Technology is currently playing a crucial role in almost all industries, including personal lives. As a result, the health sector has embraced and massively adopted various types of medical technologies to improve the quality of healthcare services while at the same time reducing the cost of care. Information technologies are now common in many healthcare entities, and they are used to accomplish some tasks. At the same time, Health Management Information System (HMIS) is increasingly becoming important in the healthcare sector. As a result, HMIS industry will continue to experience positive growth as investment in technologies continues in the healthcare sector.
Why CIO Survey is Important for the HMIS Industry
One of the key reasons why CIO survey is essential is because it shows the trend and perception about existing and emerging technologies in the HMIS industry. CIOs have in-depth knowledge and experience with various technologies, and they are the best people to give information about technologies, as well as the required innovation in the industry. Besides, it is the CIOs who spend a significant part of their time in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of various technologies in the industry ( Tan, 2010) . Therefore, the survey assists in collecting important information from CIO about information technology (IT), which can lead to improvement and additional innovation. Besides, the survey can assist in determining and understanding technological trends in the industry such as the investment trends, the most used technologies, and challenges that are faced by users of various technologies. Hence, the survey is important for the HMIS industry, as it helps in disclosing important in information and data about the use of multiple technologies.
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Prediction on the Type of Hardware Investments Considered Key to the HMIS Future
The major hardware investments that I believe will be considered key to the future of HMIS future is the expansion of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) storage capacity in many hospitals. Currently, a lot of emphases is put on the electronic storage of health data, and many healthcare entities are already adopting the systems ( Yanamadala et al ., 2016) . Therefore, to accommodate more data, hospitals will be forced to expand their EHR storage capacity. Investment in the EHR storage capacity is considered to be crucial in the future of HMIS industry, especially due to the need to change from manual data storage to electronic or digital data storage. The second major hardware investment that is considered key is that of data security. I believe that this type of investment is crucial for future of the HMIS industry, particularly due to the need to protect patients' data and the increasing cases of cyber hacking and fraud. Investment in data security will assist in keeping patient data private and confidential. The two hardware investments are crucial to the HMIS future.
The main similarity between my prediction and that of the survey concerns the EHR system. The results of the survey indicated that electronic data storage is considered crucial in the healthcare sector and more investment needs to be done to improve the system (Bill, 2017). Nonetheless, the survey does nor emphasis on the need to improve data security, even though cyber security is increasingly becoming a concern to many industries. Hence, I find variance in the investment in data security.
Why Investment in EHR is a Top Priority for CIOs in the Future
I believe that the main reason why EHR is a top priority for CIOs in the future is that they have realized that many health professionals do not know how to effectively use EHR system to improve the quality of healthcare services. EHR system remains to be one of the main challenges facing medical professionals (Bill, 2017). As a result, heavy investment in the EHR system by CIOs is aimed at improving how medical professionals use the system. At the same time, I believe that the enactment of HITECH Act in 2009 is encouraging many CIOs to invest on EHR to comply with the new regulations that promote the adoption of ICT in the health sector.
Backup/Disaster Recovery
The main factor that drives the planning for backup recovery is the functions or roles of a medical professional or a department. Therefore, the primary reason why individuals working in the clinical or group practice are less concerned with backup recovery is that they mainly handle ambulatory outpatients that may not require the use and storage of a lot of information ( Tan, 2010) . At the same time, people in clinic/group practice are most likely to handle routine appointments, resulting in limited use of data. On the contrary, those working in the hospital have high acuity of patients, which increases the risks of data loss. As a result, losing data is likely to affect health care service delivery and may endanger the safety of patients.
I believe that this is prudent, especially due to the high investment that is required to install backup disaster recovery system. There is no need to invest a lot of resources in the backup system in areas where it is not likely to be used. Instead, more backup recovery investment should be put on areas where the risks of data loss are high and can lead to significant effects on the lives of patients and the operation of the hospital. Hence, I think that this trend is prudent.
Conclusion
Technology continues to play an important role in many industries in the modern world, especially by enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. As a result, there is a need for more investment in IT and other medical technologies to improve the quality of healthcare services. CIOs should ensure that hospitals have necessary and appropriate medical technologies. However, there is also need to train medical practitioners on how to use technologies.
References
Bill, B. (2017). Healthcare CIOs Say Top Investment Priorities Will Be Optimizing Electronic Health Records & Population Health: KPMG Survey . Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/healthcare-cios-say-top-investment- priorities-will-be-optimizing-electronic-health-records--population-health-kpmg-survey- 300407303.html
Tan, J. K. (2010). Adaptive Health Management Information Systems: Concepts, Cases, and Practical Applications . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Yanamadala, S., Morrison, D., Curtin, C., McDonald, K., & Hernandez-Boussard, T. (2016). Electronic health records and quality of care: An observational study modeling impact on mortality, readmissions, and complications. Medicine , 95 (19).
