Information Technology in Healthcare - Research Proposal Example

? Information Technology in Healthcare Introduction As in other industries, Information Technology plays an important role in cost control and innovation. To date, implementation of information technology within the health care sector has largely been limited to basic billing, insurance transactions, patient records and diagnostic applications (Greenes, 325 , Minard, 105). Despite the limitations, a number of new technologies are being developed for health care administration (Minard). Some are borrowed from other industries, while specific technologies that are relatively unique to health care are also becoming available (Valentino, Mazziotta, and Huang, 2004). Proposed Change in Home Care Agency My recommendation is to introduce Electronic health information systems (EHIS) or Electronic Health Record (EHR) also called computerized patient record with standardized assessment data (like Outcome and Assessment Information Set [OASIS] and RAI-Home Care) to the Home Care Agency. It keeps an organized set of electronic health information of individuals in Home Care Agency. It keeps individuals’ medical history in digital format and this information can be shared within several health care settings. This record includes information about Demographics therapeutic history prescriptions allergies immunization condition Results of laboratory tests X- Rays Signs or sysmptoms of diseases Personal information like age or height Information about billing etc This will provide an electronic evidence of an individual’s general health record or medical history which is produced after one or more visits to Home Care Agency. The EHR will automatically update the patient’s record. It will provide the facility of creating a full record of a patient’s encounter with the care delivery setting – together with providing assistance in various other care-related direct or indirect activities through Desktop and management of quality, evidence-based decision support and reporting of recovery of patients. Theorectical model relating to the proposed change Prof. Trish Greenhalgh together with his co-workers explained several philosophical approaches for using HER within Care field. They described EHIS as a container that holds all necessary details about a person in home care, also as an instrument that collects medical history for secondary use (like repeat prescription or payment etc). (Greenhalgh T, Potts HWW, Wong G, Bark P, Swinglehurst, 2009) Some other researchers see EHIS as a a socio-technical structure. Like, actor-network theory defines EHIS as an instrument in a set of connections Whereas, according to computer supported cooperative work or CSCW, EHIS is an instrument that assist in performing a specific task. Moreover, some researchers after reviewing its advantages defined EHIS as an essential tool for human history. (Baek and Robson, 2009). Up till now, the utilization of EHR in home care agencies has attained limited investigation and policy consideration. Moreover, despite the enormous development of the medical technologies, diffusion of EHR usage within home care agencies is not yet common Organizational and individual barriers to the proposed change The personal care nature of the industry, high costs of technology, limited health-care specific software, and low-budget operations have all been cited as factors in the limited usage of IT within Home Care Agency (Blau, 340). Another issue is Time factor, as majority of medical staffs and doctors do not show enthusiasm in learning a new system. Some of them have a perception that application of EHIS decreases medical productivity. Cost of EHIS is a major factor; other factors also include unresponsiveness towards its teaching, and insufficient acceptance of its users and staff resistance. Organizational Readiness for the proposed Changes There is need for a movement towards more effective IT adoptation within the health care industry that will address work flow issues, accessibility of information, groupware applications, cost containment and data security needs. Most of the employees at Home Care Agency do not show willingness towards learning EHIS application also various studies have indicated the need for a strategic view of medical information systems with respect to declining government reimbursements and enhanced third party/insurance intervention (Gritzalis et al, 140, Gritzalis et al, 152, Ikeda, Ishigaki, and Yamauchi, 56, Lilienthal, 215). Typical developments in the use of information and computer technology within this industry have been directed towards diagnostic and patient health issues (Michael and Nelson, 65, Valentini, Mazziotta, and Huang, 2004, Manos et al, 102 ). Multimedia applications have been used in conjunction with database developments to support advanced diagnostic procedures (Chu, Cardenas, and Taira, 80). Factors that might influence the proposed change As long as technology is focused on transaction processing, there are few problems with this variance. However, as technologies are introduced that directly affect patient care (e.g., voice recognition, automated drug dispensers, physician order tracking, and expert systems, enterprise information applications), patient care could be affected by the size (hence budget) of the institution. Issues pertaining to the cost relationships of medical information systems are starting to be explored from a cost-benefit basis (Glandon and Shapira, 2006]. Woodward and Boxerman (2008) studied the impact of IS spending on the returns to hospitals from a perspective that information value goes beyond the basic cost response approach. Given the varied nature of IS usage within the medical industry, this study was designed to classify IS usage by different health care providers. This study provides some insight into the use of information systems technology at Home Care Agency. More observations would be necessary to utilize the results for policy decisions. In particular, the differences between for-profit and not-for-profit or public institutions generate some concern. Given the growing trend of private firms acquiring not-for profit institutions, policy makers need to carefully watch for differences between the two types of institutions. While for-profit institutions might have a claim to early adoption of technology in general, they appear to be concentrating on transaction processing applications-presumably as cost-cutting measures. Technology that more directly affects patient care such as recording physician orders and medical database research, is generally implemented earlier in public and not-for-profit institutions. One source of the difference is likely due to the missions of the public teaching and research institutions compared to the mission of for-profit firms. Nonetheless, if these differences exist in the broader market, policy makers (and patients) should be concerned about the long-term level of care. If technology can provide better patient tracking, improved accuracy in physician orders, and medical research, the risk of reducing these applications as for-profit firms focus on cost containment may impact on service delivery. There is a substantial difference in the use of IS technology at larger institutions compared to smaller ones. Internal and External Resources available to support the change As medical information systems continue the transformation from transactional based applications to strategic based systems it would be desirable to understand the evolution of these systems in particular the impact upon the decision making process. The movement towards "for profit" hospitals brings the IS into the context of a strategic tool for better profit attainment. Further research into the usage of IT and IS within the "for profit" health care sector is needed. (Glandon, G. L. and R. J. Shapiro, 90) In a general view how are medical information systems being integrated into the overall patient health delivery process from the perspective of record maintenance, diagnosis, third party insurance interactions and medical decision support. Conclusion The aim should be to identify technologies that are especially useful. By storing data on EHIS, it will be possible to forecast future usage and to identify strengths and weaknesses of the current applications used within Home Health Agency. The implementation of technology should be randomly distributed across types of health care organizations without regard to organization size. Works Cited Blau, A. "Bringing the Promise Home: Policy Options and Strategies to Promote Medical Information Networking." Journal of Medical Systems Pg 339-347. 2007. Cronbach, L. J. "Coefficient Alpha and he Internal Structure of Tests." Psychometrica, 16 (Sept), 297-334. 2004. Chu, W. W., A. F. Cardenas and R. K. Taira. 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