Impact of information technology on a career - Essay Example

?Impact of Information Technology on a Career Table of Contents Introduction 3 Thesis ment 3 Application of IT in Current Health Facilities 4 Significance of IT to Health Services and Health Workers 6 New Frontiers That Have Resulted From IT Application 10 Implication of IT Application to Health Facility and Health Workers 14 Future of IT Enhanced Medical Care 17 Conclusion 19 Works Cited 20 Introduction Information Technology (IT) has the capability to develop the excellence, safety and competency of healthcare. Healthcare has grown progressively from the time when people began to perform conscious activities for preserving health and treating illnesses. The traditional methods based on illogical principles or personal experience of doctors had been replaced by evidence oriented medical practices in the 20th century. At the same time, fundamental changes in lifestyle of people and nutrition have reflective an impact on the life length and quality of daily life. The expenses for healthcare are significant portion of domestic yields in developed nations. Increased life duration has provided much importance on preserving high quality healthcare services. Presently, the sophisticated medical technology has added to the increasing tendencies in healthcare expenditures of people. The progression in telecommunication and computer science has resulted in indispensable alteration in healthcare professions. IT has generated great prospects regarding increased cost-effectiveness and quality of services in healthcare. IT opens the door for assuring appropriate healthcare quality which can be acquired within reasonable price (Duplaga, “The Impact of Information Technology on Quality of Healthcare Services”). Thesis Statement In present days, enhanced healthcare services are a key concern for any person. The information about patient and security & competency in the procedure of healthcare is believed to be important aspects for people as they prefer those healthcare organizations which provide quality services. Thus, technological advancements have become a prerequisite for providing good healthcare services. IT in healthcare profession helps to improve the procedures such as patient identification, records management, prescription creation, pathology workroom administration, appointment planning, clinical case examination among other tasks. The paper attempts to recognize the impact of IT on healthcare profession and services. The objective of the paper is to understand the application of IT in several health facilities, know the significance of IT in providing better health services, recognize the implication of IT in healthcare facilities and realize the future of IT for enhancement of healthcare. Application of IT in Current Health Facilities Healthcare is always regarded as information based activity. From the perspective of business, healthcare professionals generally undertake two types of activities. The first one is medical procedures which are used for supporting patient analysis, treatment and disease prevention and the second one is procurement, communication and management of data. Thus, it is quite reasonable to assume that the changes in availability and ubiquity of information through IT have excessively large impact on healthcare professions. From the perspective of healthcare, information are those key facts and notes which are learnt through certain procedures such as analysis of statistical value of blood pressure or measurement of heartbeat. The information in healthcare helps to inform the consequence of certain examinations or activities such as analysis of hypertension or calculation of diabetes. Consecutively, information can be scientifically structured and examined to generate knowledge, which is the amassed understanding of real world matters and thoughts. In this context, it can be said that knowledge is the basis on which healthcare professionals develop their decisions regarding patients by comparing person based information. In healthcare industry, better management of information helps to generate true knowledge and precise decision about heath and diseases (Masys, “Effects of Current and Future Information Technologies on the Health Care Workforce”). It can be perceived that in the 19th century, the use of IT such as e-mail and computers for managing the medical records was limited in healthcare facilities. However, in the 21st century, healthcare facilities have realized the significance of using IT in the medical practices. Majority of healthcare organizations in the present century that have above 100 beds or that are situated in developed nations have computerized information system (Lun, “The Role of Information technology in Healthcare Cost Management”). In the year 2010, IT accounted for US$99.6 billion in healthcare segment globally and it is expected that the value of IT in healthcare sector will increase to US$162.2 billion by 2015 (MarketsandMarkets, “World Healthcare IT Market: Trends & Forecast”). According to Burke, over 80% of healthcare organizations around the globe depend on IT in order to undertake their regular operations (Burke and Weill 56). In general, IT lets healthcare professionals to gather, store, recover and share information through electronic means. Today, healthcare institutions use numerous IT applications in the business processes. IT provides solution to all divisions in healthcare. Currently, IT is applied in managerial activities. For instance, ‘Computerized Provider Order Entry’ (CPOE) is used for reducing the manual paper based writing and human related faults by healthcare professionals. CPOE