Role of Healthcare Information System in Quality Service Provision - Essay Example

Role of healthcare information system in quality service provision Today in modern societies more and more people are employed in collecting, management and distributing of information than is the case in any other occupation. Plenty of computers inhabit the world and many other millions of kilometers of optical fiber, wire as well as air waves connect people, their PC’s in addition to a vast array of information handling tools together (U.S. House of Representatives 34). The society has truly transformed to an information society, and healthcare sector has not been spared. However, with the rise in technology, the issue of ethics has arisen. Ethics is a major concern issue across all sectors. Despite the notable contribution of health and IT industries in human progress and care, including treatment and management gruesome ailments like cancer and AIDS, tension is emerging as to the role of these two industries in fulfilling their public bestowed obligation (Joshi 458). Government officials and the public at large are raising concerns whether the two sectors are fulfilling their social responsibility to the public. Doctors and medical practitioners are increasingly finding themselves behind bars for non-medical related malpractices like poor quality service and management and patient data confidentiality breaches among others. While IT is an emerging industries that is yet to achieve its full potential, healthcare is as old as the early civilization periods (Joshi 458). Nonetheless, they have a lot to offer as a pair as technology becomes the core of human life. It must however be noted that while technology is a welcome addition to healthcare service provision, it is only usable for as long as it enhances quality and adheres to the ethics of medical profession. Quality assurance Quality assurance makes reference to the act of putting in place in all necessary measures to ensure the end product of service successfully achieves its intended purpose. Basically, both the IT and healthcare sectors have set of measures in place to ensure quality standards are observed. Unlike the IT industry though, the presentation and behavior of staff directly represents the quality of service within a healthcare setting. On the contrary, quality assurance in IT is primarily pegged on products usability as well as service provision. Additionally, in healthcare settings, quality is a measure of service while in IT industry it is a measure of product efficiency (Joshi 460). Both however offer products/quality which directly impacts on health and any in appropriate measures could cost human life, or amount to medical malpractice. All players strive to ensure that they not only meet the minimum quality service thresholds or even surpass the same. Both healthcare and IT sectors have an ethical obligation to ensure that quality services/products are availed to patients and clients respectively. However, approach to quality assurance as well as assessable quality dimensions largely differ. While in the health sector quality is defined with regard of care standards and procedures including the technical standard of providers and patients expectation, IT industry defines quality with respect to ability of the product to make healthcare provision much easier and readily available. In essence it focuses on minimizing constraints to healthcare access. It is important to note that these definitions give a shallow but broad illustration of the variations in quality perception between the two sectors. What is however evident is the fact that both sectors view quality assurance as a standard ethical procedure which must be attained at all costs. In general, quality assurance may therefore be said as involving all arrangements and activities which safeguard, maintain and facilitate quality healthcare provisions. It involves measurement of quality, identifying deficiencies, undertaking improvements and evaluating whether such improvements are successful. As mentioned earlier, the basis of quality in healthcare includes technical standards, patient outcomes and patient expectations. Management of operations with healthcare institutions determines level of quality associated with these aspects. Technical care quality is constituted of the application of medical science and technology to maximize patient’s benefits without subjecting them to increased risks. The level of quality is therefore concerned with the extent to which the availed care is able to achieve a reasonable balance between benefits and risks. Patient outcomes in relation to expectations offer a standard of measurement for success in healthcare provision. Quality of healthcare can only be ascertained if the patients record more positive outcomes than negative. The aforementioned dimensions provide a broad concept framework which defines various aspects of health care system performance. The dimensions touch on all stakeholders as clients, providers, and healthcare administrators define quality form their independent perspectives. While client’s associate quality with their perceived needs, courteous delivery and timely provision, healthcare providers perceive quality as implying their possession of relevant skills, resources and conditions necessary to improve a patient’s health status while administrators focus on supervision, financial and management logistics (Joshi 459). However, all these are interlinked and basically premised on proper healthcare information systems. Generally, incorporation of health information systems in service delivery incorporates, helps in improvement of the four Tenets of Quality Assurance in Healthcare Settings. These include: Orientation towards meeting patient needs and expectations. Enhances focus on existing systems and processes. Data form the basis of service delivery processes analysis. It promotes team approach to solution of problems plaguing a health care system. However, quality assurance goes beyond the tenets described before, Quality assurance within the IT and healthcare setting is a dynamic process. It involves a deep understanding of the regulations and guidance procedures which relate to service provision and is not only a constituent of constituent of quality management but also meant to ensure it generates precise and reliable outcomes in health provision. The following are elements availed by incorporation of health information system into healthcare service provision. 