Information Technology (IT) and the NHIN

Technology has transformed lives globally with the healthcare industry receiving one of the most impactful changes. Through technological advancements, a doctor can retrieve medical records of a patient and access their medical history with the click of a button. Healthcare has been at the forefront of recognizing the value of data and information in shaping the decision-making process. As the current Director of Health Information for a larger hospital, I have developed various policies that can improve policies, procedures, and operations across the institution. The following is an action plan for the hospital based on the improvement of competencies. 

Part one: 

Data security is important because patient data lies at the center of proper medical operations and proper treatment of patients. Protecting personal information and data security will help prevent losing important data. When it comes to policies involve data security, the medical facility should have policies that involve proper handling of the database. This will ensure that the data is safe and may not interfered by any unauthorized persons (Chaudhry, 2006). Policies that cover data security that the medical institutions include audits, e-security, and data recovery planning. 

An information security audit is a review of the level of information security within an organization. For the medical facility, the audit will start with assessing the information possessed by the facility, how it flows, identify the person with access, and building a design flow to document the entire process. Security of data through audit will be evaluated through how information flows through and out of business and the people that have access to the information to assess the security risks involved. 

E-security involves safeguarding data privacy, password management, internet usage, and management of email use. Proper e-security should understand that data privacy where patient data at the medical facility is kept confidential and secure. A password management policy at the institution will be evaluated it its complexity. Employee use of the internet will be evaluated to ensure that it is productive and does not lead to security concerns. Proper email usage by the employees will involve clear standards established regarding message content and encryption of email content. 

Audit trails are the process of keeping records that are used to provide evidence of information that has taken place at a certain time of operation. It can be used to show transactions that involve operations within an organization (Cruz-Correia, 2013). Data monitoring is the process of checking data within the organization to ensure that it meets the set standards. Recommendations to improve the design of audit trails and data monitoring programs include limiting data access by employees, proper storage of data to be audited and securing of data from unauthorized external access . There should be a policy that limits data access by normal employees. Proper storage of data such as records of patients will ensure a smooth process during the audit. Security data from unauthorized external access will be possible through the advanced password protection. 

Part two: 

The system should meet regulatory requirements so as it can function efficiently and seamlessly. System capabilities that are evaluated to ensure that it meets regulatory requirements include an electronic signature, data correction, and audit logs. Electronic signatures ensure that anyone performing data transaction validates their unique identities when approving the electronic records. Regulatory requirements for the use of the electronic signature is that the signature should indicate the printed name of the signer, the date and time stamp when the signature was executed, and the meaning associated with the signature. These requirements ensure that the electronic signature works effectively for the protection of data (Brandner et al., 2002). 

Data correction is required for the accurate transfer of data from one node to another. The arrangement of data received should be equal to that which has been transmitted. The system should be able to correct errors with a high degree of accuracy. The accuracy should be achieved without undermining the overall simplicity of the structure of the entire system. 

Audit logs are documented records of events in the system. An effective audit log should include the destination, source, addresses, timestamp, and user login information. The regulatory requirements of audit logs are that it should collect a variety of information for it to work collection. The required information includes user ID, date and time of log on and off, terminal identity, files and network access, changes to system configuration, exceptions and security-related issues and, use of system utilities. 

Part three: 

The health information technology promises an enhanced patient care quality, efficiency, and safety. Various factors that influence the choice of device selection include efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. Satisfaction is enhanced by the usability that goes beyond the features of the user interface. The system should be able to compatible with the users’ needs. The workflow of the system consists of people, tasks, tools and technologies, devices, and organizational factors. For a proper workflow of the device, the system should address all these work processes. 

Recommended devices that can be used in the medical facility include a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), mobile carts, and screen size bedside terminals. These systems take into account ergonomics by ensuring efficiency in the working environment of the patient in their environment. The ease of use of these systems ensures that it takes into account human factors and reduces the complexity of the entire system. The availability of the systems ensures that it can be easily integrated into the workflow of the medical facility (Carayon, 2016). 

Part four: 

The system architecture for the facility is the conceptual model that defines the behavior, views, and structure of the system. The system architecture should be organized in a way that it promotes adequate reason of the structure and behavior of the system. Database design is the process of production of a detailed data model of the database. For evaluation of the design, the data model of the facility should contain logical and physical design and storage parameters for an accurate definition language. A data warehouse provides a snapshot of time and consolidates information in a simple way to ensure proper decision making. Evaluation of the data warehouse is based on its simplicity. Simplicity will ensure opportune and precise data for better choice analysis and decision (George and Kumar, 2015). 

A proper data design ensures adequate system design. The data design can thus be evaluated on the flexibility of the system testing. The system testing will be done to check the behavior of hardware, software, and the entire integrated system. The system architecture can also be evaluated through the interface management. The interface includes the activities that control and define communication through unrelated objects. Proper interface management of the facility should ensure that adequate communication between interfaced devices. The data relationship is a collection of programs that manage the consistency and quality of data. The data relationship tool shows the ability of the system to have a proper database design. 

Part five: 

The current organization current and future goals and strategies of the medical facility involve the adequate use of technology to improve system operations and handling of patient data. Information management plans to enhance these goals include integrating the latest technology into the facility, quality improvement of data management, and proper data recovery and backup. Integrating latest technology is part of the corporate strategic plan. It aligns with the overall goal of the optimal use of technology to improve system operations of the facility. Quality improvement of data is aligned with operational planning as it enhances operational efficiency and plays a big role in driving efficient data operations. Proper data recovery and the backup plan will aid in the improvement of disaster recovery of the organization. 

Part six: 

Challenges that can exist in each phase of the system development life cycle include information and data gathering, collaboration and communication, and planning and cost estimation. The correctness and completeness of the system are based on the information gathered in the first place. The electronic health record, a digital version of the patient’s paper chart will be complete and correct if the information is first gathered accurately. The entire system is a multi-user development that should take account different user needs and presents a collaboration and communication challenge for different users. HIE is a secure method of sharing information and should ensure adequate standards, policies, and technology in the collaboration and communication of data. The final challenge in the system development cycle is in planning and estimation. The estimation of duration and cost of projects can be too optimistic resulting in overspending. The Regional Extension Center can aid with funding, selection, and implementation of the Electronic Health Record technology that is cost-effective. 

References 

Carayon, P. (Ed.). (2016). Handbook of human factors and ergonomics in health care and patient safety. CRC Press. 

Brandner, R., Van der Haak, M., Hartmann, M., Haux, R., & Schmucker, P. (2002). Electronic signature of medical documents--integration and evaluation of a public key infrastructure in hospitals.  Methods of Information in Medicine-Methodik der Information in der Medizin ,  41 (4), 321-330. 

Chaudhry, B., Wang, J., Wu, S., Maglione, M., Mojica, W., Roth, E., ... & Shekelle, P. G. (2006). Systematic review: impact of health information technology on quality, efficiency, and costs of medical care.  Annals of internal medicine ,  144 (10), 742-752. 

Cruz-Correia, R., Boldt, I., Lapão, L., Santos-Pereira, C., Rodrigues, P. P., Ferreira, A. M., & Freitas, A. (2013). Analysis of the quality of hospital information systems audit trails.  BMC medical informatics and decision making ,  13 (1), 84. 

George, J. & Kumar, S. (2015). Data Warehouse Design Considerations for a Healthcare Business Intelligence System. In  World Congress on Engineering .