Computer System Evaluation - Essay Example

? Computerized management systems Introduction Computerized Management Systems Overview Quality operation in health care institutions all over the world is attained through the use of Computerized Management Systems. Institutions like hospitals benefit from Computerized Management Systems by using them in their daily operations. In order to meet different medical needs in health institutions, it is essential that all computer systems be designed for relevant roles. Involvement of staff members in the implementation of computer systems is extremely beneficial. Institutions should ensure that all staff members are in agreement before implementing computer-aided systems of management, also known as CMS, in activities such as treatment and diagnostics. Computer System evaluation In order to attain efficiency and excellence, hospitals may implement the ELECTRA System. This system is valuable in that it provides health institutions with the appropriate management tools. These tools include stimulation, analysis and modeling. Proper documentation is also attainable through the use of the ELECTRA system. These management tools are equally vital because they enable health care providers to offer quality services to patients and increase their level of productivity (ACGIL, 2010). Administrator plus Administrator Plus is used together with other technologies and assists in carrying out different duties in health care institutions. Administrator plus is particularly used by different specialists in promoting health care. These specialists are mainly the administrators and managers. The system can only run using Microsoft applications (Accurate Info Soft Pvt. Ltd., 2011). Discussion How computerized management systems could increase quality of care ELECTRA The utilization of the ELECTRA system is of great advantage to hospitals because it helps in the promotion of quality services offered to patients. In addition, hospitals that wish to operate at low costs while still ensuring efficiency should consider applying the ELECTRA system. This system provides different managerial advantages to a health care institution including telemedicine, enquiry management, pharmacy management and queue management. The ELECTRA system allows healthcare providers to serve many patients within a short period. ELECTRA helps in keeping patients’ data and booking appointments with staff members. Computer systems that improve the quality of work in health care institutions are those that can effectively serve many patients within a short period (ACGIL, 2010). Administrator Plus Administrator Plus promotes quality by streamlining the different operations carried out in hospitals. This is made possible through consultant management, patient management and OPD. Patient management is vital because it enables staff members to collect and retrieve data. This system is most effective in a hospital that serves hundreds of patients at any particular time. Administrator Plus is of considerable advantage to doctors because it helps to save time (Accurate Info Soft Pvt. Ltd., 2011). Getting nurses involved The application of ELECTRA and Administrator Plus cannot be successful unless nurses are involved. This is because nurses are expected to give a report on the inflow and outflow of patients in hospitals. It is therefore important to involve the nurses’ in the selection of the type of system that would be most appropriate in health care. Gordon and Cox noted that when nurses are involved in implementation of technology, managers learn about their attitude towards certain technology (ACGIL, 2010). In addition, the medical fraternity will be linked to different technological experts through the involvement of nurses in the implementation of technology. Involvement of nurses also helps in setting the priorities among staff members. This is a vital step in avoiding cryptic issues. It can therefore be noted that health care institutions should not only ask nurses to apply certain technologies to their operations but should also allow them to give their opinion on the same before it comes into effect. Integrating health devices into the management systems for better quality of care (ACGIL, 2010). ELECTRA Many devices can be utilized through the use of ELECTRA. These devices include monitoring equipment, bio-analyzers and digital cameras. All these devices are necessary for storing patients’ information and lowering costs when offering health care services. Nurses are able to access a patient’s information from any location via a webcam. This means that they do not have to move from one place to another, which helps in saving time (ACGIL, 2010). Administrator Plus Administrator Plus helps in creating synergy. This means that through this system, the medical fraternity is able to work together through sharing information. Enterprise Resource Planning offered by Administrator Plus enables hospitals to assimilate different devices in their health care activities. These devices are mainly used by nurses and are necessary in radiology, imaging and laboratories. Integration of these devices is important for hospitals because it ensures that time is used appropriately. Administrator Plus discourages the aimless movement of nurses in hospitals which leads to wastage of time. Nurses are able to communicate with their fellow nurses without necessitating physical contact. Events such as meetings are held through the use of wireless technology (Turisco & Rhoads, 2008). Health insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is necessary because it helps to provide workers with health insurance policies. These policies are useful especially in cases where workers decide to quit or change their jobs. The main reason why this Act was formulated was to help to improve systems of health care. This is done by monitoring the exchange of information from one