Healthcare and Technology Systems in the US

Healthcare and Technology Systems in the US

Technology advancement has become an essential aspect to every sector, necessitating seamless and speedy management process, enabling various entities to serve larger groups of people all over the world. The healthcare industry is of no exception. The use of information systems has become essentially universal among medical practitioners, health systems, facilities and healthcare providers in the United States. Reliable and sound information is the bedrock of decision making across various health system blocks, it is also crucial for health system policy implementation, health research, health training and education, governance and regulation, human resource development, financing and service delivery (Bower, 2005). Information systems in the healthcare sector necessitate underpinning aspects for decision making; it has the following key functions: generation of data, analysis and synthesis, compilation and communication. The health information systems in the US are distinctly responsible for collecting data from different healthcare sectors as well as other sectors, analyzing and converting the data into information which is crucial in making decisions. Early information systems used in the healthcare sector were designed to primarily take care of repetitive, rote and repetitive tasks such as keeping basic inventory information and storage of patients’ records (Lin, Lin, & Roan, 2012).

Presently, the information system in the healthcare industry has changed and revolutionized appreciably from rote basic inventories to a complete digital healthcare infrastructure which is directly hitched to clinical, patient and health operations.

Overview of the system

Over the last decade, information systems in the healthcare sector in the United States have increasingly advanced to a range of capabilities which have resulted in intensified use of the systems in the industry. An information system is such a technological benefaction for the healthcare sector, assisting various health organizations and stakeholders make detailed decisions. The implementation of the information systems in the healthcare sector has helped reduce operational costs and administration data errors; it has also helped improve the quality of services as well as the quality of the patient care. Some of the individuals and entities served by the health information system include the policymakers, health-care providers, managers, planners and individuals. The presence of information systems in the healthcare sector has brought forth a number of benefits to the above-mentioned stakeholders. Some of these include (1) Coordinated and organized treatment process (Farooq & Rao, 2015). An information system is technology-based; this makes the sharing process fast and efficiently. This particularly has enabled the health practitioners to access previous health and treatment files belonging to a patient for quality treatment. (2) Improved patient safety. With information systems, health practitioners can be able to save and share the patient’s data through different databases, thereby improving the safety of the patient. (3) Transfiguration in clinical procedures. With information systems, health officers can be in a better position to address any stressful situation which arises from patients. (4) Circumvention of medical errors. With health information systems, almost everything is automated and computerized, this means less paperwork and therefore reports become error-free. (5) Minimized operational expense (Koppel, 2013). With health information systems, organizations which offer healthcare services are able to assign resources and other relevant elements in a planned and organized manner. (6) Improved patient satisfaction. With health information systems, there is less wastage of time and quality services; this improves customer satisfaction. The essential systems in the health information systems include the following:

1. Health information system resources. These particularly include regulatory, planning and legislative frameworks necessary to ensure the information systems are fully functional.
2. These are related targets and indicators which form the basis for the HIS strategy and planning. This particular system is crucial as it encompasses various determinants of system outputs, inputs and health outcomes.
3. Data sources. These include the surveys and censuses conducted. They are the population or institution based approaches used to provide data.
4. Data management tools. These are the tools responsible for the collection, storage, analysis, compilation and quality assurance of data.
5. HER programs. These are the interactive clinical features or tools which are used to alert all providers of possible or potential problems such as allergies, interactions and critical lab values.

The key to an eminent information system is a good design. The following are some of the essential perspectives which contribute to good information design. These aspects include the following: (1) Usability. This particular aspect describes the ease of using the system to navigate. (2) Graphic design. This is the visual appearance of the information system; a good information system has an appealing graphic design which is friendly to the users. (3) Analytical design. This particular aspect describes how best the information is represented by the information system.

Historical design

The information systems used in the healthcare sector in the past encompassed of both Medicaid and Medicare. These were drivers which were actively being used in the healthcare sector for storage and accounting in the USA. These information systems comprised of computers and software that were rather expensive in those times, they were used for keeping patients’ records as well as to carry out basic accounting computations. The past information system model design was heavily criticized for its obtuse usability and narrow view in its role in the organizations. The past information systems used in the healthcare sector neglected functions such self-regulation, memorization, control, communications, self-testing, maintenance and other crucial logical functions which the health information system is endowed for (Hikmet, Bhattacherjee, Menachemi, Kayhan & Brooks, 2008). Other information system drivers used in the past to facilitate accounting and financial systems included departmental system processing and DRGs. Early information systems used in the healthcare sector were designed to primarily take care of repetitive, rote and repetitive tasks such as keeping basic inventory information and storage of patients’ records. Although their design was not well developed as compared to the modern health information systems, the earlier information systems helped in the safekeeping of patient’s information and health records, as well as basic accounting computations to eliminate some errors.

