Infromation Systems for Healthcare Management - Technology Role in Healthcare - Essay Example

Technological advancements continue to climb, as the new generation i.e. youth shows curiosity in grabbing and exploring these new technologies for a new and bright future prospect. The current trend is leading information technology towards an essential skill that will make itself similar to writing, reading and the new skill called as ‘computing’ (CEO's guide to health care information systems.1997). The trend is affecting all sectors including the health care. As healthcare facilities are now equipped with integrated health care information systems including application software, network and data communications, access and data management, information processing, Wide Area Network, Local Area Network and Clinical decision support systems.

Moreover, there are other network components including switches, bridges, hubs and routers. Before incorporating a network, system architecture is essential, as it will define the nature of data communication i.e. client / server architecture or mainframe architecture. The second key consideration is the legacy system sustainability and integration. For instance, there are old systems that that cannot be removed instantly instead; data can be migrated gradually to the new systems, while the old system must also be operational.

The third key consideration is the central data repository (CDR), as healthcare information systems interact with CDR to extract patient records, it will not be possible to replace the CDR completely (Clinical information systems for integrated healthcare networks). In order to integrate all the remote medical facilities, client/server architecture is the best option. The client/server architecture will incorporate a centralized interface engine connected to a central data repository. The implementation will be conducted on the nearest centralized medical facility.

The computer network installation of client/server architecture will incorporate switches, bridges, hubs and routers. However, in order to make a centralized network operational, LAN architecture installation is required for each location. The installation includes CAT 5 cables, the quantity of a network switch depends on how many users needs access to the system. Moreover, Wide Area Network (WAN) device, which will connect each location. WAN is defined by network dictionary as “A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a computer network covering multiple distance areas, which may spread across the entire world.

WANs often connect multiple smaller networks, such as local area networks (LANs) or metro area networks (MANs).” However, bandwidth requirements vary and depend on the core healthcare application. The legacy system integration in terms of organizing data is essential, as these systems do not share data with other sites. The solution for this issue is to collect the data in a portable device and store it in a central data repository (Clinical information systems for integrated healthcare networks).

In order to integrate legacy systems on the new LAN architecture, an Ethernet card and system software installation is required. However, the installation process is not time consuming. The central data repository is a centralized location on the network. In order to connect each medical facility with the CDR, network connectivity is vital. If any of the workstation disconnect, the required data cannot be achieved. As previously, employees do not face such issues due to data availability on