Advanced Information Management (Essay Sample)

Healthcare Information Technology Name Institution Abstract Healthcare organizations have transformed from the old era to a technologically digital era. Healthcare information technology has advanced in a way that most organizations can share the patients’ health record through the use of appliances like Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Telemedicine among others. A project committee in an emerging healthcare information system should include leadership team, design team, additional stakeholders and the donor. Interoperability in healthcare industry is important for the efficient sharing of patients’ information between different healthcare organizations and between different practitioners. Standardized nursing terminology is vital for the smooth operation of healthcare industry and for assessment of clinicians’ performance. Healthcare information systems are prone to threats such as viruses and hackers that might tamper with the stored information. There are industry standards for protecting data integrity and for minimizing risks pertaining to health information system. Healthcare Information Technology Health care systems have evolved from the old analog era to a computerized age where the information must be stored in well organized data for future use. Health care informatics started in the late 1960s, by the American Society for Testing and materials (ASTM). The first major healthcare informatics standards set by ASTM included health information system security, data content, laboratory message exchange, and properties of electronic health record systems. Health information technology involves planning, augmenting, creating, using and conserving the information systems in the healthcare unit. Health information systems must strive to meet the current regulatory requirements set by the ASTM. The first step an organization must take to meet the standards is the advancement in technology. In the past ten years, a number of technological advancements have emerged. For an upcoming healthcare organization to prosper, and meet the federal requirements, it must meet the following technological advancements. The electronic health records The electronic health record (EHR) is a digital modern way of tracking a patient’s health history as opposed to the outdated patient’s paper chart. It automatically and securely displays the relevant patient’s information available to the authorized personnel. The EHR is designed to offer a broader perspective of a patient’s care that goes beyond standard clinical data available to health providers. The EHR can automatically enhance the smooth-running of a provider workflow. It offers entry to evidence-based apparatus that can be used by providers to make resolutions about a patient’s care. It can also contain a patient’s medical history such as test results, treatment plans, immunization dates, and radiology images among others. The EHR information can be shared with other healthcare organizations and with different providers that are within its creation and management. So it also provides information from all the practitioners involved in a patient’s care. Telemedicine/ telehealth Telemedicine is the provision of a two-way audio-visual communication between the healthcare provider and the patient in remote clinical services. Here, the patient can consult the doctor’s advice about non-emergency medical problems via a phone call. It is very convenient and saves on time and cost by the patient compared to visiting a health centre. In cases where follow-ups are needed especially for patients with chronic diseases like high blood pressure, the telemedicine can be of great value. Telemedicine only requires a web camera and a patient’s portal that connects the physician to a secured online electronic medical record database. It offers an open trust between the patient and the doctor, and it is also more reliable and accurate as the patient’s records are readily available online. Health information exchange The electronic health information exchange (HIE) is where healthcare organizations within a given geographical area come together and can share a patient’s vital information electronically. It offers great speed, safety of the patient’s information and is economical to both the patient and the provider. Timely sharing of patient’s medical information allows providers to avoid making medication errors, avoid readmissions, decrease double testing and it also offers improved diagnoses. The HIE is divided into three forms: the direct exchange where healthcare providers can send and receive information electronically for coordination; the query-based exchange where providers can request or find the patient’s information from other providers and the consumer mediated exchange where the patients are in a position to control the use of their health information among the providers. For any health information system project to prosper there must be qualified interdisciplinary committee. Interdisciplinary team is vital for any organizational work as it facilitates positive and cost-effective outcomes. The first essential interdisciplinary team member is the leadership team, there is the design team, stakeholders and the donor. In migrating to a common health information system, each team member plays a different vital role to enhance the completion of the project. Team members must be aware of their role on the committee and make a commitment to the team to perfom the expected duties to the end. Leadership team The leadership team is responsible for the general oversight of the project. It includes the project sponsors, the executive sponsors and the improvement leaders. Each plays its own role and responsibility and together they merge to make the team successful. Executive sponsors They are the seniormost management team in the project. They are responsible for the provision of accountability, guidance and endorsement of recommendations in the project. They have to communicate, motivate and engage with other team members in all stages of the project. They must understand the benefits of merging the two organizations and make sure that any changes does not seriously affect the benefits of the shareholders. They must have at fingertips the project’s details and delegate them to the project manager. They have to stay involved throughout the entire project period as they provide tactical and strategic support to make the project succssesful. Project sponsors They are the leaders from various specialties such as hospitalists, nursing director, pharmacy director, information systems director among others. Their role is to ensure the project delivers the specific benefits agreed on. They are the representative of the organization and has to play avital leadership role through: acting as the chairperson of the project committee; providing different expertise and advise to the project manager; advertising and marketing the project ideas all over the organization and acting as an adjudicator and making crucial decisions that surpasses the project manager’s authority. The project sponsor, apart from the roles played, also have great responsibility in the project which include: ensuring everything in the project is taken care of; ensuring changes made to the project are properly organized; ensuring that the project is well inaugurated; ensuring that the project need is real and correctly prioritized; ensuring that the project remains a feasible healthcare organization; resolving differences and conflicts that might arise between different teams within the project and to remove any obstacle that might hinder the project’s progress. Improvement leaders They are the ones responsible for amalgamating operational changes into clinical workflow. They have to ensure that the project purpose is met within the stipulated set time. They must have operational and excellence expertise and patient safety and healthcare management ideas for better medication strategies. Design team The team will be responsible for the overall design and development of the medical reconciliation procedure. The design team must be professionals who are qualified from various field of study and must have knowhow pertaining to modern medication reconciliation process. It should be composed of interdisciplinary members with vast knowledge of workflow. Members of the design team include: nurses, pharmacist, physicians, among others representing various areas of interest such as outpatient and inpatient units; information systems representatives; the emergency unit and patient safety and quality units and patients, to ensure the design is implemented in their own way of view. Additional stakeholders Additional stakeholders must be involved whether directly or indirectly to ensure every process is implemented the right way. Their engagement is important in gaining support for the medication reconciliation project. Other stakeholders in the project include: directors or managers who inspect other staff to ensure the design is properly implemented; other medical records staff that ensure that documentation is in accordance with the hospital policies and the departmental heads that ensures the clinicians fully participate in the project design. There is the donor that is the official sponsor and caters for every cost incurred in the entire process of the project. For the project to be successful, the team members’ expertise is vital and must be executed to the maximum. Leadership team expertise The leadership team expertise is necessary for the success of the project as the ...