Essay Sample on Health Information System: A Necessity for Effective Healthcare

Introduction

A health information system is a system designed specifically to manage and control healthcare data in a hospital setting. These systems are necessary and critical in reducing errors in medical practices and avoiding unnecessary healthcare expenditures. The most fundamental roles of health information systems relate to capturing patient information, process, and store it for future reference. Also, the system facilitates the timely transfer of data or information to the key decision-makers to enable valid and quick decision making (Islam et al., 2018). The majority of healthcare organizations have adopted information systems that incorporate the latest technologies to improve patient safety outcomes. In this case, patient safety refers to the prevention or avoidance of negative results or harm on patients caused by health care processes (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017). On the other end, information technology in the healthcare sector entails the implementation of processes that involves the use of computer software and hardware to store, retrieve, share, and use data and information for communication and decision making. However, due to the variations in organizational structures and modes of operations, different healthcare firms implement different healthcare information technologies. Therefore, the analysis conducted in this paper focuses on discussing the information system implemented in my organization.

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Clinical Information Systems and Administrative Information Systems

There are several types of health information systems, including clinical and administrative information systems (AIS), which manage patient details on an organizational level. CIS refers to an information system designed for healthcare organizations primarily for the use in a vital care setting, including the intensive care unit (ICU). The system has generated crucial benefits to both patients and healthcare professionals in terms of improved safety and efficient workflow, respectively. It can network with numerous computer systems in a modern hospital setting, to draw or capture information, store, and reuse them to support patient care (Demirel, 2017). The system promotes efficient diagnosis and treatment services since it eliminates disease causes, reduction of medical errors, and an increase in the productivity levels of caregivers. CIS facilitates better decision making through the provision of timely information and improved communication between health professionals. For the patients, the system reduces the waiting time during services and therefore saving significant time.

On the other end, the administrative information system focus on supporting the procedures for patient care through the management of client’s information that is nonclinical, including demographic and financial data. Also, it provides reporting capabilities, manages human resources, and offers the assurance of quality. Example of administrative information systems that are applicable in a hospital environment includes patient administration, financial management, maintenance, and contact management systems. For instance, a patient or client administration system is used to keep track when patients are admitted, discharged, or transferred to different units. Likewise, scheduling appointments and procedures fall under this type of AIS. On the other end, financial information systems are unlike the other models. The system is not directly associated with patients’ health records; instead, they maintain data on accounts payable, payroll, personnel and materials management, staff scheduling, and general ledger. In terms of content, AIS contains primarily administrative and financial information, which are essential in supporting the management functions in the overall operations of a pharmaceutical firm. It is different from the CIS, which contains health-related information to assist health providers in diagnosing, treating, monitoring, and documenting patient care.

Electronic Medical Record, Electronic Health Record, and Personal Health Record

Several information systems can be used in clinical settings, and that includes the electronic medical record (EMR). EMR is an enabling technology that allows a healthcare organization to create, gather, manage, and share health-related information of a patient. An EMR constitutes the infrastructure that spans almost all CIS subsystems and fundamental for inpatient and ambulatory clinical information systems (Islam et al., 2018). Like other healthcare information systems, the EMR facilitates the improvement of quality and efficiency of healthcare. It is because the system supports physicians to access new and past patient information such as test results, medications, and diagnoses. Also, the system facilitates secure electronic communication between doctors, nurses, and patients and their family members. However, to implement this system in a clinical setting successfully, one must consider the structure of the organization, its innovation levels, and interaction between the user groups.

Another significant component of health information technology is the electronic health records (EHR), which are the digital forms of health-related records on an individual such as allergies, medical history, treatment plan, and test results (Kruse et al., 2018). Despite being related and almost similar, EMR and EHR differ in various ways. For instance, an EMR provides a narrow view into a patient's medical history while, on the other end, EHR offers more comprehensive information and data of an individual’s general health. Also, EMRs focus on collecting and storing patient’s information in one practice and does not travel beyond the provider’s office. However, EHRs collect information and avail them beyond the office or health organization that originally collected the data. The report can be shared with other health professionals, including laboratories, pharmacies, specialists, and emergency rooms from outside the organization.

