Enterprise Architecture in Health Care - Essay Example

Enterprise Architecture in Health Care Enterprise Architecture in Health Care Enterprise architecture (EA) is a concept that is broad and varies in definitions but to realize its significance in today’s health care environment, the various definitions should be explored. “Enterprise architecture is a well-defined practice for conducting enterprise analysis, design, planning and implementation, using a holistic approach at all times, for the successful development and execution of strategy” (The Federation of Enterprise architecture professional organizations, n.d., p 1). It is considered a tool for creating collaboration between business functions and information technology is an enterprise (Mandl et al., 2014). It examines the space between the vision and target of the enterprise in the future, and its current position and state today and creates processes, plans, activities and structures to evolve the business from the current state to its future desired state (Sajid & Ahasan, 2016). Therefore, EA serves as to inform the decision making process in businesses by knowing the structure of complex organizations, how they function and the technology behind those functions. EA can be applied in various perspectives of healthcare industry; e-health, including mobile health or m-health; telehealth, and telemedicine, among many technology-based healthcare services provision practices, are some of the perspectives of healthcare activities that can benefits from an effective EA (Bernus et al., 2015). According to Kaushik & Raman (2015), the relevance of EA in the modern healthcare practices, such as telehealth, telemedicine and e-health among others, is reflected upon how these practices needs to be incorporated effectively for the efficient achievement of organizational goals. In the contemporary society, mobile health, and other forms of e-health activities, has become common in most healthcare facilities. Marceglia et al. (2015) report that e-health has been the effective tool in a structured healthcare facility towards allowing patients to access their electronic health records. Therefore, the relevance of EA in such practices is demonstrated in the way an organization needs to conceptualize the structure and operation practices that best accommodate the adopted modern health care practice. Marceglia et al. (2015) elaborates that the effective implementation and integration of EA in the e-health allows exchange of documents in a bi-direction manner from and to the healthcare providers. The design, planning and implementation components of EA and traditional practices of guiding the structure and operations of healthcare practices overlap to assist the organization carry out its strategies by citing the changes necessary in business, processes, information and technology. Most organizations began as small and simple enterprises where one person could control everything happening in the whole enterprise, and grew to a state where no one person could run the whole organization. Architecture comes into place due to the complexity of the organization, and several foci are launched by EA to bring the changes in business, IT, governance, and security aspect among others (Boaz et al., 2009). It can therefore; alongside the traditional components of analyzing, planning and guiding the operations of an organization; guide organizations and their transformation processes in effectively carrying out their strategies. It can be seen as a planning and steering instrument used in bringing strategy to programs and projects, and is based on principles, models, views and frameworks (Mandl et al., 2014). Effective enterprise architecture approaches align interested parties around a set of activities such as integrating people, information, processes and technology that enable the business to achieve its vision. Telehealth is described as the use of information through electronic means and telecommunication technology to pursue long-distance health care, patient and professional health education, public health and health administration (Yasin, 2015). Kaushik & Raman, (2015) explains Telemedicine as the use of electronic technology to provide access to a patients’ medical information in order to work on their health status. Medical information delivered through internet channels is used for distance medical examinations or even consultations. E-health is defined as the application of internet and other related technologies in the healthcare industry to improve the access, efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of clinical and business processes utilized by healthcare organizations, practitioners, patients and consumers in an effort to improve the health status of patients (Broderick & Smaltz, 2003). These practices require a well-defined concept of analysis the healthcare in which the practices need to be installed then implementation is done upon considering a good plan that relates to a convenient structure, which call for the idea of EA. The idea of EA is integrated in healthcare to maximize the benefits associated with ICT sector of a healthcare organization. Bailey (2006) argues that it is through EA that resources are integrated, exchange of information between organizations takes place and extra ICT costs are cut-off. As earlier mentioned increasing complexity in information technology drives for EA adoption and validates the use of EA projects in organization strategy. EA seeks to model the connection between business and technology in a way in which important adjunct parts in them are revealed beneath the complexity and are used to support decisions (Kaushik & Raman, 2015). This means EA exposes beneath the complexity of telehealth, telemedicine and e-health the underlying key dependencies in each. It is these key dependencies such as in telehealth that EA focuses on and not on telehealth as a whole field. EA can be applied in healthcare as it is a tool that relates business functions and information technology. According to Sajid & Ahsan (2016) and Valdez et al. (2014), it gives procedures for making decisions in an organization; it therefore