The Estimation on the Value of Information Systems - Dissertation Example

of Learning: THE ESTIMATION ON THE VALUE OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS Information systems and technology information have been on the fore front in ensuring quality measurement and accreditation aimed at improving healthcare quality in UK. Literature reviews on the same indicate that such systems have recorded admirable results when they are applied in situations where hospital compliance with such systems is satisfactory. Improved health care in hospitals need to be based on the entire system’s appreciation contributing to the desirable outcomes. The available literature and researches lack appropriate analysis to bring out the real value of information system applicable in the health sector. This study is aimed at proposing an integrated general information system model that can be applicable in hospitals in the UK and demonstrates the usefulness and value of the model for strategic hospital management and patient’s safety. Introduction More Hospitals in the UK have been faced with forceful regulations and pressure to better their clinical quality, speed and procedures of services, reduce costs, expand access and improve the overall clinical journey taken by patients in different hospitals. This situation has led to hospitals to invest in information systems and information technology in an effort to overcome some of these mentioned issues. In hospital environments where information systems have been introduced, there has emerged the need to evaluate the system’s implementation as related health care providers are experiencing increased care demands and higher expectations when it comes to service delivery (Goldszal and Bryan 102). Most of the studies conducted before offer insights on the information systems value in relation to investment returns, associated savings and costs, and quantitative measurements types. Concerns have been raised however regarding the adequacy of measuring payoffs produced by hospitals that have implemented information systems and information technology in as it is believed to neglect the intangible value from the involved stakeholders. Although it has been observed that information systems and technological advances have greatly been achieved over the years, there has been minimal consensus on the impact level of these introductions on patient care. Most of the studies concentrate on analytical and quantitative aspects making it hard to quantify the possible gains in a qualitative nature (Huang 250) The empirical part of this study will be conducted in selected hospitals in the UK which have been identified as being on the forefront in the use of IS/IT applications to support both non-clinical and clinical functions in the UK. A total of fifteen hospitals were identified and in-depth interviews conducted with staff and doctors from different departments in an effort to come up with a broad range of different data and views (Laet, Naudts and Vandevivere 198) Literature Review The use of information systems which have been accredited to improve the healthcare quality have led to quality measurement through incorporating quality and clinical indicators as more visible aspects of quality improvement efforts in hospitals are increasing in demand. Such systems comprise of the health administration of healthcare segment systems to ensure convenience in the health administration system. The health admiration system is very influential in determining the quality outcome as well as the way resources are utilized. There are rich literature already established on the value of information systems on the health sector but still the results of such literature are unsatisfactory. One of the main set backs of the already established literature is that they do not provide a quality correlation with the accreditation requirements even in situations where hospital compliance with reporting and accreditation requirements is acceptable. Such literatures have been observed to result in inconsistent, partial and conflicting results. This study is mainly concerned with the correlation and impact between the information systems and health care and is fragmented to specific management perspectives (Huang 252). It has strongly been argued that there exists systematic application of theories in the evaluation of quality improvement in the health sector. In this sense, theories are used to describe the models behind specific interventions on the health sector and evaluate the values associated with the information system models on healthcare. The aim of using an approach that is theoretically driven is to understand the complex intervention of these models and their impacts as the theories offer sufficient knowledge on the general systemic effects on healthcare segment especially when it comes to the utilization of health care resources on the most valued process in hospitals (Andriole 168). According to the systems theory, the quality of healthcare is a key property of the whole healthcare system and thus the improvement of health sector has to be based on a systematic appreciation of the entire system through information systems that will contribute to the desirable outcomes. Thus the aim of this paper is to apply the theoretic approach to integrate and identify the value of information systems on healthcare system at hospital level and then demonstrate the usefulness of models on strategic planning and management on healthcare system. Methodology To meet the first aim of this study, the research was carried out through combining an empirical study that had been based on literature and a theoretical based study. The study that was based on theory combines the systems theory basic concepts and a systems flow with SIPOKS (Supply Input Process Output Key Stakeholder process model to come up with an appropriate healthcare system theoretic approach. This approach is used to develop a basic and general integrated model as a framework and guideline to be used in the investigation of the impact of information systems on the quality of healthcare after which the model will be used to investigate the value of the information systems and their impacts on health sector. This empirical study was based on literature and made use of the already researched work and documentation as evidence to validate the proposed general model and its relationship with the health sector. UK experiences in clinical performance reporting on data and such data has been based on as major evidence used in the evaluation of the performances of information systems. The systems theory foundation is developed on two main concepts; hierarchy and emergence; communication and control. The