Paper Example on Enabling Technology and the Role of the Health Informatics Professional

Introduction

Health information technology (HIT) encompasses designing, creation, developing, use and maintaining healthcare industry information system. The technological advances in the healthcare sector have significantly improved the quality of medical care by lowering the costs of healthcare while increasing patient safety, patient satisfaction and optimization of resources. Correspondingly, the efficiency of medical care has contributed significantly to the reduction of errors and improved quality of medical healthcare delivery systems. Current research conducted on HIT shows that inefficient processes lead to waste of resources and many cases of human mistakes hence the emphasis on automation of the health care system just like other industries by introducing and implementing information technology by use of computers.

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The employment of technology has greatly reduced human errors in other sectors like banking, and aviation, therefore, integration of information technology in the management of healthcare has dramatically filled the gap of reducing errors by practitioners who fail in synthesizing and in the application of knowledge in clinical practice. Therefore, in the ambulatory medical care environment, the use of information technology promotes improved financial management and efficiency. The HIT systems are streamlined, and the processes tracked in the offices (Restuccia, Cohen, Horwitt, & Shwartz, 2012). What is more, information technology provides opportunity in monitoring and improving quality of clinical access to information as duplication of information of reduced. The use of the software also leads to increased accuracy in diagnosing and treatment of diseases (Boonstra, Versluis & Vos, 2014). The healthcare information system has been broken down into three categories which provide immediate and substantial benefits to healthcare facilities, they include:

1. Electronic medical records (EMR)
2. Electronic health records (HER)
3. Practice management software (PM).

To merge the services provided by other healthcare facilities, maintain competitive advantage, and ensure high returns on investment while facilitating sharing of health information through secure systems, HIT intervention is necessary and its implementation timely. It is therefore worthwhile for the organization to adopt the use of EMR, HER, and PM to improve the quality of care and enhance healthcare effectiveness. EMR systems are critical in the digitization of medical charting to facilitate the creation of digital versions of patient histories. Consequently, the physicians can efficiently treat a patient by checking one's medical history and comparing the digital health data against past medical charts and entries. That notwithstanding, the system alerts to care providers on the exact time-periods for patients to undergo preventive screenings and procedures. The EHR systems, on the other hand, facilitate the sharing of information. Hence, the integration of the EHR into the HIT system of the organization will enable physicians to view the medical history of patients which entails past diagnoses, medications, X-rays, and allergies, ensuring that the data is accessible to physicians in different facilities within the healthcare institution (Restuccia et al., 2012).

Given its name, the PM software facilitates effective management of clinical and administrative aspects of healthcare practice. Its effective implementation promotes the centralization of various HIT systems within a medical organization, improving the efficient operation of hospital activities. As an integrative system, the PM software centralizes the e-prescription systems, medical billing software, scheduling software, decision support systems and patient portals, which enhances accessibility and transparency in medical practice.

A comprehensive HIT implementation strategy requires an integrative approach that involves inter-departmental support. This includes the active involvement of the organization's administrators to avoid unnecessary bureaucracies, IT department members, the developers, well-trained end-users and the clinical staff as well to foster the success of the HIT implementation strategy (Boonstra, Versluis & Vos, 2014).

However, besides the successes, some potential risks associated with the health technology systems persist, over and above emerging issues in respect to the adaptability and usability of the systems, hence should be addressed to ensure successful interoperability. Chief among the obstacles is interoperability, which in most cases, include the omission of necessary fitness data interchange standards. A standard organization, especially HL7 International health facilities ought to develop and promulgate First Health Interoperability Resources (FHIR) to mitigate the risk. While paper-records may prove inefficient and tedious, they are not prone to cyber-attacks. HIT systems, on the other hand, are prone to security breaches placing the privacy of medical records at risk. Common among the privacy concerns are unauthorized record access, tampering with medical records, risks of losing data in the event of natural disasters. In consequence, the implementation of HIT systems should be done along with the installation of adequate safeguards to foster patient confidentiality and privacy (Folkey & Fox, 2015).

Despite the apparent benefits associated with the holistic implementation of the HIT systems, the process of communicating the change, getting the entire workforce on board, and finding the requisite resources to facilitate the execution is a critical undertaking that may attract significant barriers that interfere with the implantation process. As mentioned earlier, usability challenges including unclear navigation and multiple screens have often ensued in the implementation stage leaving many practitioners frustrated. Inadequate computer literacy among the clinical staff members may present barriers that ought to be overcome in the implementation strategy through appropriate and extensive training on current EMR and EHR technology. This entails clear communication strategies and transition plans from paper-record systems to new EMR and EHR systems. To overcome the usability issues and avoid negative impacts on the productivity of employees as well as overcoming resistance to HIT implementation, both physicians and nurses should be given access to the requisite knowledge to understand how to operate the HIT systems. The implementation of the HIT systems as regards to infrastructural developments, training, personnel and the support required in its installation as well as its maintenance is quite costly and may interfere with the process (Boonstra, Versluis & Vos, 2014). Organizations should, therefore, draw a long-term plan and adopt strategies like taking advantage of organizational eligibility for EMR and HER stimulus incentives to curtail the barriers.

References

Boonstra, A., Versluis, A., & Vos, J. F. J. (2014). Implementing electronic health records in hospitals: a systematic literature review. BMC Health Services Research, 14, 370. http://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-14-370

Felkey, B. G., & Fox, B. I. (2015). Health Information Technology Risks, Errors, External Threats, and Human Complacency. Hospital Pharmacy, 50(6), 550-551. http://doi.org/10.1310/hpj5006-550

Restuccia, J. D., Cohen, A. B., Horwitt, J. N., & Shwartz, M. (2012). Hospital implementation of health information technology and quality of care: are they related?. BMC medical informatics and decision making, 12(1), 109.