Essay Sample on Revolutionizing Healthcare: The Rise of HIT & Patient Engagement

Introduction

Today, there is a significant rise in the awareness of the application of health care information technology (HIT) in various health care settings all over the world. There is an optimized use of digital technology in the health sector, and this has enhanced the management and supported the patient engagement during their treatment and recovery process. The engagement with the patient has been made possible by the use of computerized systems that have facilitated the sharing, storage, and securing of health information among the physicians and their patients (Martin, 2012).

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There are several systems that have been designed to enhance the relationship between the physicians and their patients via a patient engagement system. The HIT has dramatically influenced the activities of both the patients and health professionals. The HIT supports the performance of the health practitioners by applying the health computation for services, thus facilitating the global service transformation and health reform. The regular advancement in digital technology has introduced some level of cooperation between health and computer-based skills to be in a position to promote health care services to the clients in a more efficient and timely way (Thielst, 2011).

However, the health field has been experiencing various challenges over the past decade in its attempt to introduce the standardized process of engaging the patients and even the public into the healthcare system by the application of information technology and promoting a value of life so that the individual patients are administered jointly via the HIT by the health providers

HIT can optimize the quality of health care, safety, and protecting patient information across the sector (Laut, Cappa, and Nov & Porfiri, 2015). For example, on the basis of the argument on the importance of the information technology tended to inform the initiation of the US National information technology initiative that was presided over by President Bush in 2004 and further facilitated by the Obama's administration in 2009 which was under an approximated budget of $20 billion HITECH Act to ensure that the storage and engagement of the US citizens' medical records is realized (Fleming et al., 2017). The principles of the application and administration of healthcare information technology are to be adopted to enhance the provision of various services such as digital medicine, patient engagement, among other services.

The Business Problem

Currently, there has been a significant increase in the use of HIT in healthcare settings, just like any other business venture. The operations of most business amenities have been made efficient due to the dramatic adoption of the use of HIT to enhance the performances and support various provisions of services to maximize the revenue and minimize the cost. In many business entities, the attempt is experiencing several problems without an application that makes use of an individual figure print (Cunningham, Lara & Shin, 2011). For example, an appropriately developed database is a significant improvement over the modern strategies of administering patients with long term health problems. It facilitates relatively mediate feedback to address the patient issues at their convenience regardless of the condition.

In the business concept, this idea has helped to preserve administration spaces for those patients with emergencies while at the same time offering telemedicine to the patient with a long term health condition, therefore managing all the patients hence revenues optimization. Through technology, a single physician can manage several other patients by engaging them via the digital platform as opposed to when the entire patients were to be booked for an appointment.

The modern system can gain from a centralized patient record repository and interaction platform where all the medical record of an individual patient is recorded and stored and can be retrieved by the authorized persons only. Through such platforms, the patient the patients can be effectively engaged by the improvement of interaction and communication between the patient and the medical providers by the application of the standard interface where data can be stored, retrieved and referred where necessary. Through the patient engagement platform, the patient can effectively pay for their bills, and HIT has also enabled the health care facilities to timely remit their taxes in time to be able to operate effectively.

Most of the health plan facilities are shifting from organization structures that may enhance coordination and integration, with the market share and the preferred provider organization is gaining popularity. And the hospital has been consolidating in most markets, and the management is emphasizing on the central part instead of integration. The business issue needs to be addressed by combining the system and enhancing cooperation to ensure that the entire stakeholder can share the information. This can instill confidence among the patients who may feel free to be engaged by their physicians and health care providers via the patient engagement HIT system. This philosophy is based on customer satisfaction.

The Healthcare Challenges and Issues

The health care settings sometimes find problems in the adoption of information technology. Some of these issues have tampered with the medication process, quality of health care services, and general loss of revenues. Some of the identified challenges may result from the lack of effective coordination and consistency of care, redundant, miscommunications, and extreme cost since some of the patients may feel like they are not involved in the circle of the health care provision. Additionally, lack of an efficient patient digital platform that patients can freely be engaged and their reaction addresses can result in a poor quality of health care. Many patients and caregivers regularly report that health care providers seem not to coordinate their work and do not show any interest in what others are doing; this may be due to inadequate engagement of the patients and their families throughout the treatment process.