system puts ordering information into the computer and can be used for medicine prescription or other preparations such as creation of cardio graphic images. Similarly, ‘Electronic Health Records’ (EHR) is also used in healthcare for storing records of patients and creating decisions or supporting utilities such as personalized reminders of patients and other significant indications (Medpac, “Information Technology in Health Care”). The following table depicts the different IT applications which are used in healthcare professions: Tasks IT Applications Financial Management Tasks Billing, accounting, registering, payroll, resource management Managerial Tasks Order entry for medicines, pathological examinations, heath records, picture archiving, imaging, prescription fulfillment, error alert, electronic monitoring Source: (Medpac, “Information Technology in Health Care”) IT is still in basic stages in healthcare sector, as it is only used for managerial purposes such as billing, scheduling, communication, imaging, and records management among other tasks. In order to embrace the digital technology at a considerable rate, IT applications must be incorporated in vital clinical fields as well. It has been observed that optimum benefits can only be realized from complete integration of IT in healthcare segment (Ball, Weaver and Kiel 106). Significance of IT to Health Services and Health Workers IT provides potential to enhance the health services and performances of health workers. Generally, research and education has always been the basis of providing quality health services. The quality of health services is determined by the constant procedures of examination, incorporation and propagation of consequences of medical research. Advances in IT (such as networking, database management, and computer oriented systems for gathering, investigating and imagining the information initiating from individuals and people) provide exceptional prospects for improving the quality of medical services. In turn, IT can improve the effectiveness of medical services with which new knowledge can be produced, studied and incorporated into the healthcare education and provision (National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development, “Transforming Healthcare through Information Technology”). Progresses in IT can deliver the foundation for important improvements in healthcare delivery, such as, cost effective nursing and supplement services to the patients, optimum targeting of particular segments for special education and broadcasting about healthcare and delivering early treatment where needed. IT can also assist in delivering better reaction loops for linking healthcare workers, legislators and patients with medical research and consultations regarding medical decisions. Only IT can easily collect information from numerous records and make them accessible for analysis (National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development, “Transforming Healthcare through Information Technology”). The healthcare services involve major issues in creation of information. In recent times, it is quite apparent that the growth of IT has changed the rule of healthcare by managing, analyzing information in better ways. By using high end calculation for the multifaceted medical issues, IT can help to develop precise ways to locate defects in health where traditional investigations might be immoral, unsafe or simply impossible to address defects. Use of IT for huge medical databases can lead to significant new visions for understanding the connection between disease growth and changing response to rehabilitation. IT offers the basis for recognizing the procedures of healthcare (National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development, “Transforming Healthcare through Information Technology”). The delivery of superior healthcare services necessitates healthcare workers, having access to comprehensive information and decision support equipment. IT is mainly a workflow solution which helps healthcare workers to assimilate and to combine information concerning patients across several divisions. Integration and combination of information help decision makers to reduce the time and the faults in medical reporting. Nowadays, in large healthcare systems, IT plays a vital part in managing regular information about patients concerning admission, direction and release. A strong IT platform can undoubtedly renovate the way healthcare workers conduct day-to-day activities. IT makes available concurrent information and scheduling at every level which is beneficial for short and long-term observation of patients. Capable IT system delivers possibilities of data quarrying and dashboards for offering rapid reaction to regular healthcare issues (Fichman, Kohli and Krishnan, “The Role of Information Systems in Healthcare: Current Research and Future Trends”). Enhanced healthcare can influence the quality of life of the people and how they function in the society. Any fault in healthcare can have serious consequences which can impact on the capability to undertake social and productive activities. Clinical mistakes, observed to be one of the foremost reasons of negative events and other illnesses, can enhance the duration of stay in the hospital and cause additional expenses. There can be two kinds of faults in healthcare, one is technical faults and the other one is informational faults. The role of IT in administering healthcare service quality is most effective when it is encouraging compliance with informational procedures and other day-to-day activities. IT can facilitate better healthcare by underlining and observing faults at several