Evaluation Of Integration Technologies For The Healthcare Supply Chain

McDonald (1997) points out that health care data is siloed in multiple areas that are inaccessible to others. This kind of management of patient data does not serve the patient well. It is for this reason that SCEMS approached Providence and Swedish hospitals to propose implementation of HDE. Moreover, as stated in the McDonald article a feasible way to integrate data from disparate sources is through the use of interfaces such as the HDE. In addition, a problem that exists in the integration of these two data sources is the fact that the hospital system communicates via the standard HL7 language, while the pre-hospital system communicates via XML. Fortunately, the HDE structure accounts for this difference by translating back and forth between the two different languages.

The information sharing document is often patient-centered. This means that the patient is in relation to each type of material in rotation. In fact, when a document having the patient’s information is going around in different health information systems, it is vital in guaranteeing that all the systems are referring to the patient in question. Therefore, this type of

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.

Electronic health information exchange is a dynamic evolving landscape that can help all doctors, pharmacists, nurses and any health care providers and patients to properly access fast to share patient basic health medical information via electronically improving quality, safety and speed and the cost of patient care HIE is fault finding for successful health care reform allowing to happen interoperability and significant use of health IT, and Health care Information and Management System Society (HIMSS) is here to help health care and health IT is qualified to understand all of the latest developments. There are various types of health information exchange and health information exchange organizations that are currently across the United States and its nation.

obligations in documents and alerts. Ease-of-use and functionality of workflow processes in the EHR system are key considerations for selecting the system vendor. Consequently, the needs assessment, readiness assessment, and the workflow analysis are fundamental steps to decide if an EHR system is convenient to be implemented in your healthcare facility, however the workflow analysis will guide you in choosing and purchasing the best system that fits your institution. Mapping the workflow for various tasks enables recognizing the features and functionalities that should be in the EHR system. These features are important to be presented for the vendor as scenarios, and it is recommended to ask the vendor to show you how a patient record is initiated and managed based on your previous presented scenarios. This allows you to compare between vendors and clarify the usage of the software for various workflows in your institution. Only scenario-based demonstrations elaborate if the system’s smooth usability matches your institution workflow or not. Finally, it is critical to test-drive the system by yourself

There was no standard way of keeping patient data on healthcare applications. There was no communication between software companies on how interfaces in healthcare applications were to be built hence software applications were not compatible with each other. It is important that healthcare organizations follow the same standards when setting up their healthcare information system, thus creating interoperability so that the sharing and exchange of information within and across healthcare providers is facilitated. As a result, a volunteer group introduced the Health Level Seven Standard (HL7) for healthcare organizations to follow the same standards when developing their healthcare information system so that data can be shared seamlessly. In a nutshell, HL7 was introduced for the following

Health information exchange (HIE) delivers information when and where it is needed to provide improvements in healthcare quality and efficiency. HIE requires essential coding standards throughout health information management so that information can be accessed, merged, divided and/or shared with other healthcare organizations. In order to reach interoperability; message, exchange, and terminological standards are a few key attributes needed. HL7 v2, CDA and RxNorm aid in reaching these standards to achieve HIE.

Generally, the acquisition of a new information technology (IT) system begins with the process of surveying all of the component parts of the organization to determine what specific functions are required and expected of the new system (Halbert & Ingulli, 2009). That process distinguishes between functions that are absolute necessities and those that may be desirable and beneficial or convenient but that are not necessarily absolute requirements. More particularly, the IT acquisition team would endeavor to understand enough about each organizational component or business unit to provide guidance and to participate in a determination of what specific system features and capabilities are justified in connection with their perceived value to the users in relation to their cost and to any other considerations

Interoperability is often a word frequently used as a goal to strive for when improving healthcare in the United States. Encouraging the utilization of health information exchange has been cited as a potential way to improve efficiency, increase safety, and enhance quality of care. There are numerous examples of how linking information between multiple data sources leads to a non-trivial task. When two operations are collecting the same data, but are recording information in different formats, it can be nearly impossible to bridge the information between those systems. Standards are important because they can facilitate mutual understanding during in regards to communication and health measures in the context of population health.

It will be a win-win strategy for every participant in the medical devices supply chain. In details, first, MTC could form a strategic alliance to hospital ‘innovators’, such as Cleveland Clinic, to develop new high tech device. Patent could create a new revenue stream for both parties. Moreover, MTC would know earlier and react faster about what surgeons really need from the company’s next devices. At the same time, hospitals would be willing to cooperate due to the gain through such early involvement program. Second, implementing low unit of measure (LUM) Lean/JIT systems between distributors and hospitals. RFID tags could provide information on locations of medical device. Accordingly, manufacturer/distributors would have visibility to hospital’s items and control the order lead time to maintain a least landed cost. It is a desired result for distributors since they are more willing to shift from the traditional bulk model of shipping inventory in full-case quantities of use. Third, a higher percentage of ‘on-contract’ purchase benefit the cost saving which has become an important supply chain metric in leading hospitals. Last, supply chain touch points create potential safety issues and unnecessary expenditure. MTC should give a scrutinize of current process, in addition, eliminate touch point such as off-site

Hence why almost every healthcare provider uses some 3rd party technology to allow for optimal organization and communication. Some of the very popular mediums are EPIC, CareTracker, Athenahealth, WebPT, NextGen Healthcare, and so on. But these systems are necessary for a high level of interprofessional communication.

The EHR and/or PHR and HL7 are needed tools that help to improve patient care and safety. EHRs and PHRs help healthcare providers in the exchanging and collecting of patient data. Both record types also exchange health data between various healthcare settings (ambulatory, long term, etc.), providers, patients, and other organizations. When records work in conjunction with HL7 standards the exchange of information is consistent and widespread. In the final rule of “meaningful use” stage 2 the use of HL7 in records helped to improve patient summaries, clinical messaging, electronic prescribing, and transportation details. HL7 allows all EHRs and PHRs the ability to communicate not on just a locally but on a global scale which will in turn provide

The preferred format for clinical health information is Health Level Seven (HL7) Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) for both Personal Health Record (PHR) and Electronic Medical Record (EMR). It is XML-based format identifies the encoding, configuration, and semantics of a clinical file. Blue Button+ Direct implementation ensures ease of transmission of medical records to a third party by the health care provider or patient. Direct uses SMTP, S/MIME, and X.509 licenses to maintain security, data reliability, privacy and verification of sender and receiver. Additionally, it meets the requirements for Meaningful Use (MU) Stage 2 of View, Download, and Transmit (VDT) that is required for certified electronic medical record (EMR)

As the implementation of electronic health records (EHR) progress nationwide, the concepts of interoperability and health information exchange (HIE) must be discussed. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (2005, p. 2) define interoperability as “the ability of health information systems to work together within and across organizational boundaries in order to advance the effective delivery of healthcare for individuals and communities.” Interoperability is the enabling of two systems, including those that do not share

Health information systems (HIS) are complex and it is helpful to understand advantages and disadvantages to some key components of a HIS. This section will describe the advantages and disadvantages of usability, interoperability, scalability and compatibility.