HIM & ESRD - Admission/Application Essay Example

HIM & ESRD Health Information Management (HIM) refers to the practice of maintaining health records through both paper-based and electronic methods in healthcare facilities and other health stakeholder companies such as insurance companies and health departments. With the advent of the computer age, health information sources and records such as health resources, health information technology and administration functions are being used in managing information in the healthcare sector. Professionals in HIM are tasked with planning information systems, developing healthcare policies and recognizing information requirements, both current and future needs.

End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) refers to the complete failure of kidneys’ work. The kidneys’ bodily function is to remove waste products such as urea and excess water from the body. ESRD, which comes after chronic kidney disease, is characterized by the kidneys’ ineffectiveness to function at appropriate standards required for sustenance of life (Campbell, Machinnn and Walters, 2007). Introduction An effective health information management system entails proper collection, management and employment of health information in healthcare systems.

Proper detection of health problems, setting health priorities, establishing effective solutions and allocating limited resources to enhance positive health outcomes is the measure of effectiveness for HIM systems. In the US, electronic health record systems have been established to enhance the effectiveness of traditional HIM systems. A health information management system may provide a health information consultant working for an end-stage renal disease facility useful information on ESRD, which would help the health institution, as well as the patient.

Firstly, the HIM system provides access to information regarding the disease such as its origin, as well as its treatment module. A HIM system is a viable source of resources such as quantitative and qualitative information on researches previously conducted with regards to ESRD. Within the HIM, a health information consultant is bound to find health care statistics on ESRD, which assist in determining the prevalence and other statistical information such as age groups prone to suffer from ESRD.

This information is essential in formulating health policies and standards for individual ESRD facilities. Statistical knowledge such as disease prevalence is critical in implementing effective measures to deal with ESRD within healthcare facilities (Campbell, Machinnn and Walters, 2007). In addition, HIM systems provide information on research conducted on the disease. For instance, the health information management system details test treatment procedures conducted to counter ESRD. This information could also entail test treatments conducted and their success rates.

Such information is pertinent to health care professionals in determining relevant courses of action to take on patients suffering from the disease in terms of treatment modules to adopt. HIM systems also include government regulations aimed at regulating practices, treatments and tests on ESRD. The system shows government standards with regards to end stage renal disease such as approved treatments modules, medication and tests. This is key in ensuring the health care facility abides by regulations and deters legal proceedings against it as a result of malpractice.

A HIM system encompasses health data on clinical quality assessment, as well as performance improvement to ensure the ESRD facility administers quality care to its patients (Armoni, 2002). Patients also benefit as their feedback aids in improving health care services and overall performance of the facility. When patients offer feedback on services received, the feedback is transmitted to the HIM system to ensure quality performance. These resources are beneficial to both patients and health care institutions as they offer essential information regarding the disease and give possible treatment modules (Lancaster, 1994).

In terms of the ESRD facility, gaining knowledge is pertinent in maintaining up-to-date standards of treatment. In addition, a HIM system is essential in maintaining accurate patient records, which are easily accessible. HIM systems offer viable options for computing patient information such as treatment module, progress, outcomes and expected results. Health information management systems, therefore, ensure measurement of patient treatment progress against expected results of the treatment. By comparing the two, ESRD specialists gauge the treatment’s effectiveness and make suggestions based on their results.

If a treatment is found to be ineffective, the HIM system may provide alternative treatment regiments that may be beneficial to the patient (Campbell, Machinnn and Walters, p. 2007). An effective HIM system shows where resources not available in an ESRD facility may be accessed. For instance, if an ESRD does not have the latest dialysis machine, which is vital in managing ESRD, the HIM system will show details of which facilities have the machine. This is crucial in ensuring patients receive quality healthcare by recommending they visit the facilities which have adequate machines.

In addition, a health information consultant will be able to design effective information flow programs, which are vital in ensuring no data is lost or unrecorded (Armoni, 2002). Data models and definitions are vital in ESRD facilities because any new information on patients’ progress could mean the distinction between life and death. Data on disease symptoms and consequences is critical to end stage renal disease facilities as it provides an effective benchmark to verify if a patient suffers from the disease (Wager, Less and Glaser, 2009).

The administration and application of data found in health information management systems are crucial in ensuring all data is coded according to appropriate definitions and retrieval of confidential patient information is guarded by properly laid-out policies. An effective HIM system entails assessment of recent health care situations and trends with regards to ESRD (Armoni, 2002). This ensures that the system provides evidence-based information, which is made easily accessible to decision makers, as well as other healthcare practitioners who may need the information.

Knowledge of such matters ensures that health-related policies and enterprises are performed to the utmost standards. This is beneficial to patients as it guarantees that they receive treatment that is both evidence-based, as well as offering a viable system for future reference. HIM systems in ESRD facilities allow for availability of quality health information that enhances efficacy of health care programs. The system can be used to validate, assess and disseminate information to stakeholders both within the ESRD facility and without.

In addition, HIM systems augment data-sharing within health care facilities thereby enhancing allocation of human, financial and physical resources (Arah, et. al., 2003). HIM strengthens the link between health research systems and health information systems in an effort to improve on resource effectiveness in dealing with end stage renal disease complications. Furthermore, HIM systems allow for efficient application of information and communication technologies in ESRD facilities, especially when considering technological improvements in treatment regiments, as well as ways of mitigating post-treatment complications (Armoni, 2002).

HIM systems for individual facilities may be linked to those of other facilities through a comprehensive system, which, in turn, allows for effective collection and dissemination of key information regarding ESRD. For instance, such connection allows different facilities to share and enhance data collected individually. Government and agency policies are thus easily communicated to different facilities through a single portal. Patients and ESRD facilities benefit from effective HIM systems in ESRD facilities as these systems promote data quality through easily designable and maintainable systems (Lancaster, 1994).

References Arah, O. A., et. al. (2003). “Conceptual frameworks for health systems performance: a quest for effectiveness, quality, and improvement”. International Journal for Quality Health Care, 15(5): 377-398. Armoni, A. (2002). Effective Healthcare Information Systems. Pennsylvania: IGI Global. Campbell, M. J., Machinnn, D., & Walters, S. J. (2007). Medical Statistics: A Textbook for the Health Sciences. (4th ed.). London: Wiley-Blackwell. Lancaster, L. E. (1994). Patients with End Stage Renal Disease (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc. Wager, K. A., Less, F. W.

and Glaser, J. P. (2009). Health Care Information Systems: A Practical Approach for Health Care Management (2nd ed). New York: Jossey-Bass.