Health Information Systems Custom Essay
Introduction
Health information systems (HIS) are a type of system that is digitally designed to enable
collection and storage of data in hospital facility. They are a combination of systems that perform
various functions such as; management and transmission of patient’s electronic medical records
(EMR), storage of patient data, collection and organization of data within all facilities that
provide healthcare services to the ill (Wager et al.,2017). They are systems designed by each
specific hospital and they help support the delivery of services through electronically modifying
the processes of organizing patient’s information support of policy decisions. Through the health
information systems, the hospital is able to record all relevant information pertaining to the care
of the patients. Thus, the improvement in technology has enabled all facilities jeep proper
records of the activities that happen within the hospital including those that address management
and financial issues. They have created transparency and accountability as all healthcare
practitioners have taken role of ensuring theta they perform their tasks to the latter. HIS enable
the hospital to record relevant data and information that is provided from the stakeholders and
health organizations. Through the information collected, there is back up and evidence that helps
make informed choices regarding the improvement of the quality of care, make informed
research decisions, help influence positive decision making, and proper policy making (Aenestad
et al.,2018). Due to the fact that they are involved in analysis and processing of quality and bulky
data, it is important that security be maintained to help maintain the integrity of healthcare
systems.
HITECH and HIPAA
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The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act is
a legislative act that was adopted in the US in 2009 through the help of President Barrack Obama
to help the healthcare system with the integration and synthesis of electronic health records
(EHR) (Adler-Milstein & Jha 2017). It was developed to help support the growth of technology
within the states and especially in health care system. The president signed the act into law in
February 2009 under the title of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
Through the office of the national coordinator (ONC) the HITECH gave them the role of
developing health information technology since the office had been in performance since 2004
but their progress was quite limited till the year 2009. They were given the authority and
mandate of managing the set standard of the stimulus program. Thus, the HIS was developed to
the utmost proficiency. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a
United States legislative act that was developed in 1996 with the aim of providing security and
safeguarding the healthcare information data that was stored through IT (Joshi et al.,2016). It
provided data privacy and thus enabled limited access to information pertaining to the care of the
patients. Over the years the policy rule has continually gained power especially due to the
improvement of the Health Information Systems. With the current increase of cyber attacks and
malware attacks, the law has been put into full practice to prevent any information theft and
leakage.
Advantages and disadvantages of HIS
Since the development of technology and the HIS, there have been rampant and
significant improvements within the hospitals systems and in the delivery of care for the patients.
That has been reflected in the improved patient outcomes and their feedback which has been
positive towards the embrace of technology in the delivery of service. There are several
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advantages of using the HIS in delivery of patient care. One of the accrued benefits is the
improvement of data analytics. Since health is all about gathering of patient information, there is
accumulated data that has been able to become well organized and arranged through the HIS and
thus, when it comes to analysis of the same, the healthcare practitioners can easily retrieve the
data and organize it in a proper manner. One of the core principles of HIS is the proper storage
and organization of patient information (Andargoli et al.,2017). Thus, there has been significant
improvement in the approach provided through technology. Through the HIS there has been
improved collaborative health management. There is constant need for referrals and
improvement of healthcare services sought within the systems. The HIS enables the other
facilities to access information and data regarding a specific patient and thus they can provide
continued care even after they have been referred. With such an improvement the health of the
patient is greatly improved. The expense associated with the storage and movement of patient
data when in paper form is reduce through adoption of technology. Information can be easily
shared and accessed and thus reducing the cost and fatigue associated with physical data
collection. Digital networking has promoted data sharing through health information exchanges.
Health improvement is all about research and focus on improvement of current trends. That is
dependent on available patient data to determine the progress of care. HIS provides the trends
through which health is improved as a source of information relevant to determining the presence
of health niche.
