Investigative Analysis of a Current Health Management Issue: Health IT - Term Paper Example

Investigative Report on a Current Health Management Issue: Health IT Name: University: Course Title: Instructor: Date: Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 1.0Introduction 4 1.1 Purpose 4 1.2 Rational 4 1.3 Scope 4 2.0 Information Technology-related Issues/Concerns (Problems) in Australian Health Care Management System and What Can Be Done To Alleviate Them 5 2.1 Health Information Technology Problems 5 2.2 What Can Be Done To Alleviate Them: Building Safer Systems for Better Care 7 3.0 Australian Literature on Health Information Technology Problems 9 4.0 Conclusion and Recommendations 10 4.1 Conclusion 10 4.2 Recommendations 11 5.0 References 12 6.0 Appendices 14 6.1 Appendix 1: Health IT Socio-technical System 14 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to investigate Australian health care IT related issues and what can be done to alleviate them. In addition, this report shall also investigate whether Australian literature has addressed these health IT problems. The methodology employed in this report is a qualitative approach. This involved a wide and comprehensive research using authenticated journal sources, websites of government departments, as well as books. This report shall begin by proving a brief introduction into the subject. In the second section, this report provides an overview of health information technology (IT) in Australia. The third section of this report investigates information technology-related issues/concerns (problems) in Australian health care management system and what can be done to alleviate them. In the final section, this report shall investigate the extent to which Australian literature has addressed this health IT problems. The findings and results of this report indicate that health care IT plays a significant role in the delivery of health care services. A well executed health care IT system can significantly improve the performance of health care professionals, minimize administrative and operational costs, as well as enhance patient safety. This report concludes that advancement in ICT has significantly influenced the provision of health care services. However, it is essential to systematically address the problems associated with health care IT to ensure patient safety. This report recommends user-oriented health IT design principles; sufficient testing and quality assurance assessments; and developing, implementing, optimizing and maintaining health IT products is critical in enhancing patient safety. 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Purpose The purpose of this report is to investigate health IT related issues and what can be done to alleviate them. In addition, this report shall investigate whether Australian literature has addressed these health IT problems. 1.2 Rational Advancement in technology has significantly revolutionized health care and plays an integral role in health care services delivery. Well planned, robust and computerized health care delivery systems are associated with improved performance of health care professionals, minimized administrative and operational costs, as well as enhanced patient safety. However, patient safety is among the issues of great concern to stakeholders in the provision of health care services as poorly designed health information system can be significantly hazardous. (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011a; Gururajan, Quaddus & Xu, 2008, p.72). The Australian Health Ministers Conference endorsed and mandated the Australian Health Information Council (AHIC) and the National Health Information Group (NHIG) to spearhead the uptake of IT in the Australian health care system (Gururajan, Quaddus & Xu, 2008, p.72). The rational of these report is based on the foregoing. 1.3 Scope According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (2011b, p.1), health IT patient safety issues include dosing errors, loss of health care related data, poor human-computer interaction leading to delayed treatment, as well as inability to detect life-threatening illnesses. This scope of this report shall include information technology-related issues/concerns (problems) in Australian health care management system and what can be done to alleviate them. additionally, this report shall also investigate the extent to which Australian literature has addressed this health IT problems. 2.0 Information Technology-related Issues/Concerns (Problems) in Australian Health Care Management System and What Can Be Done To Alleviate Them 2.1 Health Information Technology Problems Shillabeer, Buss, & Rousseau (2011) note that a key shortcoming in the current Australian health IT is difficulty in complying with the requirements of a robust security frameworks. This problem is further worsened by the underlying gap between the implementation of new ICT and emerging ICT; as well as the difficulty associated with the management of the latter. other problems include: fragmentation and poor quality of health care related data; budgetary constraints; history of incompatible health data standards; irreconcilable health care systems architecture; privacy jurisdiction problems; and lack of access to proven or authenticated evaluation results. Additionally, dosing errors, loss of health care related data, poor human-computer interaction leading to delayed treatment, and inability to detect life-threatening illnesses are also problems associated with health IT (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011a; Commonwealth of Australia, 2010, p.2 to 5). According to Rodrigues (2010, p.134 and 135), health IT