize improvements in the provision of treatment services. There is a need to define the private and public health integration to ensure that the details are clear on what should be undertaken (Collins, 2016). The move will ensure that the two fields work coherently towards the provision of quality health care services.

Threats

Some of the threats that are likely to derail the existence of an effective system are the technology and security of the patient details. The information that is held in the HIT should only be accessible by the authorized personnel. However, the advancement in technology is likely to lead to hackers accessing personal data and use it in the wrong way (Todman, 2016). Therefore, the security of the patients’ data is a threat that is facing the health care information systems, and there is a need to ensure that all measures are implemented and initiated in the right way to avoid loss of personal data. Hospitals are faced with the problem of court cases if they lose crucial information to unauthorized personnel.

References

Collins, B. (2016). Big data and health economics: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Pharmacoeconomics, 34(2), 101-106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40273-015-0306-7

Menius, J. A., & Rousculp, M. D. (2014). Growth in health care data causing an evolution in the pharmaceutical industry. North Carolina Medical Journal, 75(3), 188-190. https://doi.org/10.18043/ncm.75.3.188

Todman, A. (2016). Privacy in the age of big data: recognizing threats, defending your rights and protecting your family. https://doi.org/10.1080/23257962.2016.1154827

Thompson, M. E., & Dulin, M. F. (2019). Leveraging Data Analytics to Advance Personal, Population, and System Health: Moving Beyond Merely Capturing Services Provided. North Carolina Medical Journal, 80(4), 214-218. https://doi.org/10.18043/ncm.80.4.214