Managing Information Systems in a Hospital - Term Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages Detrimental effects on health and functioning. Much of the limited information available about the quality of care does not apply to individuals with chronic disease. If health plans that provide good preventive services are less successful in providing care for chronic conditions and if the available information on quality focuses primarily on preventive health services, individuals with chronic conditions who shift into health plans that provide poor chronic disease care may experience significant and perhaps irreversible declines in their health and functioning. 
The distorted market for health care plans. Many purchasers have emphasized cost more heavily than quality in their decision-making. But equal attention must be given to developing good clinical indicators of quality. Without such information, excellent health plans that provide care at a somewhat higher cost may be driven out of the market or may choose to compromise the quality of care delivered to meet the cost requirements.
Disenfranchised groups with special needs. Failure to assess what is happening to individuals with rare disorders, those who do not speak English, or those with multiple health problems may result in system changes that leave those individuals without adequate sources of care. Most current monitoring efforts are not appropriately structured to analyze health issues for such groups.
Concerns about poor health care information have stimulated efforts at many levels to build more integrated systems that will provide reliable information to inform decisions. Communities, states, managed care plans, and providers are seeking ways to enhance the quality of information currently being collected, to broaden its range, and to integrate information from a variety of sources to address more complex issues.
Even more basically, those concerned with improving their health care information systems must focus clearly on the kinds of decisions they expect the system to support and the ways the system's results will be used. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More