1. Ensuring that correct service provision guidelines are made. Additionally, correcting and timely information should be available. Reports should be created for any deviations from official service provision guidelines and procedures and forwarded to quality assurance departments. Deviations resulting from service gaps at each sector of service provision should be easy to track. The quality department should approve all processes incorporated into service provision via the information system and hence limit wait durations and unnecessary delays in service provision. All necessary and applicable controls on intermediary service as well as in-process controls/validations should be easily accessible and manageable. Patient information confidentiality should be atop the agenda and access should only be granted based on medical grounds. Quality improvements plans should be regularly updated and submitted to staff real time. Validation and transfer of technology should be a normal and common procedure. Stability and service provision should be enhanced and access to patient information should not experience unnecessary delays. Dimensions of quality in healthcare Implementation of quality assurance initiatives as discussed should yield the quality dimensions described hereafter. This should be enhanced by availability of health information systems. Achieve product realization A system should be established, implemented and maintained to allow delivery of drugs which bear quality attributes necessary to meet patient needs as well as that of healthcare professionals, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders. Establish and maintain a state of control An effective systems for controlling and monitoring performance f processes and hence product quality are important in provision of continuously sustainable and capable processes. Quality risk management can successfully help in identification of such monitoring and control systems. Continued Improvement Continued improvement is possible through timely identification and implementation of appropriate quality improvements on products. Continuous improvement involves processes enhancement, reduction of variations, innovations facilitations and enhancement of pharmaceutical quality systems. Generally, this increases the ability of the company to meet the needs and expectations of medical situations. Knowledge management and quality risk management Knowledge is a primer in healthcare sector growth. Foundations for sharing and management of knowledge should be placed in order to ensure that quality is not only attained but is consistent to the changing needs of the product market. Knowledge on existing product and services offers a systematic approach to acquisition, analysis, storage, and information dissemination in relation to service innovation, delivery techniques, and components utilized. Other than product knowledge, other information sources include prior knowledge, studies in healthcare development, transfer of technology, validation studies on product cycles, manufacturing experiences, innovation, continuous improvement initiatives and changes in activity management. Risk management This is also fundamental aspect of quality assurance in healthcare industry. It offers pro-active approach to identification, scientific evaluation and control of potential sources of risk. Additionally it allows enhanced continuous improvement of processes and service quality. Despite the benefits mentioned that IT systems bring along, key ethical challenges with respect to healthcare provision include the below-mentioned and call for increased concern during incorporation of IT into healthcare. They include: The challenges include privacy, information accuracy, property as well as accessibility. In healthcare information confidentiality of primary concern and as such ranks among the top priorities of the practice (Berleur 156). With fraudulent players having joined the growing technology and the prospect of hacking, the issue of privacy with regard to the stored information is of great concern. This raises the issue of accessibility. Health information systems must generally have mechanisms to restrict accessibility only to authorized personnel. This also coincides with the issue of information ownership and hence usage. Another emanating challenge is accuracy of the transmitted information. Information via the information services is susceptible to hacking as well as alterations by malicious programs. Inaccurate information has the potential of taking away life and as such, healthcare information systems must endeavor to ensure accurate transmission of information. Conclusion As much as health information systems have been a blessing to healthcare provision, there still exists some issues of concern that need to be addressed in order to enhance the service even further. The issues underlying quality service provision in healthcare need to be incorporated into healthcare practice and at the same time, ethical guidelines need not be put into jeopardy. Bringing together the two and incorporating the aforementioned, is a sure way to access better healthcare services within the modern settings. Works cited Berleur, Bruunstein. Ethics of Computing: Codes, Spaces for Discussion and Law, Chapman & Hall: London. Joshi, Maulik. Healthcare quality and ethics with regard to ICT. Journal of Healthcare, 23.4, (2008): 456 – 462. U.S. House of Representatives. The Computer and Invasion of Privacy, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1966. Read More