phases in the continuum of care. When potential healthcare risks spread to bigger populace, the demand for proper information increases. In such cases, IT plays an essential part for providing better healthcare services at both patient level as well as population level. Thus, IT has become prerequisite for health workers in order to ensure safety of patients (Fichman, Kohli and Krishnan, “The Role of Information Systems in Healthcare: Current Research and Future Trends”). Today, the internet has provided patients with exceptional information and enables communication between patients and doctors. IT has powered societal fashion which will continue to have an impact on the activities of healthcare workers. IT has brought better access to information and ensures interactive communication on an exceptional scale internationally. However, it can be observed that in healthcare, several clinical decisions are not dependent on scientific indications. The reason is that at times indications from well conducted and randomized trials are difficult to access. Yet, even when appropriate indications are accessible, there is strong discord about the consequences of intervention. Often wrong utilization of the intervention can lead to suboptimal healthcare services (Ortiz and Clancy, “Use of Information Technology to Improve the Quality of Health Care in the United States”). Several researches recommend that it takes almost 17 years for research indications to be assimilated into typical healthcare practices. The use of IT can assist in overcoming the gap in between information management and IT application through numerous tools in order to improve the interpretation, implementation and diffusion of significant clinical research outcomes in medical practices. Technology has already empowered development of education which inspires expert health checking and decision making by providing patients’ access to disease oriented facts. Satisfying the present as well as future consumers require concrete IT expertise which can be acquired through appropriate training and experience in this field (Ortiz and Clancy, “Use of Information Technology to Improve the Quality of Health Care in the United States”). In comparison with other industries, healthcare sector has stayed behind in exploiting the capabilities of IT in full potential for developing the services, knowledge and effectiveness. Given the complexity of modern healthcare sector, it is expected that IT will play a pivotal part in enhancing the quality of healthcare services. Thus, health facilities must acquire current technology at a complete extent in order to stay relevant in the industry. New Frontiers That Have Resulted From IT Application The quality of healthcare depends on sharing right information to the doctors, nurses, patients and relatives at the appropriate time so that they can make correct decisions. IT provides a tool to store, assimilate and update information database regarding healthcare. Apart from improving the healthcare in individual level, IT also has the possibility to address the medical issues offered by the healthcare delivery system. The digitized health records have the possibility to make health data accessible to the healthcare professionals when they require them most. At present, safety in healthcare necessitates certain degree of individualization which is becoming impossible to accomplish without the help of IT. For instance, IT can instantly recognize interfaces among patients’ drugs requirements. Even today, above 600 drugs necessitate amendment of dosages for numerous levels of health dysfunctions, which can poorly be accomplished by human prescribers without assistance of IT. The computer oriented system can enhance the performance of healthcare professionals and in certain cases the consequences of patients (Bates and Gawande, “Improving Safety with Information Technology”). In historical periods, the impairment that generally resulted from faulty medical care has received augmented inspection. The increasing sophistication of computers and applications allows IT to play a significant role in minimizing the risk by rationalizing healthcare, detecting and rectifying medical faults and supporting in taking decisions. According to Marion and Joan, IT has several applications which can support the health workers and healthcare professionals (Ball, Weaver and Kiel 106). A few of the ways, IT can benefit the health workers and healthcare professionals in new frontiers are described below: Improvement in Communication: IT can improve the communication between patients and healthcare professionals. Need for better communication is a common aspect which contributes to the occurrence of harmful impacts in healthcare. IT applications such as computerized coverage system and digital medical information can develop the exchange of information, especially create a link between several applications and common medical database, because faults in healthcare mainly result from insufficient access of information. The application of computerized coverage applications in healthcare facilities can eliminate the communication gaps and also the risk of medical faults (Bates and Gawande, “Improving Safety with Information Technology”). Better Access to Information: The other significant benefit of IT in the new frontier is better access to patients’ information. An extensive range of applications are widely available for computers which can provide information on medicines and management of contagious diseases (Bates and Gawande, “Improving Safety with Information Technology”). Support in Calculations: IT applications also support in calculations. For instance, prescriptions