provides better decision making capabilities and assists the organization in learning IT by linking business functionalities to their IT resources. In EA software, hardware and network are given the space necessary to work together. Exploring the current state of telehealth and its future goals or strategies is vital and that’s where enterprise architecture steps in to bridge the gap. Whether enterprise architecture is relevant to telehealth, one has to explore several things. According to Yasin (2015) for information to be recorded and dispersed safely and securely a more vigorous, integrated architecture and networking hardware and software will be necessary. In its current status, telehealth and telemedicine have several limiting factors. EA will focus on each of the various components that telehealth is comprised of, obtain information about them, analyze the data, consider the future strategy and initiate processes that will read to achievement of the strategy. One shortcoming of telehealth is limited coverage. Telehealth is not accessible in most rural areas and through EA we can associate that to limited internet coverage. It is certainly the endeavor of telehealth to be more expansive and a key component hindering this is internet access. EA will thus draw one to the software and hardware used in expanding internet access in rural areas, draft the limitations and recommendations and chart the way forward in ensuring the expansiveness of telehealth to rural areas. Other challenges affecting telehealth include security of medical records of individuals which leads to people not embracing the technology behind it. Relevance of enterprise architecture in telemedicine can be seen when through EA collaboration was initiated in the US-based healthcare delivery business that lagged behind its competitors in virtual care capabilities that would provide important efficiencies to the care delivery system. EA was pulled in after 100 disconnected telemedicine experiments were made and operated concurrently leading to time and money wastage. Through EA interested parties from business and IT were brought together to consider strategy, identify their different capabilities and work together to execute the vision. The business is now heading to a consistent and cost-effective telemedicine capability. Considering the above definition of e-health, EA has a major role to play ensures that health care players keep in pace with the changes e-health is evolving to. Koop et al. (2003) suggest that to remain competitive in the changing landscape of e-health, healthcare stakeholders must understand the different opportunities and challenges raised by e-health. One challenge is the accuracy of medical information on diagnosis posted online, through EA the health care players must strategize on processes and programs of verifying this data. This can be done by proposing e-health websites for verification. To realize the benefits of EA compare two identical projects, one in which EA was employed and another where EA was not used. One can therefore draw from the above definition and discussion why enterprise architecture is indisputably relevant to telehealth, telemedicine and e-health. In conclusion, the role of EA in a healthcare organization is evident; EA allow for improved sharing of information across various stakeholders and areas of provision of healthcare services. Effective implementation and integrations requires facility- or infrastructure-based and personnel-based factors that can enhance the coordination of various business functions and information and communication aspects in a healthcare. Therefore, creation of awareness and provision of the pre-requisites for its effectiveness are some of the ideas towards its universal adoption in the telemedicine, telehealth and e-health, among others. References Bailey, I. (2006). A simple guide to enterprise architecture. Model Futures, Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj7wuPNsOnTAhUlLsAKHYxUBx0QFggmMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.modelfutures.com%2Ffile_download%2F4%2FSimpleGuideToEA.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFUn5gMZuWk6-7avjql_KtbWYfoAQ&sig2=4DjHM2Z3412Uf-EjjhiBsw Bernus, P., Noran, O. & Molina, A. (2015). Enterprise Architecture: twenty years of the GERAM Framework. Annual Review in Control, 39: 83-93. Boaz, M. Hellman, K. & Wainstein, J. (2009). An automated telemedicine system improves patient-reported well-being. Diabetes Technology Therapy, 11(3): 181-186. Kaushik, A. & Raman, A. (2015). The new data-driven architecture for e-healthcare: lessons from the Indian public sector. Government Information Quarterly, 32: 63-74. Mandl, K.D., Kohane, I.S., McFadden, D…Hripcsak, G. & Murphy, S.N. (2014). Scalable collaborative infrastructure for a learning healthcare system (SCILHS): Architecture. Journal of Medicine Information Association, 21(4): 615-620. Meg Broderick, MPA, D. H. Smaltz, Lt COL, USAF, Ph.D., CHE, CKM, FHIMSS, (2003). E-Health Defined , Proceedings of student research day, 9/05/2003. Rutrell Yasin, (2015). Telehealth and Technology; Telehealth progress requires beefed up network infrastructure. Retrieved May 2017 www.federaltimes.com/story/government/it/health/2015/01/19/telehealth-and-technology/21397583/ Sajid, M & Ahsan, K (2016). Role of enterprise architecture in healthcare organizations and knowledge-based medical diagnosis system. Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management, 13(2): 181-192. The Federation of Enterprise Architecture Professional Organizations (n.d). A common perspective on enterprise architecture. Retrieved from http://feapo.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Common-Perspectives-on-Enterprise-Architecture-v15.pdf Valdez, R.S., Holden, R.J., Novak, L.L. & Veinot, T.C. (2014). Transforming consumer health informatics through a patient work framework: connecting patients to context. Journal of American Medicine Information Association, PMC Article. von Knoop, C., Lovich, D., Silverstein, M.B. & Tutty, M. (2003). Vital Signs; E-health in the United States. Boston Consulting Group Inc. 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