Technology and Health Transformation - Essay Example

?Topic Table of Content Introduction……………………………………………………………………… 3 Technology and Health Transformation……………………………………….…3 Improving Healthcare Performance Management via 3T…………………………7 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….. 8 Introduction The transformation of healthcare requires approaches or tools to realize its strategic plans and developments. One of these is the integration of technology as instrument to hasten diagnoses, medical services, and findings to satisfy the patients’ health needs. The other tool is the use of structural reform and policies to strengthen the professional management and services of medical practitioners in all facilities. Researcher will likewise use strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threat analysis (SWOT) to determine the extent of its applications. Technology and Health Transformation The utilization of technology to improve medical services is amazingly significant to advance diagnoses and responses to illnesses. Nowadays, everybody could observe how technology have assisted doctors in brain and heart surgeries, liver operation, and even in curing pneumonia, tuberculosis, in determining the standard figures of oxygen needed by human body, and even in the documentation of patients’ treatment. Information technology has also hastened the collaboration and networking of medical practitioners and has scaled up communication and operation of all divisions within hospitals (Fickenscher, 2012; Julia, 1996). This proved very purposeful especially in emergency cases. Medical practitioners likewise assert that technological advancement has reduced the costs of patient care and has increased the customers’ satisfaction rating (IBM Software Rational, 2012). Advanced hospitals are able to develop the International Statistical Classi?cation of Diseases and Related Health Problems that improved the performance management of medical practitioners, including the management of reimbursement, monitoring, evaluation, quality management, research, medical surveillance and customer service (IBM Software Rational, 2012; Fickenscher, 2012). Through information technology, health departments can develop health information exchange which accelerate the transmission of health-care data; health information systematization; and, helped the standardization of reports and coordination with government agencies. It has integrated the health information technology infrastructure being a reliable and secure data transfer system among diverse systems, including its access and retrieval (IBM Software Rational, 2012; Laschober & Maxfield, 2005). It also supports healthcare delivery and research. From manual and tedious handwritten processes, physicians and nurses nowadays use electronic medical records for healthcare delivery management (Three Layers, 2012). Practitioners perceived that this development is crucial for quality and efficient services as information system become automated. Some patients may now even use medical websites to study their illnesses because clinical information is now available online. Some are able to consult their physicians or psychologists through online (Three Layers, 2012). The preceding points can be considered as its strength too. However, some of the weaknesses in the integration of technology in healthcare services are the need to allocate sufficient funds for its purchases and training for human resources to hone their skills in the use of these facilities (Three Layers, 2012). There is also a need to prescribe to regulations and mandates in the use of these technologies especially those that will be maximized for surgical operations (IBM Software Rational, 2012). Blackouts or power outage is one of the many threats in the use of technology. The disruption of power supply is inimical to hospital operations because a lot of technology used for patients under intensive care units and for new born children in the respective hospital nurseries are dependent on power supply. Moreover, while it’s laudable that medical records are already automated and has increased users access, web-based viruses may corrupt database and ruin the sensitive patients’ personal health data. While there is standard policy in the protection of online and non-online patients’ information and clinical database to preserve the privacy of health information, but there remains a significant necessity to use data security management to sustain the fiduciary relation between patients and physicians (IBM Software Rational, 2012). This is amongst the fundamental accountability of medical practitioners-- to maintain compliance to policies and medical ethics. Hence, access to data should still be restricted to medical practitioners themselves to discourage any breach of patients’ information. Also, as technology continually advanced, hospitals need to take care of its resources too for them to be able to upgrade its facilities whenever necessary (IBM Software Rational, 2012). The opportunities however are unlimited. There are now software available for database security and there are external experts too that can provide skilled services for repair and maintenance, in case technology used are partially damaged (IBM Software Rational, 2012). Impaired facilities can be replaced with new technologies that are now accessible in the market. But to save from constant replacement, it’s important that users are able to know the fundamentals of the application of these medical technologies. Though technology streamline and lower the costs whilst improving quality of performance and risks, the management must however strategically plan to respond on rapid changes especially if there are upgraded applications in information technology. For instance, before an obstetrician may use a Doppler to hear the heartbeats of a child. Nowadays, they may now use 3D technology to see the position of the baby inside the womb and physician may capture a photo of the baby’s face albeit unborn. Indeed, transforming medical facilities mandates hospital managers to invest in clinical information system for quality care, improved patient’s safety, scale up performances and reduce the risk of medical errors (Three Layers, 2012). Successful healthcare organizations use technology to understand the impacts of changes within healthcare facilities and the nature of decision-makings that will be employed for patients and for healthcare providers (IBM Software Rational, 2012). There will also be great wealth of information –sharing and extensive research for better-informed decisions. This is the product of transforming healthcare facilities using technology as tools in advancing innovative healthcare management, in the reduction of risks, and in improving the quality or effectiveness of medical operations (IBM Software Rational, 2012). Improving Healthcare Performance Management via 3T Another tool in improving healthcare is the use of performance management to arrive at (a) high quality, effective and safe care delivery; (b) creation of patient-centered evidences of clinical effectiveness and treatment; and (c) process-centered health care delivery for treatment and prevention (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). Experts call this enumerated tool as 3T tools. These tools require strategies in healthcare management, policy advocacy, and transformational change management that will involve patients, practitioners and the government. Experts