first part of the theory concerns itself with a general information model that is applicable on complex healthcare systems expressed in terms of organization levels hierarchy. The quality characteristics of a complex healthcare system are an emergent property of the whole system and not a property of individual components making the system. The second part of the theory views healthcare system as a dynamic and open system thus making it a suite of subsystems that are interrelated and are kept in a dynamic state of equilibrium by feedback loops of control and information which are provided by information systems. Now that control entails the need for communication, reverse communication in the system hierarchy to controller from controlled is needed to stimulate the behavior of the system towards accepted quality. Thus the use of system theory has been used in this study to show how information systems can applied to construct a health sector hierarchy that consists of interacted systems put together with communication and control in different layers. The second part of the study involved collecting data from different hospitals in UK and analysis the value that is associated with the implementation of information systems. Raw data was obtained from the interviews conducted in selected hospitals in different location is UK through a number of in-depth interviews. The respondents were picked using a method that was both non-probabilistic and systematic so as to maximize views and insights from different interviewees. This led to varying responses which contributed to valuable views and insights on the information system impact on specific hospital operations especially communication, control and management. A total of fifteen hospitals were included in the interviews involving project management from respective hospitals, staff members, patients and different department executives (Andriole 165). The interviews were conducted using digital audio recorders with the responders being made aware of the process after which the data obtained was transcribed and the respondents given the chance to confirm their participation. In order to thoroughly analyze this acquired data that would later be based on in validating the value of information system, qualitative coding was applied. The data was then reviewed on four succeeding occasion making use of different coding techniques namely; axial, open and selective coding (Vogel 24). The first step was open coding that ensured a high-level overview of the collected data. This stage was followed by axial coding that involved a critical review of the initial codes and finding the elements that were missing. New codes were subsequently created and other code adjusted incase of arising insights. The last stage involved the selection of codes which involved systematic linking of several categories. The coding process was then followed by analysis process which consists of several steps including display, data reduction, conclusion and verification (Kaplan and Norton 67) Findings Basing on the systems theoretic approach, a general health sector model was developed with the holistic accreditation and value for offering quality healthcare and identified the health sector weakness from a system flow perspective discovered. Most of the hospitals that were identified as to have implemented different information systems in their operations were observed to perform better when it came to hospitals management, control and communication thus better. The hospital value increased with the introduction of information system in all its departments. Information systems were also observed to ameliorate the health sector weaknesses as they guided the introduction of adaptive control measures. Discussion The literature review, the system theory, data collected, analysis, results and the general framework presented by this study brings out the value and impact of information systems and offers insight into such systems complex dependency in various departments as well as other significant hospital operation aspects. Most of the qualitative data collected during the study indicate that the improvement in the hospitals that had implemented different information systems. . This report can now be used in real situations and real time now that it has a positive impact on the health sector and the radiology services perception. More interest in the value of information systems on health sector. The introduction of information systems has experienced remarkable success and growth. Such systems allow hospitals to employ different perspectives which are relevant to how success is measured basing on the hospital’s vision and strategy. Consequently, the health sector management comes up with performances measurements that have been tailored to the hospitals needs and associates them with strategic plans (Webb 78). Conclusion The quality of the health sector is an emergent property of the whole system and not a property of the individual components making up the sector. The systems theory as well as the data collected supported the research objectives offering the necessary general insight to the understanding of the value and relationship between information systems and the health sector. Information systems add great value to the health sector through both horizontal and vertical communication, management and control on hospital-level healthcare systems (Henderson and Venkatraman 9). The administration of quality healthcare depends on the value brought forth by information systems.. The qualitative point of view brings out information system implementations, offering a holistic view of the general impacts of such systems on the workforce of different hospitals putting together both the non-for profits and the clinical components of the strategies used by different hospitals in UK (Henderson and Venkatraman 7). The paper critically looks at the costs and savings associated with the information system in relation to its purpose, structure and concepts. The quantitative point of view looks at the information system processes in relation to costs savings, accuracy and speed and time saving associated with the information system. The findings of the research indicate that the use of information system has led to improved communication and has cut down on communication needs. The information system also led to improved report-turnaround-time. The study indicates that 20 months after the introduction of different information systems in several hospitals, there were slight advances in the patients waiting time as they wait for the results. There was a slight improvement of the patient’s physical throughput. 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