developed by computerized system can be readable and comprehensive. IT applications require constraints on healthcare professionals’ choices about the dosage or way of calculation of a potentially dangerous medicine. Certainly, the functions of IT applications have found to be one of the key ways which can minimize the rate of faults in calculations of medical tasks. For example, ‘Bar Coded Patient Identification System’ which is designed for preventing accidents, is useful for healthcare professionals as it limits the probability of omissions and mistakes in calculations of dosages or other clinical aspects. Thus, use of IT can decrease the frequency of human related faults and can be applied in healthcare facilities on demand (Bates and Gawande, “Improving Safety with Information Technology”). Better Monitoring: Monitoring is a significant task in healthcare which is quite difficult for humans to conduct due to its boring nature. Furthermore, as huge amount of data are collected through monitoring, at times it becomes quite difficult for humans to detect the disease. However, if the monitoring of patients is computerized, IT applications can conduct this activity by searching for associations between medication and heath progresses, tendencies in healing and can highlight vital health indications appropriately. In this way, IT applications can permit healthcare workers to interfere before a negative consequence occurs to the patients. For instance, ‘ECG monitoring’ assists in continuous observation for vital signs in health. The monitoring process generates huge amount of information and highlights indications which advise any harmful incidence for patients. With huge amount of data, these indications are often challenging for humans to detect effectively. Thus, monitoring can become attractive for healthcare professionals by the use of IT applications (Bates and Gawande, “Improving Safety with Information Technology”). Improved Decision Support: IT can assist in supporting decisions by simplifying the flow of information. IT applications such as computerized algorithms can provide longer benefits to the healthcare professionals, permitting several aspects to be considered for forecasting a particular consequence. IT application tools have been developed for minimizing investigative and treatment faults in various medical sceneries, such as evaluation of pains, psychiatric emergencies and analysis of radiologic pictures and tissue samples. IT can be effectual in healthcare as it ensures accuracy in medical information regarding several diseases. Thus, it helps in making appropriate decisions. More widespread use of digital medical data in healthcare organizations results in expanded role of IT applications and makes it easier for healthcare professionals to incorporate them into routine tasks (Bates and Gawande, “Improving Safety with Information Technology”). Better Tracking: IT tools can also be used for recognizing and tracking the regularity of negative occurrences and identifying any gaps in safety related issues. In order to develop the healthcare services, there is a need for classifying the consequences of certain events. Electronic databases can help to perceive the indications which advise healthcare professionals about the presence of negative occurrences in hospitalized patients. The ‘spontaneous reporting’ is widely used in medical care in recent days which allows exposure of any infections and opposing medication occasions for patients which cannot be detected by only routine observation. IT tools are designed to support comprehensive selection of adverse occurrences in variety of clinical situations (Bates and Gawande, “Improving Safety with Information Technology”). Thus, it can be stated that in current frontiers, IT tools can enhance the medical services by improving communication, sharing accurate medical information and making knowledge more accessible. IT can effectively collect, collate and represent data from several sources rapidly for satisfying the informational requirements. The usage of IT can save time for looking into huge information and to associate them in an inclusive manner. Knowledge management through the use of IT is verified as a dominant supporter in the attempt to reduce medical faults. The objective of IT in healthcare sector is to deliver accurate information, to the right person, in the correct format, over right medium and at the right time in the workflow for improving the services and performances of healthcare professionals (Abbott and Taylor, “The Role of Health Information Technology in Improving Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety”). Implication of IT Application to Health Facility and Health Workers There are several implications of IT applications to the health facilities and health workers. Despite substantial benefits of IT applications for improving the quality of healthcare and patient safety, the growth, testing and acceptance of IT in healthcare sector is quite limited. The reason is that there are numerous obstructions in implementation of IT in healthcare facilities. Financial Obstructions: The most significant obstruction of IT in healthcare segment is financial limitations. IT requires additional expenses for acquisition of facilities and training of employees. The improvement of healthcare applications has mostly been commercially sponsored and the focus of those applications is more on to developing the back office works associated with medical practices rather than on those which can improve medical performances itself. For healthcare professionals and organizations which attempt to adopt IT applications, the investment