argued that these 3T tools can be implemented using the following major activities: measurement and accountability, implementation and system design, scaling and spread with researches (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). Figure 1. The 3T’s Road Map to Healthcare transformation (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). Measurement of performances can be undertaken by conducting thorough evaluation using standards of performances (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). The strength of this tool is that organization is able to determine the weaknesses of the organization and will be able to know what proper responses to improve the system and its accountability (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). There ought to be shared responsibilities between medical practitioners, healthcare plans, patients and policymakers to value quality healthcare (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). This will also inspire transparency in its management. The implementation and system redesign are ways of improving the outcomes of healthcare management. This will be the result of measuring the delivery of services (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). Experts suggest that health institutions should encourage human resources to perform effectively and uphold high-value healthcare by providing necessary support, training, and research, as well as, provide incentives or fringe benefits (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). This will also discourage fast turn-around of employees. Effective services are possible with improved communication too among practitioners and with patients. Their knowledge on information technology and its use should be optimized (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). If well integrated in the practice, reliable information management of patients’ records and clinical evidences can be preserved and sustained for patient-focused medical system (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). Through this, medical practice will become innovative and such could help hasten the network for policy advocacy too. Healthcare policies are essential part in community health management because in the absence of lawmakers supports, there will be less laws that will regulate healthcare services and management (Dougherty & Conway, 2008). The weak side of this tool is that this requires transformation leaders within health facilities or institutions to address these major works to be undertaken or completed. These transformational leaders must have a holistic deconstructionist perspective, deep empathy to human resources and patients, abductive thinking and synthesis, variegation of ideas based on different contexts, great or developed in parallel, participatory in approach, and positivist in many ways. The latter means that these leaders are immersed in varied organizational management experiences and therefore, insightful for details and very articulate in meeting goals without leaving all opportunities and all matters that deserved to be considered. The opportunities that could be enjoyed in this tool is wide ranging because there are a lot of resources that can be utilized for organizational measurement, notwithstanding the standard evaluation format prescribed by health agencies. The result of the evaluations can likewise be used for strategic planning and in addressing the institutional problems. It can engage all staffs in change management and they can enjoy interprofessional collaboration within their respective organizations and with the rest of medical practitioners of the country. Collaboration can also be expanded to patients, carers and communities (Caipe, 2012). Medical practitioners can also collaborate to improve their education, health and social care deliver for healthier communities (Frost & Robinson, 2007). Through this, they can have in-depth discussion on issues that may encompassed to nutrition, public health, policies, medical standards, medication of all illnesses or on the need to strategize social services in complementation to community-based health programs (Reeves, Goldman, Oandasan, 2007). In a value –chain effect, medical practitioners will also be able to improve their interpersonal by interacting with patients, co-practitioners, policy-makers, and with management. This is essential in managing changes and implementing health reform program (Meads & Ashcroft, 2005; Loxley, 1997). It also strengthens positive relation with co-workers. Experts contended that information, advises, counsel, policy advocacy and reports are made through communication (Leathard, 2003). In fact, customers and workers will only understand hospital’s goals and programs by imparting and receiving communication. Some of the threats of this model are poor governance and ergo, less support from lawmakers on policies; resistance of co-workers to institutional transformation; lack of resources to finance healthcare program; absence of technology that can support the new healthcare services programs; and unsupportive community to healthcare reform agenda especially if it entails increase of costs for hospitalization. Conclusion Systematization of healthcare services is essential in this postmodern times (Ciampa, 1992; Datta & Vandegrift, 2011) Holistic health transformation can only be implemented when there is collaboration among government officials, health sector, clienteles and other important stakeholders to completely enforce the new policy and standards to attain desired changes (Meltzer, Chung, Khalili, Marlow, Arora, Schumock, & Burt, 2010). Governments must increase accountability of health providers, encourage peoples’ participation, and strengthening the health sector to develop a patient-centered services and adaptive to technological innovation. It should be reckoned that the primary role of medical practitioners is to address the perennial causes of mortality and morbidity as well as the emergent public health threats. They must assume the responsibilities and encourage institutional transformation to enhance its services and its fiscal management (Whetten & Cameron, 1991). Performance standard must therefore be observed and implemented to ascertain regular evaluations and monitoring to maintain total quality management in healthcare services (Weeks, Helms, & Ettkin, 1995). Hospitals and related institution must also strategize how they will institute gain competitive leveraging in its services (HealthCare Transformation Institute, 2012; Newman & Newman, 2012). Non-functional departments must be reviewed too and transparent reporting must be done to gather all records of both quantitative and qualitative facts that could serve as bases for evaluations and formulations of recommendations. These records will also be the Ministry of Health’s evidences in establishing administrative and operational transformation in health care management using goals and programs (Weeks, Helms, & Ettkin, 1995; HealthCare Transformation Institute, 2012; Gallagher, Wagenfeld, Baro, Haepers, 1994; Gropper, 1996).  Through designs cited, organizational changes for healthcare can be done without losing sight of the potential threats and weaknesses in organizational capacity assessment (Iwaishi,Taba, Howard-Jones, Brockman, Yamashita, & Ambrose, 1998). References Baty, S.. Approaching Service Design- Holistic and System Thinking. 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