The Evolution of Health Care Information System - Essay Example

The Evolution of Health Care Information System Sharon Thompson of Phoenix Changes in the environment influenced the and evolution of health care in the United States. Health care information system, for instance, was influenced by the health care environment as well as technological advancement and development affecting its current and future status. The objective of this essay, therefore, is to present a discussion of the evolution of a health care information system. Likewise, the following areas would be appropriately addressed: initial usage, major changes, and current and possible future usage. The Evolution of Health Care Information System The growth of information systems in the last six decades had been so fast and vast that virtually all sectors and industries have been significantly affected. The health care industry in the United States has undergone distinctly prominent changes depending on the health care environment and the pace of growth of information technology. The objective of this essay, therefore, is to present a discussion of the evolution of a health care information system. Likewise, the following areas would be appropriately addressed: initial usage, major changes, and current and possible future usage. Definition of Terms Health care information system (HIS) is defined as “an arrangement of information (data), processes, people, and information technology that interact, process, store, and provide as output the information needed to support the health care organization” (Wager, Lee & Glaser, n.d., 92) In assessing the evolution of HIS, it is critical to differentiate between two classes of HIS, to wit: administrative and clinical. The differentiating factors are the type of data and their specific purpose. The administrative information system contains financial and administrative information with the purpose of providing support to the general and managerial operations of any health care organization. The clinical information system, on the other hand, contains health and clinical records for use of providers in the delivery of patient care. Initial Usage and Major Changes The origins of HIS can be traced in the 1960s when large mainframe computers initially emerged. Prior to this, the General and Institutional Framework for Development of Healthcare Information Systems proffered that “people paper, pencils, calculators, and mechanical punch card tabulators were the main tools available for data manipulation” (n.d., 2) Since investment for computers were relatively expensive in those days, the areas that required its use are the accounting department, billing, and inventory, among others. The 1970s marked the growth of Medicare and Medicaid in the health care environment. Although mainframes are still in use, technological developments of the era provided the emergence of minicomputers which were considerably cheaper and smaller. HIS saw the onset of Turnkey systems through vendor community (Wager, Lee & Glaser, n.d., 96) According to Environmental Treatment Systems, Inc. (2010), a turnkey system is “a system which is designed, specified, purchased, installed, and started up by a single company” (1). This means health care organizations contract vendors to specifically design the HIS which cater to their specific needs, and therefore, office based. The decade of the 1980s made significant changes in the evolution of the HIS through the appearance of microcomputers or the personal computers which revolutionized information technology applications on a wider range of clients – from business organizations to residential users. At this phase, HIS saw the expansion and integration of the financial (administrative) and clinical applications. Further, there is a distributed data processing system and an introduction of a billing system for physicians. Finally, before the 2nd millennium, the emergence of new media technologies such as the cable, satellite and the Internet has a tremendous impact on the traditional forms of mass media creating a profound impact on HIS. The changes in the health care environment during those times (HIPAA regulations of Clinton, managed cares and integrated delivery systems, adoption of computer based patient record (CPR)) contributed to distinct and drastic changes in the HIS. More and more health organizations used the Internet to access health information of clients and providers. Other applications from this interface become increasingly popular: email, telemedicine, and telehealth, among others. Current Usage The focus of health care organizations in contemporary times is on patient safety and minimizing medication errors. As such, despite the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) call for the wide scale adoption of CPR and electronic medical records (EMR), health care organizations are still cautious in their implementation. The focus of HIS is on clinical applications more than administrative applications since health care organizations have designed specialized and structured data systems to facilitate processing of financial and administrative transactions. However, due to the increasing costs of health care services, the need to focus of EMR is seen as a means to eventually revolutionize the cost of delivery of health care over a wider clientele base. The concerns on implementation of the EMR stems from lack of resources and technical knowledge as physicians perceive them to be a more complex system than the traditional paper based one. (Terry, 2010, par. 2) However, due to the collaborative efforts of various health organizations and the standardization of policies and procedures regarding its wide range implementation, the EMR and EHR remains to be continuously and currently undertaken. Future Usage Electronic technologies emerged as the best alternative providing low cost, easily accessible and available information for health care providers nationwide and worldwide. Health care organizations used this media to promote their services to a wider clientele. With global users expanding their awareness and knowledge of applications in the Internet, patients and health care providers use hospital information systems to access relevant records and data from a distance. To date, new releases on the application of electronic health records have not been fully implemented due to speculations that this strategy would ultimately increase health care costs. According to Haig (2009), “there will be a cost for computerizing patient records that could prove greater than the billions that would be spent setting it up. EMR is being pushed hardest by those who would profit financially from it — not just technology companies but also large hospitals and medical practices hoping to improve billing and control internal costs.” (pars. 2 & 3) Likewise, with technological developments continuing to affect global organizations, the emergence of wireless technology contribute to further innovations like the personal digital assistants (PDAs) used by physicians for scheduling, downloading information on drug and medical programs, to name a few. In addition, voice recognition and bar coding are beginning to be used by providers in data entry, patient identification, and facilitating the delivery of health services to patients. Conclusion In addressing the concerns emerging on health information systems, the most critical factor to consider is the organization’s awareness of the changing health environment and the status of information technology. Health care organizations must continue to identify the threats, issues, developments, and applications that encompass the latest developments in telecommunications and security in health care. The influence of the Internet and other electronic sources such as email, telemedicine and electronic transfer has greatly changed the traditional methods of health care delivery. The contemporary trends in health care are continuously evolving and growing, and will continue to impact health care five years from now. Although distance delivery may have its drawbacks, as identified by physicians and practitioners, different concerns would eventually be addressed in the near future. Health care practitioners can only be vigilant in assessing which trends would ultimately benefit the patients they care for. References Environmental Treatment Systems, Inc. (2010). Turnkey Systems. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from < http://www.etsenvironmental.com/turnkey.htm> General and Institutional Framework for Development of Healthcare Information Systems. (n.d.) Evolution and Current Challenges for Healthcare Information Systems. Retrieved 04 March 2010. Haig, S. (2009). Wrong Prescription. Time Magazine March 26, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2010, from OpenClinical. (2009). Electronic Medical Records. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from < http://www.openclinical.org/emr.html#refs> Terry, K. (2010). Why Doctors Still Dont Use Electronic Medical Records, Part XXI: Terrible Tech Support. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from Wager, K.A., Lee, F.W. & Glaser, J.P. (n.d.) Managing Health Care Information Systems: A Practical Approach for Health Care Executives. Jossey-Bass. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from < http://www.sph.ukma.kiev.ua/images/Managing_Health_Care_Information.pdf> Read More