Hospital Health Information Systems: Are Failures Problems of the Past - Coursework Example

Hospital Health Information Systems: Are failures problems of the past? By s Salient factsabout the Case study The article argues that the present growths in the information system in the healthcare in several countries globally, are excellent initiatives that are divergent with the slow and small-scale adoptions of information technology solutions (Lane, Snaith& Lane, 2007). It supports the National Programme for information technology, which is a significant e-health initiative that can improve the provision of health care. These efforts include e-appointments, e-client medical record, e-prescriptions, as well as a central spine set up that enables a client’s EPR to be evaluated in case the client is remote from his or her home region. The article also maintains that it is disturbing that several complex ICT plans experience some degrees of failure (Lane, Snaith& Lane, 2007). For instance, these projects fail to deliver to time schedules, cost targets, and to the expectations of the consumers in many countries. In addition, the article states that little difference exists in the performance of the private and the public sector regarding development in ICT projects. In fact, the projects for the public sectors have extra problems such as high discernment in the media and large scale and complex politically controlled timescales. The article also warns that ICT health care projects require a lot of financial resources if possibilities of failure are to be minimized (Lane, Snaith& Lane, 2007). As a result, practitioners should use the available numerous management guidelines to reduce the effects resulting from failure. According to the article, NPfIT project has proved to be comparatively prosperous as a result of its triangle of dependencies (Lane, Snaith& Lane, 2007). However, it is also stated that it is still difficult to gauge the level of success of this project about the e-health initiative. On the same note, however, there have already been bad and good signs. This implies that the e-health initiative can be viewed both as a failure and a success. Its success is the ability to bring e-based health activities in line with the services in other sectors of business. Additionally, it has shown the advantage of severe contracts that are result oriented and demonstrated that they can be useful in the public sector (Lane, Snaith& Lane, 2007).The article outlines e-health structure of information system that would help curb the concerns of cost, time, and problems associated with the management of change. Reasons why information systems are so important for organizations like the NHS today Public health organizations such as National Health Service need well-planned information systems to make maximum use of the growing supply of data related to health (Williams, Nicholas & Huntington, 2003). Such organizations depend on these systems to influence managerial decision making as well as to improve operations in sectors such as health outcomes evaluation, performance measurement, epidemiologic surveillance, clinic and program administration, policy analysis, and public health planning. The most important design considerations when designing information system are population and service based application objectives, data sources, information confidentiality protections, units of analysis, methods of data linkage, strategies of technology selection, and integration (Ash, Berg &Coiera, 2004). An increasing collection of resources and models presently exists for creating effective information systems that are useful to health organizations. The information system has risen as a fundamental tool in the health sector. In the modern world, information systems give real-time data to direct health decisions (Reason, Carthey & De Leval, 2001).The increase in the importance of information system in health care organizations is attributed to three major reasons. These include the expanding scope of data available from several private and public sources, advancement in information technology, and the increasing recognition of the influence of information in decision-making for healthcare organizations. Administrative data from private and public healthcare providers and insurers have an antiquity of healthcare use. Government surveys give a unique level of comprehensive information on medical care use, health status, nutrition, health behaviours, functional status, and socio-demographics (Newell et al., 2003). Information systems in National Health Service support a wide range of health system objectives. These include: Risk factor surveillance and epidemiologic disease surveillance Medical and health outcome evaluation Clinic and facility administration Program evaluation and planning Demand estimation and utilization analysis Health policy analysis Dissemination of health information Information systems are used to keep and make existing service data which reflects activities that are carried out by health organizations, as well as other related units (Chiasson et al. 2007). Also, information systems store and develop population-based data which is necessary for surveillance, policy making, priority setting, and program evaluation. These two applications interact extensively. For instance, regularly collected service data generally include the outcomes of blood lead screening of youngsters below the age of five, immunization status, as well as encounter data that records the results of client visits for sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis. Information systems also help in other routinely gathered service data like records of particular clients, and other intervention programs (Carter, Garside & Black, 2003). These service data are significant for the effective overall management of client care by health care providers. Additionally, these data show individual transactions and hence can be used to observe and supervise program performance as well as to give a description of a group of users at a particular facility. However, they do not primarily offer information about the whole population or community. There is, however, a significant practical distinction between service-based employment of health information systems and the population-based application. The later provides information about particular communities or population groups of interest (Heeks, 2006). In order to back this latter application, the information system has to integrate data from main population sources like important statistics registries or disease surveillance systems. In some cases, these systems may help in population-based information in healthcare organizations (Lucey, 2004). For instance, the national modifiable system of disease surveillance, serves as the primary source of population-wide data. It captures information about disease incidence for about fifty diseases, all of which necessitate timely and accurate information to ensure effective control and prevention. The centres for control and prevention of diseases, therefore, receive information about conditions from over fifty states. The information system is of great significance to the health agencies since it can analyze trends and also carry