In conjunction with EHRs, personal health records (PHR) represents a new wave of technological tools that focus on improving the quality and efficiency of medical care. PHR is a technology that allows patients to collect and maintain information about their health electronically (Lester et al., 2016). The system acts as a portal through which patients can acquire and share health-related data with health professionals in an intimate and private setting. In doing so, PHRs enables patients to participate in the process of making critical health decisions, and correction of mistakes made in the records maintained by healthcare organizations. PHRs can be either tethered or untethered, that is, connected with EHRs or not, respectively (Lester et al., 2016). Tethered PHR allows patients to access the information and data placed into their PHRs by healthcare professionals. In doing so, it facilitates communication between the patients and caregivers, and correct any error within the records. However, this system faces several obstacles to its implementation, such as limited health literacy resources, especially to older patients, which can cause misunderstanding of the records. Also, the aspect of privacy and confidentiality is a significant barrier since some patients find it difficult to share information about their health condition.

Information System in my Organization: Clinical Sunrise Manager

The information system adopted in my organization is the clinical sunrise manager (CSM). It is an EHR system that is designed to provide patient data and information, events, and documentation through a user-friendly interface. Also, the system allows nurses and other health professionals to enter data in real-time as they interact with patients or patients’ families. In doing so, CSM at my work supports physicians in their decision-making process. The system also has a decision support engine that amalgamates patient information and offers vital data to physicians to help in the treatment or diagnosis processes.

Strengths and Weaknesses of CSM

First, the information system has some integrated medication management capabilities, which allows the health professionals at the organization to share information in real-time concerning an individual’s medication and well-being. Also, CSM is designed with an in build alert system to promote patient safety. The alert system provides information that may require action, for instance, it has duplicate alerts that notify the user of duplicate entries, and order set alerts that notify the user of mandatory fields for core measure. Another strength of the system relates to its ability to enable physicians to operate in a paperless environment and, therefore, reduce treatment time and cost. However, this CSM keeps on advancing and incorporating new technologies every time. Thus, health providers are forced to undergo endless training sessions to familiarize themselves with the new additional features. In the process, the organization always witness temporary losses in productivity due to the disruption of workflows as medical staff and providers attend to nonclinical responsibilities. Also, like any other technological system, CSM requires regular upgrades and maintenance of both software and hardware, which tends to be costly to the organization. Based on its strengths and weaknesses, I would assign a rating of 7.5/10 to this information system and overall information technology in my organization. Despite the high implementation and maintenance costs, these technologies have assisted the firm in achieving its primary objective, which is providing quality patient care.

Conclusion

In general, the adoption of electronic means to maintain medical records is beneficial to healthcare organizations since they facilitate more natural control, tracking, and retrieval of patients' information. The strategy utilizes technology in reducing unnecessary errors, promotes the process of decision making, and enhances patient safety. There are two central information systems in the healthcare sector, that is, clinical and administrative information systems. CIS is used in critical care such as the ICU, while AIS aims at managing nonclinical information such as financial data of patients. The information system used in my organization is the clinical sunrise manager. The system allows health professionals to collect and enter the health records of clients as they interact with patients. Also, CSM has an alert system that notifies the users to detect and respond to possible erroneous entries. However, due to the continuous advancement in technology, the system requires regular updates that result in new features, which requires extra training to operate.

References

Alotaibi, Y.K., & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi Medical Journal, 38(12), 1173-1180. doi: 10.15537/smj.2017.12.20631

Demirel, D. (2017). Effectiveness of health information systems applications: Clinical information and diagnosis-treatment systems in Turkey. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2(5), 122-131. http://journals.euser.org/files/articles/ejms_may_aug_17/Demokaan.pdf

Islam, M., Poly, T.N., & Li, Y.J. (2018, August 29). Recent advancements of clinical information systems: Opportunities and challenges. Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 27(1), 83-90. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1667075

Kruse, C.S., Stein, A., Thomas, H., & Kaur, H. (2018). The use of electronic health records to support population health: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Medical Systems, 42(11), 214. doi: 10.1007/s10916-018-1075-6