department to another. Monetary transactions in health care are carefully monitored by ensuring high levels of privacy and security (Frimpong & Rivers, 2006). Due to the high demand for HIPAA by health care institutions, it therefore becomes beneficial to use Computerized Management Systems. There are three main standards that HIPAA deals with. Administrative matters are given the first priority. This standard helps in ensuring effectiveness in electronic information. Users are therefore expected to account for their actions when using Computerized Management Systems. HIPAA requires that individuals’ information be treated with confidentiality. This means that there is limited access to individuals’ personal information. (Frimpong & Rivers, 2006) HIPAA also helps in regulation of patients’ data. It demands that only legal users of different systems should be given access to information. Hospitals should therefore establish the means through which they can control or prevent illegal system users from accessing information. HIPAA also benefits the patients because they are mandated to disclose information only to individuals they trust. This means that a patient should not be forced to disclose his or her information if he or she feels that there is no guarantee of security from the person he or she is disclosing the information to (Frimpong & Rivers, 2006). Institutions should consider using ELECTRA system because it helps to fulfill HIPAA regulations through its modules. Through these modules, individuals learn more about Third Party Administrator, (TPA), financial accounting and billing. Administrator Plus is also useful in ensuring privacy of workers and patients because it uses SQL and Oracle. These applications allow only legal users of systems to access information (Frimpong & Rivers, 2006). How the system can affect healthcare cost Application of Computerized Management Systems is useful for health care because it helps in cutting down operational costs. Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Minimum Required Distribution (MRD) attained from Administrator Plus help to reduce paperwork. Accuracy is also attained through the use of Administrator Plus and ELECTRA due to the nature of these systems. They are automated to help in reducing errors when storing Medical data and when carrying out diagnosis. Accuracy is essential especially in the medical field because it saves health institutions the cost of getting information or opinions from external medics. Accuracy also promotes confidence and trust between patients and doctors because they are sure of receiving accurate information. Quality medical care is achieved through the provision of accurate information. These systems also help in reducing costs because they provide guidelines for health care on how to carry out the budgeting process (Prade, 1999). Benefits the systems can offer to patient care and nursing care delivery. Electronic health records Electronic health records are particularly relevant for both care givers and patients. This is because they enable doctors to easily access information about their patients at any time. Electronic records also help in providing doctors with clinical guidelines. Both Administrator Plus and ELECTRA systems act as an intermediary between the patients’ health providers and doctors. This is because they both help in recording clinical data (ACGIL, 2010; Accurate Info Soft Pvt. Ltd., 2011). Electronic prescribing Doctors are able to prescribe medicine to patients through the use of Administrator Plus and ELECTRA. This is contained in the pharmacy management module. Electronic prescription is of considerable help to doctors because it reduces errors during the prescription process. These errors emanate from ones handwriting and misreading. Electronic prescription also helps patients to better understand the kind of medication they are using. This means that they will know the advantages and disadvantages of using a certain drug (ACGIL, 2010; Accurate Info Soft Pvt. Ltd., 2011). Recommendations Health institutions should consider implementing Computerized Management systems. These systems include ELECTRA and Administrator Plus. They are of great advantage because of their unique features that enhance the operation of health care institutions. Both systems are comprised of modules that are closely related. The ELECTRA system is best for the hospital because it offers cost-cutting modules, it suits all environments of the hospital, and it improves the response time to the requirements of patient’s care because it automates all patients’ information. Its application will lead to increased quality of care in the hospital. References Accurate Info Soft Pvt. Ltd. (2011). ERP Solutions for Hospital Management: Administrator Plus. Retrieved from http://www.acsonnet.com/hospital.htm#pharmacy ACGIL. (2010). Hospital Management Information System (HMIS). Retrieved from Cox, K., & Gordon, S. (2005). Implementation of a homegrown computerized management system. Biomedical Instrumentation &Technology, 39 (1), 33-35. Frimpong, J., & Rivers, P. A. (2006). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: Blessing or Curse? Journal of Health Care Finance, 33 (1), 31-39. Holroyd-Leduc, J. M., Lorenzetti, D., Straus, S. E., Sykes, L., & Quan, H. (2011). The impact of the electronic medical record on structure, process, and outcomes within primary care: a systematic review of the evidence. J Am Med Inform Assoc, 18, 732-737. Prade, N. (1999). Computerized patient records. Clinical Data Management, 6 (9), 12-31. Riha, C. (2009). Integrating Medical Devices to Clinical Information Systems. Biomedical instrumentation & technology / Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, 43 (5), 385-387. Turisco, F., & Rhoads, J. (2008). Equipped for efficiency: Improving nursing care through technology. California: California Healthcare Foundation. Read More