An Evaluation Of A Technological Solution For Healthcare

However, health informatics is the kind of application system normally used by most hospitals and clinics to deliver high quality and cost efficient healthcare service to the community. According to Bacon County Hospital press release (2002), the informatics system was implemented to make the delivery of medical services such as surgical treatment and other general treatment faster. In this paper, therefore we look into how the informatics systems/applications has evolved since it was implemented by the Bacon County Hospital; discuss the future trends for healthcare informatics and how these trends impact the healthcare delivery system.

Healthcare delivery system in recent times is confronted with a lot of problems, cost, accessibility and quality of care. To be able to address these problems, healthcare organizations rely on information science technology to enhance cost-effectiveness, and safe quality care.

The next step is to determine and standardize the name of the columns and categories which will be included in the dashboard. The columns include quarter, patient’s last name, patient’s first name, discharge date, event date, admission date, comments, provider’s name, date reported to the management team and other important case specific information. In order to determine which columns to include, I had to arrange multiple meetings with all Quality Coordinators and get approval. I also had to get approval for which abbreviations will be used for each quality measures on the dashboard in order to create consistency and accuracy of

NAHQ is dedicated to the advancement of healthcare quality and patient safety and the professionals working in the field. “These professionals drive the delivery of vital data for effective decision making in healthcare systems by combining technology with their unique expertise in quality management” (NAHQ, n.d.). Also, at NAHQ, these healthcare quality professionals are provided with resources and tools that expand knowledge and skills in the competency areas that require advance quality. This helps the strategic leaders in achieving regulatory, accreditation and organizational compliance in quality and safety improvement

QAPI represents an ongoing, organized method of doing business to achieve optimum results, involving all levels of an organization. CMS requires that healthcare entities implement and effectively demonstrate a program that encompasses the principals and methods associated with ongoing monitoring of outcomes. The QAPI Program provides the facility level team members a forum and platform to identify areas of growth, risk and refinement that potentially impact the quality of care rendered to the patient population or negatively impinge on the financial well-being of the organization.

Healthcare information technology forms a pivotal part of today 's healthcare system. Improved quality of healthcare, patient safety, drastic reduction in medical errors and enhancement of care delivery is possible because of the induction of these solutions in the healthcare delivery environment. Today, healthcare IT solutions are enabling processes like planning, decision-making related to organizational development, strategic planning to drive growth, recruitment of competent personnel, managing employee benefits, payroll, intra-department communication, etc.

Data collected provides the health care organization, providers, administrators and the patients with valuable information. Tools assist the organization by measuring the performance data that provide the information to improve the patient experience and improve their care. These tools engage the organization in self-evaluation on an ongoing basis. These tools also provide and effective method of containing costs and provides the means to meet the regulatory requirements to improve quality care. Tools allow organizations to provide a

Worldwide use of computer technology in medicine began in the early 1950s with the rise of the computers. In 1949, Gustav Wagner established the first professional organization for informatics in Germany. Medical informatics research units began to appear during the 1970s in Poland and in the U.S. Since then the development of high-quality health informatics research, education and infrastructure has been a goal of the U.S. and the European Union. (NYU graduate training program, 2010) Changes in the healthcare environment produced fundamental shifts in the delivery of healthcare. The altering landscape of healthcare is creating a huge demand for health data analytics. The growth and maturity of healthcare informatics over the past decade has been a prime catalyst in positioning the healthcare industry for the changes posed by reform measures. By understanding the process of analytics, clinical informatics specialists say healthcare providers have the insight necessary to make the process adjustments in the future.(Riskin, 2013)

It is important to understand the history of how the healthcare industry decided to embrace the use of computer databases. Typically healthcare was often the last to employ new technology; especially when it came to assembling and disseminating data. As a Director of HIM (Health Information Management) it would be beneficial to remember this as there will undoubtedly be some resistance when attempting to implement new and improved systems to track everything from patient outcomes and laboratory tests to prescriptions and medications.

The government instigated the change, technology designed an application to manage and control the data, now it’s left to the healthcare industry to configure a business strategy for using data analytics to improve the outcomes related to the patient, secure population data and the improve the business of healthcare performance. What do all three have in common – survival?

Adding electronic health record (EHR) systems, dashboards and electronic data warehouses to a healthcare practice enables administrators and managing physicians to modernize their service delivery model and work toward high-quality continuity of care. While EHRs provide a cost-effective mechanism for documenting patient encounters and improving patient experiences, some organization leaders don't understand how to leverage analytics to strengthen their practice.

In order to create a more efficient, patient-centered healthcare system, HIT must begin to focus on providing data in a fashion that is accurate, timely, and interoperable. By doing so, we reduce the risks of errors due to misinformation, reduce treatment cost caused by repetitive treatments and testing, and begin to focus on using information to prevent maladies rather than cure. Although the US is clinically advanced, they have not figured out a way to deter the rising costs of healthcare caused by preventable error (Matthew Scholl, 2010). There are several documents that pertain to the use of HIT to accomplish this in a standardized method.

Qardio, a multi-location, award-winning, digital health company leads the way in transforming the telemedicine industry. Telemedicine is defined as “the practice of medicine when the doctor and patient are widely separated using two-way voice and visual communication” (“Telemedicine”, 2017). Qardio allows patients to connect with healthcare providers timely and accurately through leading technology and innovations. Qardio’s launch into the telemedicine world is transforming lives for the better.

Moreover, the PQIs can be used as an assessment instrument to help highlight potential healthcare quality concerns and challenges that require further analysis and provide effective data for planning and improvement of health care quality; and provide information to the consumers (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2014). The Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs) measures also provide a perspective that includes inpatient mortality for certain procedures and medical conditions; application and utilization of certain procedures for which there are questions of uses

The variation in information needs across any healthcare provider organization forces healthcare information technologies (HIT) platforms, systems, processes and procedures to align its design to support the unique information needs of each department and role. The greater this alignment of HIT systems and technologies to specific administrator, doctor, nurse and lab technician roles, the higher the level of overall systems performance and results attained (Agrawal, Grandison, Johnson, Kiernan, 2007). Just as an enterprise has strategic information needs that help to define the future direction of the business, healthcare provider organizations also have a comparable set of strategic information needs. The administrative roles in healthcare providers need to have a consolidated view of the organization from a cost, quality management, service level, patient recovery rate, patient satisfaction and profitability standpoint as well (Middleton, 2005). All of these factors are often gathered together in a dashboard that administrators often rely on to manage the core areas of their healthcare business (Leung, 2012). Administrator's information needs are also longer term in nature and more oriented towards the development of strategic initiatives that will last several years, requiring