like electronic medical records (EMR), electronic prescribing, and electronic access to test results seek to alleviate these problems. Table 1 below summarise the various IT application in health services delivery and percentage use. Application Family practice Internal medicine Pediatrics Obstetrics and gynaecology Geriatrics, occupational medicine and others Total Electronic medical records 23.2 31.2 23.0 16.4 40.6 25.8 Electronic presribing 17.7 26.4 20.4 13.3 24.0 20.1 Decision support tools 27.6 25.7 24.0 15.6 30.8 25.1 Electronic communication 25.5 26.6 20.4 21.2 26.2 23.2 Adapted from: Rodrigues, 2010, p.135. Well planned, robust and computerized health care delivery systems enhances the performance of health care providers, minimize costs, improves communication between health care service providers and patients, and better patient safety which ultimately better health care provision for the people of Australia (Quigley, 2008, p.536). For instance, with appropriate health IT the number of patients receiving correct prescriptions and medications will rise. It is due to this need that the Department of Health and Human Services engaged the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in recommending the most appropriate ways of dealing with health IT problems/issues and making it safer for patients (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011a). Figure 1 below represents the level of confidence and experience of health professionals in the use of various IT hardware and software (applications). Figure 1: Confidence and experience of health professional in using IT software and hardware Source: Eley, n.d, p.27 2.2 What Can Be Done To Alleviate Them: Building Safer Systems for Better Care The most appropriate way to alleviate health IT concerns/problems is from a systems approach. Health IT products do not exist or rather operate in isolation. Rather, they operate in a system including people (patients, clinicians and other health care professionals), processes, organizations, as well as external environments (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011b, p.2). As such patient safety with regard to health IT arises from how these factors interact (see appendix 1). Based on the foregoing, fostering user-oriented health IT design principles; sufficient testing and quality assurance assessments; and developing, implementing, optimizing and maintaining health IT products is critical in enhancing patient safety. Promoting the sharing of safety data is another critical way through which to ensure patient safety in the use of health IT. It is crucial that the government via the various agencies encourage free exchange of health related information, issues and experiences among the various health IT stakeholders. This will significantly benefit the generation, development as well as sharing crucial details safety risks which are fundamental to properly functioning health IT system (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011b, p.2 & 3). Figure 2 below represents an health information system. Figure 2: An extended health information system Source: Lewis et al., 2011, p.7 Improving the process through which various stakeholders gather and analyzing health care related information is another crucial way through which health IT and patient safety can be enhanced (Quigley, 2008, p.536). This can be achieved via setting high the standards, measures, as well as the criteria for safe use of health related information. In so doing, health IT problems/concerns such as fragmented and poor quality of health care related data will be significantly minimized. In addition, it is essential to promote transparency and accountability as far as health IT is concerned. In order to achieve this objective, it is necessary that both users and vendors of health IT products report to health authorities any cases of unsafe conditions, serious injuries, as well as associated deaths (Hersh, 2010). This will significantly supplement patient safety risk quantification efforts by authorities. While reporting should be made mandatory for all health IT product vendors, it should be voluntary, non-punitive and confidential for users. As such, strategies should be developed to do away with contractual, perceptual, logistical and legal to such kind of reporting. It is important to note that while reporting is very crucial, it must be followed by ability to not only learn but also act on the information provided. It is only through this that solution to the need to maximize patient related safety with regard to health care IT can be achieved (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011b, p.3). 3.0 Australian Literature on Health Information Technology Problems Due to the crucial nature of health care IT in Australia there is an enormous amount of literature regarding the use as well as the challenges of health care IT in Australia. Both private and public sectors have engaged in generating information regarding health care IT. For instance a study conducted in 2001 indicated that approximately 86 per cent of health related practices in Australia were computerized (Nicholson, 2012). In addition, the survey also indicated that electronic script writing packages on issues related to health care IT were widely used in Australia. The uptake of IT especially by Australian medical practices has been promoted by the incentive fronted by the authorities through the Practice Incentive Program. While a new national health record management system was initiated to electronically store individual medical records and make them available for both doctors and pharmacists, numerous scholars and researchers have