Even though the improvement of technology has several benefits, there are some
shortcomings brought about by the HIS. One of the disadvantages is the cost associated. The
development of a sophisticated system for healthcare delivery is not cheaply acquired. Thus there
are additional costs that are encountered within the health system due to the introduction and
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implementation of a new HIS. Technology is not an easily understood concept especially not for
all members of staff within healthcare. There are always constant developments within
technology that require current understanding. To keep with the changes requires effort which
may end up becoming challenging for some members to adopt and apply. Some may remain
hesitant to use especially the older staff members. One common problem with technology is over
dependency. Through the HIS, the hospital system becomes tied together by a common network
which can easily fail due technical errors (Pare et al.,2015). Without proper back up, the
associated effects are terminal as the patients’ conditions can become adversely affected. It is
important that any hospital provides a back up even when they are almost certain of a proper
HIS. Over dependency cripples the facility service provision. The systems are all prone to
security threats within the cyber crime. The HIS is a system that can also be easily hacked and
the information stolen if the security measures that are put in place are not very effective. Thus,
it is very important that every HIS becomes developed with an equitable security system to
ensure protection of the patient information.
Quality improvement
Quality improvement is one of the challenges that have faced the healthcare system in the
United States and the government in general. The aims of the all the improvements is to promote
quality healthcare services delivery and patient outcomes. According to the Institute of Medicine
(IOM), many patients die due to preventable mistakes in the healthcare facilities. Thus, the
introduction of the HIS is one of the major steps to ensuring the achievement of proper service
deliver within the system. One of the challenges with the quality improvements methods (QIM)
is the method of data collection applied in the health system. The traditional methods of data
collection posed a great challenge in the implementation of various interventions and
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administration of services to the inpatients due to occurrence of avoidable medical errors.
However, the challenge has since been averted with the development of modern tools of data
collection such as the HIS. Since the development of the HIS, there has been a significant
reduction in the medical errors especially those associated wrong treatment and drug
administration. The IOM further explains that since 2015, approximately 60% of the hospitals in
the United States are using the HIS. It has enabled improved workflow as the information is
recorded electronically thus reducing congestion and common errors associated with physical
documentation. With the new system of data storage, the health system has developed
computerised provider and user entries and automated methods of data collection within the care
settings. Additionally, the new HIS has not only improved the methods for quality improvement
but also reduced the financial costs associated with the manual collection of patient information
(Abdulla et al.,2017). The system is quite faster and efficient thus enabling management of
multiple patients at a go and no information is lost regarding to the services that the patient has
received from the time of admission until their discharge.
Currently most of the hospitals have implemented the use of HIS and electronic health
record (EHR). However, many of the institutions and facilities are still using the manual data
entry method even with the knowledge of the existing HIS. Evidence has showed that the manual
data entry has negatively affected the service delivery within the hospital care setting. Through
the adoption of the HIS the hospital care settings have observed the regulations as per the
HITECH and HIPAA. The newly developed systems have the best secured firewalls that enable
the prevention of the breach of security. Additionally, apart from security and safety, the systems
have observed the highest levels of discrepancy and privacy. Thus, the information is only
accessible by the relevant authority and not every member of the hospital. The facilities have
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ensured that the pass codes and accessibility of the information is managed by extremely
qualified experts within the care setting. The HIS has less human fatigue as the data entry is
automated thus many patients can be served at the same time. The cost on the stationery for
manual entry and data storage is cut and the hospitals have ensured that service provision is
optimized through effective service delivery.
Role of stakeholders and evaluation of HIS
One of the roles of the stakeholders is to provide information regarding the best strategies
to be put in place when conducting the assessment of the need to develop a new HIS. They
ensure they place the appropriate strategies that are targeted at solving the healthcare needs of
the patients and the organization in general. They ensure that the efforts put in place are for
maximizing the output within the hospital and if not they decline from the new strategies placed
(Lyon et al.,2016). A stakeholder is an individual or a group whose efforts and contributions
within the hospital are greatly felt and their need to make concerned decisions regarding the
system are much appreciated and required. Some of the important key stakeholders that should
be consulted when creating new software are the clinician board, the administration office, the
financial and billing department, and the board of members and directors. To evaluate the
effectiveness of the system is basically dependent on the consumer feedback and the patient’s
outcomes.
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References
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