How Using Information Technology and Data Mining can affect the Quality of Health Care
There has been an upsurge in incorporating innovative technological solutions for numerous health care issues (Jones, 2018). The healthcare industry's merger with potent information technology and data mining tools is responsible for improved quality of health care across the globe. According to Alotaibi and Federico (2017), healthcare information technology (HIT) defines the technologies that enhance communication and decision making through input, storing, analysis, sharing of patient data, and information. The centralization of patient information by HIT has presented numerous opportunities for improving and transforming the quality of health care, such as real-time reporting, decreased human error, enhanced clinical outcome, and improved care coordination (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017).
However, manual extraction of data's meaning can be tedious and time-consuming (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017). With data mining techniques, care providers can search and analyze the vast databases faster to gain insight regarding a wide range of health problems, drugs, and allergies, among others (Mathews, 2019). As a result, health care providers and researchers can discover previously unknown facts, which can be crucial in potential drug discovery. Moreover, it can help forecast future threats, scenarios, and situations, thus equipping the practitioners with prior knowledge ( Kudyba , 2018).
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A Comparison and Contrast Example of How Information Technology and Data Have Changed Patient Care Outcomes
Utilization of quality performance indicators is necessary to evaluate actions and determine the most efficient activities essential to accomplish the desired objective (Remondino, 2018). Information technology and data have been crucial in ensuring the existing practices and procedures are practical and identifying those requiring modification. On the one hand, Emergency Room (ER) wait time measures the duration between the patient's arrival in the ER and the time they see the care provider. Measuring the ER wait time equips practitioners with the details of the rush hours as well as busy days and as such, extending the possibilities of monitoring and identifying glitches in the admission process, speed of treatment, staff overloading, ER congestion, and check-in processes that need adjusting (Romendino, 2018).
On the other hand, patient satisfaction is another quality performance indicator. Information technology and data allow collecting information regarding patient satisfaction with the care provided, their complaints, and their safety (Romendino, 2018). The feedback offers caregivers to get insights on the overall perception of the services offered to the patient. A relatively high patient satisfaction score implies improved patient care outcomes.
References
Alotaibi, Y. K., & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi medical journal , 38 (12), 1173.
Jones, M. (2018). Healthcare: How Technology Impacts The Healthcare Industry. Retrieved 29 September 2020, from https://healthcareinamerica.us/healthcare-how-technology-impacts-the-healthcare-industry-b2ba6271c4b4
Kudyba, S. (2018). Healthcare Informatics: Improving Efficiency through Technology, Analytics, and Management . CRC Press.
Mathews, K. (2019). How Data Mining Is Changing Health Care. Retrieved 29 September 2020, from https://healthcareinamerica.us/how-data-mining-is-changing-health-care-27c1e9b3b372
Remondino, M. (2018). Information Technology in Healthcare: HHC-MOTES, a Novel Set of Metrics to Analyse IT Sustainability in Different Areas. Sustainability , 10 (8), 2721.
