Management of Information Systems - Research Paper Example

Management of Information Systems Abstract Today’s modern world is proud to be blessed with technology based information systems which have made life easier. Management of Information Systems deals with systems that tend to store and manager important data so that retrieval of data for decision-making purposes is simplified. In this paper, first of all a brief introduction is given as to what a Management Information System is. Then, a specific topic related to MIS field, Electronic Health Record, is discussed comprehensively. An introduction is given to this new concept and its components have been discussed, to give the reader a better idea as to how an electronic record works and is managed. Some laws regarding data privacy in this regard have been taken into account. The report ends with a concluding paragraph that summarizes the topic. APA referencing has been used where appropriate. Introduction Before getting into the niceties of the selected topic under management of information systems, let’s first give a brief introduction to Management Information System (MIS). An MIS is a combination of hardware and software tools to manage and process information (Schauland). MIS remains behind the curtains in organizations and the consumers barely have an idea how their information is being stored, protected, processed, updated and managed. MIS provides management the ease of gathering, storing, updating and sharing critical business information so that the process of decision making is made easy. One such software, which is going to be described shortly, is used in the e-Health sector since the advent of modern technology. E-Health is the health care practice which is carried out by making use of information technology and electronic procedures. E-Health solutions include the systems and softwares based on ICT for the use of physicians, medical authorities and patients to share and exchange medical information (Gibbons, 2008). E-Health provides services which let the doctors have an access to their patients’ data by maintaining their records and information about their diseases in databases and other e-Health tools, rather than using paper documents. They can assess the data, prepare prescriptions to be sent to the pharmacies via communication technology, get instant and accurate results from the laboratories directly, communicate with their patients on a regular basis no matter which part of the globe they live in, and give better suggestions regarding their health and lifestyle. E-health solutions provide incorporated electronic imaging, audio and video conferencing, accounting and billing procedures in addition to email and web access. There are a lot of companies out there who are providing perfect, secure, quick and reliable solutions which ensure better care quality to patients in low costs and well-organized administration. The European Union (EU) is the leader in the development of e-Health management information systems and tools. According to a rough estimate, EU has spent almost €500 million of research funding on e-Health since 1990 (Europa, 2009). The information system under discussion here is the electronic health record system. Electronic Health Record System What is an Electronic Health Record? It is also referred to as computerized patient record or electronic medical record. EHRs are automated documents of the patients saved in an advanced computerized system (Sidorov, 2006). An EHR plays a vital role in evidence based treatment and decision-making without having to go through the manual process (Williams, 2010). EHRs are very quick as there is no need for any paper-work for documenting and sharing of the information and images. These enable access to the records even from distant areas by means of online networking. Laboratory tests and billing once done are saved on these records without the risk of duplication or errors. For these reasons, EHRs prove to be very efficient while reducing unnecessary costs once implemented. In simplest terms, An EHR is a longitudinal electronic record of a patient’s data which is generated in multiple visits of the physician (Health Information Management Systems Society, cited in The MITRE Corporation, 2006, p. 1). This data includes patient’s case history, details about his disease, his medications, demographic data and laboratory reports, any vaccinations and immunizations, billing and 3-D radiology images regarding the disease. An EHR plays a vital role in evidence based treatment and decision-making. EHRs are very quick as there is no need for any paper-work for documenting and sharing of the information and images. These enable access to the records even from distant areas by means of online networking. The drawback with EHRs is that these are quite expensive but once implemented, these tend to be very cost-effective. EHRs can connect to healthcare professionals like specialists and labs that are not part of the hospital that manages these EHRs. The advantage here is that the physicians can share critical information with other health specialists with fast and reliable services of EHRs. Thus, the overall quality of health care is improved as there are minimal chances of any medical errors involved. “Some EHRs have warning systems built in to let your doctor know about drug allergies or potential problems with drug interactions”, according to Bihari (2010). These also have medical alerts that remind the doctor when a certain test is to be performed. For example, on every visit to a pregnant woman with high blood pressure problem, the EHR will alert the doctor to check her blood pressure and the heart rate of the fetus on the visit. Thus, the overall diagnosis and treatment process is simplified. According to the MITRE Corporation (2006), “the EHR has the ability to generate a complete record of a clinical patient encounter, as well as supporting other care-related activities directly or indirectly via interface—including evidence-based decision support, quality management, and outcomes reporting.” Microsoft and Google have also presented consumer-based EHRs which are to be used by the e-Patients. They can record, in these EHRs, their personal information like their case histories and all medical information related to their disease, for future reference or as a memorandum. These types of EHRs in not in common use as yet. Components of an EHR An EHR is made in such a way that it has all components related to services that a patient might receive from radiology, pathology, laboratory, pharmacy or administrative departments. EHRs also have the necessary functions to capture and store physiological signals like heart rates, ECGs, brain scans, and etcetera. Patients’ electronic records are captured and maintained in silo systems which have specific user logins, passwords and patient identification softwares. When a user, say physician, has to access his patient’s medical record, he will log in and open the related applications. He will then locate the patient’s record in each application and then he will be able to open his profile and retrieve his information. Mostly during inpatient meetings, the retrieved electronic information is either faxed or printed onto paper. This data is also liable to get updated when new information is received and the older one needs to be changed. The doctor can always add new alerts and warnings. EHRs also have components that make it easy to retrieve meaning of synonymous terms used by different investigators or physicians. For example, one physician tells it to show a report of all diabetic