With the increased need to improve the population health, technology has been a significant focus on the healthcare system. One such technological aspect that has facilitated the improvement in healthcare provision is through health information. The advancement has facilitated the collection of a wide range of patient information that can, in turn, be applied to improve their health. The interoperability of the healthcare system to facilitate sharing of healthcare information has however been identified as a significant challenge to providing appropriate care since the healthcare information is not efficiently used. The paper will use interviews s with healthcare IT professional to discuss the meaning of the health information system (HIMS) to that individual. The paper will also discuss the importance of HMIS both within and across healthcare organisations. The roles of the profession will also be addressed as well as the impact of HIMS on the cost, time and quality of healthcare services offered.
Role of IT profession
The respondent to the interview applied in the study works in a hospital. Hospital is identified to be one of the most critical types of healthcare organisation as it acts as the link between patients and the healthcare system. The position of hospitals in the healthcare system has made an integral part of the system and as a result, a target for most technological improvements.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The health information professional suggested various roles in the interview. One of the fundamental duties is to organise the various medical records received from other medical professionals such as doctors report, laboratory results and patients document in digital form. The organisational also involve checking the documents to ensure they are accurate, complete and also relevant in the aspect of time. By converting and organising the patient information, the professionals facilitate easier tracking of the patient as they progress through the healthcare system (Wager et al. 2017). Since the respondent work in a large organization, he is also assigned classification codes to the data by the policies of the hospital and insurance agencies.
Also, the healthcare IT profession is responsible for safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of the patient through the protection of their data. That protection is offered through regularly changing access codes in collaboration with the technicians. They also maintain the system adopted by the hospital against malware and viruses that may undermine the privacy of the crucial information. The duty is done with the recognition that privacy is essential in determining the quality of care obtained by the patient (Wager et al. 2017). They also upgrade the system to ensure the sharing of such information with authorised individuals within and across the organisation is not delayed or tampered with.
Meaning of HMIS to respondent
The health information technology profession perceives HMIS to be a crucial component of the healthcare system. He understands the system to be a form of data collection that is aimed at facilitating planning, management and decision-making within the healthcare institutions (Tan, 2010). By effectively adopting the tool, the interviewee believes that essential strides towards achieving patient satisfaction can be achieved. He associated the tool as the missing link that was needed to ease and provide support to evidence-based decision making. Apart from contributing to consumer satisfaction by addressing the various aspect of the health system, the respondent linked the tool to policy planning and effective implementation of these policies (Tan, 2010). When asked how the tool would result in improving care, he stated that the technological tool enables the recording of health data and as a result, facilitate the evaluation of the quality of healthcare services offered at all levels.
Importance of HMIS within and across organizations
The adoption and implementation of HMIS are linked with several benefits within and across the organisation. Within the organisation, successful HMIS enable sharing of information across different departments ranging from oncology to the pharmacy department. That not only fastens the process for the patients but also frees up space and time for the staff enabling them to engage in other crucial activities (Wager et al. 2017). With such a system, the staff members can look up the available services and the number of beds available improving the efficiency of the institution. The organisation is also able to safeguard the patient information which reduces the legal lawsuits the institution faces.
Across the organisation, effective adoption of such a system facilitates tracking of consumers across different healthcare institutions, therefore, enabling effective care services (Weaver et al. 2016). The organisation is also in a better position to make referral services by looking up the process required by the other institution and making a comparison to the available client data. Healthcare organisations will also be more capable of sharing patient information saving on the costs and time used when processing that information (Weaver et al. 2016). The organisations under debate will also be better placed to comply with the reporting requirements governing the sharing of client information.
HMIS on cost, time and delivery of quality services
The successful implementation and adoption of HMIS are associated with such benefits as improved quality of care services, saving costs and time spent on accessing care services (Weaver et al. 2016). HMIS contributes to improving quality of healthcare services significantly reducing the prevalence of medical errors, reducing the number of hospital visits and the length of hospital stays as well as resulting in clinical effectiveness (Weaver et al. 2016). The time and cost spent on healthcare are also reduced significantly when the number of visits to the physicians and the lengths of hospital stays are reduced.
References
Tan, J . (2010). Adaptive Health Management Information Systems: Concepts, Cases, & Practical Applications, 3rd Edition .
Wager, K. A., Lee, F. W., & Glaser, J. P. (2017). Health care information systems: a practical approach for health care management . John Wiley & Sons.
Weaver, C. A., Ball, M. J., Kim, G. R., & Kiel, J. M. (2016). Healthcare information management systems. Cham: Springer International Publishing . Chicago
Appendix
What is your name?
What is your occupation?
What are your responsibilities?
What is your perception of HIM?
What do you link HIM with?
How does HIMS result in improves care?
What changes need to be put in place to ensure the success of HIM?
What is the importance of HIMS within and across the healthcare organisation?