come up with enormous amount of literature as pertains health care IT in Australia. Nicholson (2012) posits that quality data and information is essential in aiding policy makers in their work. As such, the Australian government undertook various strategies including the formation of the AHIC and the institutionalization of the national health info- and infrastructure spearheaded by the NHIG. The NHIG primary mandate was to provide advice on information management and information and communication technology (IM&ICT) in health. The priority by the national government regarding the need of end users and other stakeholders of health information technology has encouraged availability of enormous amount of literature regarding the prospects and problems of health information technology in Australia. There is a specific threshold for both data and information that can be used by policy makers. As such, the literature available in Australia comprehensively addresses health information technology prospects and problems. The available literature is of high quality, valid, timely and relevant (Quigley, 2008, p.536). 4.0 Conclusion and Recommendations 4.1 Conclusion The purpose of this report was to investigate health care IT related issues and what can be done to alleviate them. In addition, this report also sought to investigate whether Australian literature has addressed these health IT problems. Advancement in ICT has significantly revolutionized the health sector in Australia. Both the private and public health sectors continue to heavily invest in health care related information technologies with the objective of improving the provision of health care services. Based on the findings of this engagement, a robust IT infrastructure which fosters learning and action is essential for achieving a robust health care IT. 4.2 Recommendations Patient safety should be at the centre of designing, developing and implementing health IT. As such, this report recommends user-oriented health IT design principles; sufficient testing and quality assurance assessments; and developing, implementing, optimizing and maintaining health IT products as critical practices in enhancing patient safety. Secondly, better health care services provision can be significantly enhanced through well planned and appropriately implemented health care IT systems. This is more so because such a system has the capacity and ability to improve performance of health care professionals, minimize administrative and operational costs, as well as enhance patient safety with regard to the chosen health care IT product. To achieve these objectives, this report recommends a systems approach as the most appropriate way to alleviate health IT concerns/problems in Australia. 5.0 References Commonwealth of Australia (2010). A National Health And Hospitals Network For Australia’s Future. Retrieved on 20 October, 2013 from: http://www.yourhealth.gov.au/internet/yourhealth/publishing.nsf/Content/nhhn-report-toc/$FILE/NHHN%20-%20Full%20report.pdf Eley, R. et al. (N.d). Nurses’ Confidence and Experience in Using Information Technology. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25(3): 23-35. Gururajan, R., Quaddus, M. & Xu, J. (2008). Clinical usefulness of handheld wireless technology in healthcare: A cross-national study of Australia and India. Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 10(1): 72-85. Hersh, W. (2010). The health information technology workforce: Estimations of demands and a framework for requirements. Applied Clinical Informatics, 1: 197-212. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (2011a). Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care. Retrieved on 20 October, 2013 from: http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Health-IT-and-Patient-Safety-Building-Safer-Systems-for-Better-Care.aspx Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (2011b). Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care. Retrieved on 20 October, 2013 from: http://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2011/Health-IT/HealthITandPatientSafetyreportbrieffinal_new.pdf Lewis, D. et al. (2011). Understanding the Role of technology in health information technology. Working Paper Series, No. 17. Retrieved on 22 October, 2013 from: http://www.uq.edu.au/hishub/docs/WP17/HISHUB-WP17-02-WEB-6Nov2012.pdf Nicholson, L. (2012). Challenges and Prospects for Electronic Health Records. Retrieved on 21 October, 2013 from: http://www.ifhima.org/docs/Challenges%20_&_Prospects_for_EHRs_FINAL_Nov_2012.pdf Quigley, M. (2008). Encyclopedia of Information Ethics and Security. Hershey: Idea Group Inc. Rodriques, J. (2010). Health Information Systems: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications. Hershey: Medical Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global). Shillabeer, A., Buss, T. F. & Rousseau, D. M. (2011). Evidence-Based Public Management: Practices, Issues, and Prospects. New York: M.E. Sharp, Inc. 6.0 Appendices 6.1 Appendix 1: Health IT Socio-technical System Figure 1 below is a generic system representing how various factors in the health IT environment interact to bring about patient safety with regard to the use of health care IT. The various factors within which health IT products operate include people (patients, doctors, clinicians and other health care professionals), organization (health care providers like hospitals be they public or private and health IT vendors among others), process, technology (both software and hardware), and finally the external environment. Figure 3: Health IT Socio-technical system Source: Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2011, p.2 Read More