The limitations of the earlier health information system included the following: Financial issues. The earlier information system was expensive and costly to fully implement; the system drivers also required regular maintenance and updating. This was particularly a disadvantage for many small hospitals who could not afford to raise the minimum funds required for installation. Patient privacy violations. Despite the systems having their core-function being the storage of patient’s data. The system lacked the proper encryption data to secure patients’ data, thereby exposing patients’ information and data to irrelevant people (Koppel, 2013). The earlier information systems were inconstant and lacked diversity. The earlier health systems were only subjected to few functions and uses as compared to modern healthcare information systems which are versatile.

Present design

Significant public investments and policy changes have nurtured the adoption of information systems in the healthcare sector in the United States of America. These policies both by the national government and other relevant organizations have contributed to an advanced health information system within the country which has boosted the quality of healthcare for its people (Govindan et al., 2010). Currently, more than 75% of all healthcare organizations and physicians have incorporated and implemented information systems in their daily operations. This has particularly fostered the decisions made by these entities towards bettering the healthcare of their patients. With the help of information systems, hospitals are now able to fully employ EHR aspects to record vital signs regarding patients, demographics and other relevant elements which were not facilitated by the earlier information system (Hoyt & Yoshihashi, 2014). The information systems design used in the healthcare sector today incorporate aspects such as cloud computation, internet of things, actionable data, EHRs, unstructured and structured data and program interfacing. The cloud adoption has greatly helped the healthcare industry employ crucial aspects and software in their operations. It has also helped in safe storage data as well as enhancement in the sharing process. An essential element, such as the internet of things, has also improved real-time information and data availability.

Some of the limitations of present information systems in the healthcare industry include the following: They are costly. As highlighted earlier in the study, the health information system incorporates a number of crucial aspects such as technology and software; these software are relatively expensive and require a lot of maintenance cost. Designing and running the whole health information system is also costly. The other limitation is that it takes time. When various organizations are factoring out all the preliminary researches for budgets and features in their information system, it may take many weeks or even months, and even after the organization has won the right design product, it may take time before it runs smoothly in the organization. Security issues is also another limitation of present health information systems. Multiple information systems are prone to hacking by developers and other immoral parties.

Future design

The information systems in the healthcare industry are undoubtedly in for a shift in the USA. As technology advances and becomes more integrated into people’s lives, innovation is expected to further revolutionize the healthcare industry, making it more serviceable and functional. Advancements in technology is particularly expected to transmute the health information systems to a more spherical and holistic focus, as compared to the earlier linear effect correlations in the past generations. Some of the technologies which are expected to shape and revolutionize the future of health information systems and technology include the following: Reporting and transaction systems (Baker, Song, Jones & Ford, 2008). This will involve a fully interconnected technological environment. Wearable technology. This distinct technology is expected to play a crucial role as installed smartphone applications will have the ability to keep track and remind the user of crucial health factors. Integrated data streams. This technology will allow the transaction of wearable technologies and amass banks of data. Lastly, is the automated alerts. This technology will allow doctors to continuously monitor the behaviour of their patients through automated alerts. Some of the advantages that the new information system in the health care industry will bring include reduced labour, minimized resource consumption, easier data collection and improved care delivery.

System development

The traditional system development life cycle (SDLC) is utterly appropriate for the development of the future systems reason being that the traditional system development life cycle (SDLC) is well detailed in steps and therefore will facilitate the development of effectual and practical systems in the United States of America. The SDLC has enhanced control and will, therefore, monitor and control larger information systems. The orderly sequence of the SDLC in the development stages ensures strict control and adequacy documentation of all steps. Therefore, all stages in the development will be strictly monitored to ensure completeness and full integration.

References

 

Baker, J., Song, J., Jones, D., & Ford, E. W. (2008). Information Systems and Healthcare XXIX:             Information Technology Investments and Returns–Uniqueness in the Healthcare   Industry. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 23(1), 21.

Bower, A. G. (2005). The diffusion and value of healthcare information technology (Vol. 272).      Santa Monica^ eCA CA: Rand Corporation.

Farooq, F., & Rao, B. R. (2015). U.S. Patent No. 8,949,082. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and     Trademark Office.

Govindan, M., Van Citters, A. D., Nelson, E. C., Kelly-Cummings, J., & Suresh, G. (2010).          Automated detection of harm in healthcare with information technology: a systematic review. BMJ Quality & Safety, 19(5), 1-11.

Hikmet, N., Bhattacherjee, A., Menachemi, N., Kayhan, V. O., & Brooks, R. G. (2008). The role             of organizational factors in the adoption of healthcare information technology in Florida        hospitals. Health Care Management Science, 11(1), 1-9.

Hoyt, R. E., & Yoshihashi, A. K. (2014). Health informatics: practical guide for healthcare and    information technology professionals. Lulu. com.

Koppel, R. (2013). Is healthcare information technology based on evidence?. Yearbook of             medical informatics, 22(01), 07-12.

Lin, C., Lin, I. C., & Roan, J. (2012). Barriers to physicians’ adoption of healthcare information   technology: an empirical study on multiple hospitals. Journal of medical systems, 36(3),     1965-1977.