costs can be quite high. The quality of decision support which arrives with the applications rests highly variable in healthcare. Investments in IT need to strive with other priorities comprising direct application to medical care and better certainty for increased revenue. The availability for fund for investment in IT relies on the capability to access finance which can be harder for certain healthcare organizations. The cost of application and maintenance of IT differ by the size of organization as well as the utilities to be installed. A complete IT system comprises almost ten million Dollars excluding the cost of training which can be beyond the financial power of medical organizations. Besides, new applications should be incorporated with existing system which makes the implementation difficult and can enhance the expenses (Medpac, “Information Technology in Health Care”). Lack of Standard: Healthcare segment lacks overall acceptance of industry standards which are frequently mentioned as a substantial obstacle to the extensive use of IT in this field. Without industry wide standards, IT’s capability to accelerate operations by eliminating human involvement is difficult. The healthcare segment is unsuccessful to be systematized as a consolidated industry group in order to encourage the use of information standard. It is a vital reason due to which healthcare segment is slow to capitalize in evolving ITs. Besides, the prompt appearance of internet as a channel permits several communication procedures and interfaces which necessitates establishment of one standard electronic communication system which can be used in healthcare segment. In healthcare sector, there is a requirement for developing criteria for security, digital signatures, and communication of detailed monetary and managerial information (Bates and Gawande, “Improving Safety with Information Technology”). Social Obstructions: Along with the financial and technological challenges, there exist several social obstructions for IT implementation. Advanced IT obliges healthcare professionals to develop minimum level of computer ability. Concurrently, the adoption of IT requests patients to accept fundamental variations in the method of health information which is preserved and stored. Extensive acceptance of IT requires privacy and safety of information. Protecting the interests of patients obligates that information to be secured from undesirable loss, change and distribution. The implementation of IT in the healthcare facilities can significantly transform the organizational culture. It requires healthcare professionals and workers to move beyond a work culture which is free from paper based works and supports continuous information flow. Thus, in order to be successful in IT implementation, the healthcare professionals and workers must be influenced about how IT implementation can immensely develop the productivity, expediency and quality of health services. The IT applications must be user friendly and capable of delivering requisite information quickly and accurately (World Information Technology and Services Alliances, “Health Care and Information and Communications Technologies: Challenges and Opportunities”). Political and Legal Limitations: The use of IT is also restricted by several political and legal restrictions. Governments in different nations maintain abundant liabilities over the parameters of healthcare providers which prevent IT implementation in certain areas of healthcare segment (World Information Technology and Services Alliances, “Health Care and Information and Communications Technologies: Challenges and Opportunities”). Trained Workers: The other constraint of IT in healthcare is availability of trained workers in order to operate computerized systems. Without trained workers, implementation of IT will be incapable to deliver proper services. Health workers require constant training in order to stay relevant in their technology dependent profession. Regardless of substantial attention to the impact of IT in healthcare profession, it is still unknown about the definite role of IT in healthcare background. The significance of IT to healthcare organizations is unknown due to diversity of available information technology. Although several studies have exhibited the benefits that IT can provide to the healthcare professionals, the broader value remains anonymous due to involvement of several social and cultural aspects (Parente and McCullough, “Health Information Technology and Patient Safety: Evidence from Panel Data”). Future of IT Enhanced Medical Care The present healthcare system confronts with several significant challenges with respect to expenses, accessibility, social and legal restrictions among other factors. The healthcare system is much resistant towards change, due to lack of understanding about IT’s impact on the medical services. The solutions to the implications of IT cannot work unless there is a settlement among stakeholders. The future of IT relies on conclusive researches, involving opinions of every stakeholder. In future, IT will support a consumer oriented healthcare system directing at health advancement and better illness anticipation. With enhanced IT system, consumers will be capable of making healthcare decisions effectively. IT oriented healthcare system will flawlessly link different healthcare facilities with common operations and standards (Ottawa, “Vision 2020 Workshop on Information and Communications Technologies in Health Care from the Perspective of the Nursing Profession”). In order to provide superior, safe and effective care, healthcare professionals should have appropriate information. The future