In most cases, the patients seem to spend most of their time trying to consult with various professionals such as the nurses, doctors, physicians, pharmacist, nutritionists and others specialists who sometimes may never show interest or even appear ignorant of a client's medical history or treatment plan; and would only work independently due to lack of coordination. Therefore an information system that would coordinate all the professions at one centralized point in which they can share information would be necessary. For instance, when a patient is transferred from one setting to another may comprise the quality of the health care services due to the fragmentation of the services and conflicting therapy; and being detrimental to the patient in the long run in terms of cost as well. A significant proportion of poor quality care services result from inadequate coordination hence contradicting health information.

Moreover, more providers have not actually prepared to cope with the continually advancing digital technology, and thus, the healthcare facilities are obliged to ensure that the staff is trained and updated with the HIT and provide support to aid providers to attain and use the most useful information system to engage with the patients. Some such incentives may consist of offering necessary information in an accessible format at the health care settings.

The adoption of HIT by most of the health care facilities has been very slow, and clinical facilities are hesitant to embrace digital technologies, especially in rural settings. As digital technology undergoes a revolution, health care seems not to keep pace actively. Many of the hospital information is stuck in a poorly arranged paper records. The traditional ways of storing the patient's medical information have resulted in wastage of time, ineffective service delivery, poor management, and even loss of some of the vital records regarding the patient.

A recommendable number of the patient can effectively contact their caregivers, and in case they reach them, the internet traffic may seem to be a significant barrier. Internet provision needs to be active and sourced from reliable tech firms.

On the other hand, the patients may also find it relatively challenging to adapt to digital technology; for instance, many clients do not seem to gain from some of the simple systems such as the patient reminder system. Additionally, medical errors are always recorded since there are lesser information systems in place that can check the big data within a specific health care system. The available systems do to effectively and efficiently collect and store the required information; the information is not adequately computed or even automated; most of the existing systems are never integrated to each other; and some have ineffective software, hardware and required data entry support system to efficiently retrieve, analyze and share the information to relevant recipients.

Another major issue in the health care sector is the failure to address the dramatic growth of consumerism among Patients. Each patient has his or her level of education and income; thus, many of the educated patients are regularly making use of the digital devices to search for the health information and typically enjoyed to be engaged throughout the treatment process. Most of the patient tends to indicate some level of frustration if they are not allowed to get involved and actively engage in the decision making, attain the required information, to be given attention or to participate in the system of the health care.

The Strategic Initiative

Background of the Project

The valley hospital requires this project to enhance patient engagement system so as to facilitate efficient and effective cooperation between the patients and the health care providers. However, this initiative has proved to be impossible since that facility has not fully adopted the digital technology of ensuring that the patient also takes a vital role in decision making. Many of the institutions commence a project to be successful, however as a result of complicated tact of project activities and issues related to supervising of specific project policies or limitation of the financial problems, elements and timing also seem to be relatively exclusive and regularly changing. The particular for business proposal for the valley hospital has been developed to connect the hospital's financial development. It represents collaborations and coordination among the relevant, not professions within the facility.

This particular project also emphasizes ensuring that the hospital optimizes its profit through efficient and effective patient care. The implementation of the project will aid in renovating the information system within the facility and also the equipment included to promote the software which is relevant to the amenity. The valley hospital is focused on the patient's satisfaction and cooperation to enhance quality health care by providing practical expertise and software. The facility also focuses on expanding, perceived to offer efficient and adequate skills and to consult and conduct training to providers to equip them to up-to-date digital technologies in health care provision.

The Valley Hospital recently has a three-year strategic plan that been finalized for Valley Hospital, and an emphasis on quality, patient-centeredness, and growing market share has emerged as significant themes. The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) was obliged to oversee the patient-centered initiatives, including improving patient engagement. The initial stage is to assess the present state with patient eng...