patients, another might want to know how many sugar patients or diabetes mellitus patients have been admitted during the course of a month. Hence, the system is made intelligent enough to track vocabulary variations. It is important the staff entering data into EHRs have sufficient knowledge and expertise relating to data coding. Structured data coding will need special training on part of the staff. Similarly, the responsibility will increase for the management to manage the vocabulary and structure of the EHR. It is important to enter structured data specific to the domains of the healthcare. EHRs also share data across different location or different systems for which they make use of an integrated architecture in which an EHR allows another system to access or share files regarding patients’ information, or allows file transfer. According to the MITRE Corporation (2006), an EHR “may import data from the ancillary systems via a custom interface or may provide interfaces that allow clinicians to access the silo systems through a portal. Or, the EHR may incorporate only a few ancillaries.” If we talk about administrative system management of an EHR, the major things that need to be considered are a patient’s initial registration, admission, discharge and transfer, also referred to as RADT. This data is very important to identify a patient because it contains all the basic information like the patient’s name, address, contact number, disease, doctor’s name, and the like. The patient is given a unique registration number that is basically his identification. This identifier, which is also called “medical record number or master patient index” (The MITRE Corporation, 2006, p. 6). It is the most important thing that is needed to associate diagnosis, treatment, medication, tests and other clinical analysis, to the patient. Documents Managed in an HER It is easy to manage critical documents in an HER than it was in paper files and folders. This not only saves time but is also cost-efficient. Documents that re managed in an EHR include physician’s notes, flow sheets, admission, discharge, patient’s previous medical history, previous medication, diagnosis, healthcare decisions, staff credentialing, and the list continues. Rules and Regulations Regarding EHRs There are some rules and regulations that the managers of EHRs have to follow in order to correctly manage this health information system. Guaranteed Security and Privacy The need for secure online networks initially arose when issues like computer viruses and internet fraud posed a threat to the security and privacy of data stored on online servers and EHRs. The consumers began to worry about their personal information so they had to be made sure that their data will not be affected or disclosed without their consent. So, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was put forth by U.S. Congress on August 21, 1996. Title II of HIPAA deals with the privacy issue of the consumer’s data stored in EHRs and presents Privacy Rule which ensures fines and punishments for fraud and violation of the rule. The rule gives consumers the right to file complaints if they find anybody obtaining, selling or disclosing their information from EHRs. This way, they can have their data protected and their communications confidential. Administrative Simplification Title II of HIPAA also deals with administrative simplification. It actually aims at simplifying burdens on the physicians and staff by bringing in the usage of EHRs in health information technology (HIT). EHRs have helped in eradicating enormous redundant information throughout the course of physician credentialing. These are used to regulate patients’ credentials by generating identification cards that amass patients’ credentials on microchips embedded in these cards. Canada and the E-Health Law The Canadian province, British Columbia, presented in the 2008 Legislative Session: 4th Session, 38th Parliament, the legislation about e-Health and its services so that the consumers could benefit from e-Health’s secure and steadfast solutions right from the comfort of their homes. This legislation is named as E-Health (Personal Health Information Access and Protection of Privacy) Act that is basically about the security issue of the EHRs. The law clearly states that anybody, who is accessing the data stored in these electronic records either with the idea of adding information or retrieving information for any purpose, must have proper authorization. Moreover, the patients have access to the health information banks and retain the power of disclosing or not disclosing their personal information. The disclosure of information, such as for research purposes, would be the responsibility of the data stewardship committee specially designed for this purpose. The Canadian Press (as cited in Swartz, 2008) states that any person or organization violating the law will be fined $200,000 (Cdn.). Conclusion Putting it all together, EHRs are intelligent management information systems that provide reliable and quick interoperability within healthcare settings. Old methods of recording patients’ information are obsolete now and have been replaced by more sophisticated and dependable applications of EHR system. Doctors assess patients’ information and make decisions about their treatment plans. Patients can retrieve their own information to get updates. Clinicians share critical information to decide which tests need to be done and what should be the next step in the patient’s treatment. Information can be transferred and share between distant locations without the wastage of time. Patients’ medical records are stored and maintained with the guarantee that these records will never be sold or disclosed or misused without prior consent of the owner of that information. To ensure this, certain rules and laws like HIPAA have been put forward that ensure that the patients are provided with data security to a very high level. All of these features make EHRs a very good example of intelligent information systems that assist in inter-operability and ease of use. References Bihari, M. (2010). Using health information technology to manage your information. About.com: Health Insurance. Retrieved 26 October, 2020, from http://healthinsurance.about.com/od/healthinsurancebasics/a/health_IT_overview.htm Europa. (2009). European market. What is eHealth? Retrieved October 25, 2010, from http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/health/whatis_ehealth/index_en.htm Gibbons, M. (Ed.). (2008). E-Health Solutions For Healthcare Disparities. New York: Springer. Schauland, D. (2010). What are management information systems?” WiseGEEK. Retrieved 25 October, 2010, from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-management-information-systems.htm Sidorov, J. (2006). It ain’t necessarily so: the electronic health record and the unlikely prospect of reducing health care costs. Health Affairs, 25(4), pp. 1079-1085. Swartz, N. (2008). B.C. law secures e-health records. Information Management Journal. Retrieved from http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/constitutional-law-privacy- rights/11483826-1.html The MITRE Corporation. (2006). Electronic Health Records Overview. Retrieved 26 October, 2010, from http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/publications/informatics/ehr.pdf Williams, KR. (2010). Electronic health records reduce costs while improving patient care. EzineArticles.com. Retrieved 25 October, 2010, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Electronic-Health-Records-Reduce-Costs-While-Improving-Patient-Care&id=4582113 Read More