healthcare system will provide access to elementary healthcare services to every person. The electronic information will probably become a fundamental element for future IT in healthcare. It will play a vital part in minimizing the expenses as well as developing the quality of services and patient safety. IT ensures better sharing of analytical information with image and enhanced communication system to store and to access data of patients easily. Enhanced information management in healthcare will result in a low degree of clinical faults such as directing wrong drugs or incorrect doses. IT can lead to accurate information which will result in timely decision and fast medical services. The implementation of IT in healthcare will provide patients with more alternatives about receiving treatments. It is extensively acknowledged that patient based healthcare will gain higher importance in healthcare delivery. As patients have access to relevant and inclusive medicinal information, the association between healthcare professional and patients will progressively encompass the choices, costs and advantages. The increased expectations of patients in future will require increased integration of IT in every possible area of healthcare (The Royal Society, “Digital Healthcare: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Health and Healthcare”). The new arrangement of healthcare calls for collecting and sharing health information electronically. As healthcare organizations grow, the importance of digital information and reduction of expenses on documents will increase. IT will help to minimize the transaction expenses by automating internal communications. In order to derive comprehensive advantages of healthcare, it requires a culture where everyone is involved. Therefore, improvement in IT for better healthcare services requires training and constant professional development. Advances in IT will continue to be used by patients and healthcare professionals in future at local as well as national levels (The Royal Society, “Digital Healthcare: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Health and Healthcare”). Conclusion IT is renovating the method of delivery of healthcare. Advances such as computer oriented database system and decision support system have developed new ways for providing health services to the patients. Yet, IT is often found to be insulated in several areas of healthcare. There are several obstructions for the implementation of IT in healthcare services. In healthcare segment, IT is used mainly for managerial purposes rather than clinical functions. In future, it is expected that IT will significantly be used in broader areas of healthcare with constant involvement of stakeholders. IT has already changed the functions of healthcare professionals from paper based information management to more digital management of records which is quite easy to handle. The improvement of healthcare services with the incorporation of IT lies within providing right information, at the accurate time and in a right format. IT has high prospective to provide better healthcare services by either improving the present procedures of healthcare operations or by creating new abilities. Works Cited Abbott, Patricia and Laura A. Taylor. The Role of Health Information Technology in Improving Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety. Hospital Engineering and Facilities Management, 2007. Web. 16 Jul. 2012. Burke, Lillian and Barbara Weill. Information Technology for the Health Professions. New York: Pearson, 2012. Print. Ball, Marion J., Charlotte Weaver and Joan Kiel. Healthcare Information Management Systems: Cases, Strategies, and Solutions. New York: Springer, 2010. Print. Bates, David W. and Atul A. Gawande. “Improving Safety with Information Technology”. The New England Journal of Medicine 348 (2003): 2526-2534. Print. Duplaga, Mariusz. “The Impact of Information Technology on Quality of Healthcare Services”. Computer Science 3039 (2004): 1118-1125. Print. Fichman, Robert G., Rajiv Kohli and Ranjani Krishnan. “The Role of Information Systems in Healthcare: Current Research and Future Trends”. Information Systems Research 22.3 (2011): 419-428. Print. Lun, K. C. “The Role of Information technology in Healthcare Cost Management”. Singapore Medical Journal 36 (1995): 32-34. Print. Masys, Daniel, R. “Effects of Current and Future Information Technologies on the Health Care Workforce”. Health Affairs 21.5 (2002): 33-41. Print. MarketsandMarkets. World Healthcare IT Market: Trends & Forecast, 2010. Web. 16 Jul. 2012. Medpac. Information Technology in Health Care, 2004. Web. 16 Jul. 2012. National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development. Transforming Healthcare through Information Technology, Feb. 2011. Web. 16 Jul. 2012. Ottawa, Ontario. Vision 2020 Workshop on Information and Communications Technologies in Health Care from the Perspective of the Nursing Profession. Canadian Nurses Association, 21 Mar. 2000. Web. 16 Jul. 2012. Ortiz, Eduardo and Carolyn M. Clancy. “Use of Information Technology to Improve the Quality of Health Care in the United States”. Health Services Research 38.2 (2003): 11-22. Print. Parente, Stephen T., and Jeffrey S. McCullough. “Health Information Technology and Patient Safety: Evidence from Panel Data”. Health Affairs 28.2 (2009): 357-360. Print. The Royal Society. Digital Healthcare: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Health and Healthcare, 2006. Web. 16 Jul. 2012. World Information Technology and Services Alliances. Health Care and Information and Communications Technologies: Challenges and Opportunities, Jun. 2006. Web. 16 Jul. 2012. Read More