out comparisons of disease occurrence among communities (West, 2001). Also, the population-based system of information can be created from service level data. The recently implemented immunization registries in several local and state health agencies give a good example of this use of information system. These records are used in recording immunization status as well as vaccinations given to all children who reside within a defined geographical area. They are used to ensure that this information is not only available to the original provider but also to health plans, other providers, and schools. A number of these registries include birth certificate information for children who are born in the community. This has the effect of increasing the population denominator. Therefore, it is a sample of an information system, which gives service level detail, which is useful to individual providers, as well as their clients. Additionally, this information system provides population level statistics that are useful to health organizations for program evaluation, surveillance, and policy making. Another primary function of the information system in the healthcare organization is that it enhances reliability and validity (Hendy et al. 2007). The details of considerable number of children in the community have to be updated to ensure that population-based data is valid and reliable. Due to the success of immunization registries, an increasing number of health organizations are beginning to develop computerized systems for other purposes. For instance, some local systems can track the outcomes of blood lead screenings conducted at public health clinics. They hence offer valuable service information concerning the number of clients screened, those having higher blood lead levels, as well as those undergoing follow-up treatment or lead abatement services. Though this information relies on service data, if the system can capture information on all clients in a specific community, and then treasured population-based data can become available. The somewhat recent availability of advanced computing technology has made it possible for health organizations to gather health data rapidly and draw meaningful data about the status of the health community. Another primary function of information system in the health organizations is to develop interconnected networks, which can strengthen health operations by enhancing the ease of access to data, facilitating communication among health practitioners, and to allow secure and swift exchange of health data (Boddy, Boonstra& Kennedy, 2005). As a living example, the CDC started the information network that was to cover health officials. The CDC has also been an active supporter of struggles to develop networks that connect local health information and state health information with federal health agency health. The information system of this nature is increasingly vital for disease surveillance practices, majorly in cases of disease outbreaks that can spread nationally or regionally. In this manner, the information system can help to form and maintain operational and organizational relationships with other health organizations. The main challenge, however, is to integrate the data sources and create networks that make this information fully available to health organizations at every level of government and relevant entities in other sectors. New computing architectures, which are service oriented, are anticipated to create these types of information systems that are networked (Boddy, Boonstra& Kennedy, 2005). The contemporary push to have a scrutiny capability that is supported by a national network of a healthcare organization is driven by concerns about emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorism. This has resulted in considerable investments among the CDCs who strive to construct linked systems of information. The main practical goal that is anticipated for health information systems in health organizations is integrating the several data sources that are available for health purposes. Other goals include using health care delivery data systems to give health information concerning preventable diseases, preventive services, and quality of care. The strategic, tactical and operational decisions that might be/have been taken and how the information systems outlined in the case study support these decisions. 1. Operational decision NHS DIRECT’s plan to operate 24 hours a day is an operational decision. This arrangement makes it accessible to one national telephone number. As a result, nurses can assess the needs of the callers with the aid of decision support software. This enables the nurses to advise urgently callers who can also visit their GP and alternatively, to help themselves. All these advice helps to caution the calling patient. This decision qualifies to be an operational decision since it originates from the bottom of the organization. Operational decisions are those decisions, which are formulated by low level or frontline managers (Coiera, 2009). Also, all operational plans concentrate on the specific processes and procedures that take place at the lowest organizational levels. For operational plans, managers have to plan the daily or routine tasks of that particular department while making use of a high level of detail. 2. Strategic decision The implementation of an e-health application by the NHS Direct is a strategic decision. This application has served to meet the goals of the organization of providing quality and efficient services to its clients. As a result of the e-health application, NHS Direct has become one of the organizations that employ the proper use of ICT in their health care activities. This technology makes the work of several doctors, nurses, scientists, and administrative staff successful and easier. UK e-University is yet another plan, with an e-learning policy at its Centre. Since strategic decisions and plans are deliberated and designed bearing in mind the entire organization, the above programs qualify to be strategic decisions. Additionally, strategic plans begin with the mission of that particular organization (Irani& Love, 2008).The topmost managers like the CEOs or presidents design and implement strategic plans to give an overall picture of the anticipated future as well as long-term goals of that organization. Strategic plans focus ahead to where the organization intends to be in four, six, even ten years. Therefore, strategic plans, offered by top-level managers, act as the basis for lower-level planning. 3. Tactical Plans The New Zealand’s plan to integrate ICT in the health sector and to assist the adoption of EPRs is a tactical plan. This is because tactical plans serve to support strategic plans. They translate strategic plans into specific projects that are relevant to a distinctive area of that particular organization. Also, tactical plans focus on the responsibility as well as the functionality of the lower level departments with an aim to fulfill their parts of those strategic plans (Irani& Love, 2008). The integration of the ICT in the health sector would support the effective and efficient running of the organization. References ASH, J. 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