Competiveness and Performance Effectiveness for Health Care IT Systems
Introduction
The main responsibility of information technology in the health care system is that it supports the organization in health information management across its computerized systems and it also secures the exchange of health information between the health care providers, patients and quality monitors (Chaudhry, 2006). It was discovered in recent studies, that the health information technology system is a promising tool to improve the overall quality, safety and efficiency of the health delivery system. Aside from that, the information technology system was also found to improve the productivity and efficiency of the health workers as it decreased their paperwork and unproductive time. Health information technology process involves both computer hardware and software which deals with the storage, sharing, use and retrieval of health care knowledge, information and data in order to help the health workers in communication and decision making.
Roles and Responsibilities of the CIO and CTO
The key roles and responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer and the Chief Technology officer within the health care organizations are to oversee the health management information systems. These individuals must be trained and expert in set of strategic and operational information technology competencies. Just like in any business or organization, the health care system also needs people who have the vision of providing future directions with respect to the information technology system infrastructure, management and innovations. The CIO is expected to be goal oriented in resolving any problems in terms of the health management system performance. The CIO is also in charge of overseeing the system performance based on how it can help the staff communicate better with the patients (Tan, Payton & Tan, 2010, p. 26).
The CTO also has a wide range of roles and responsibilities in the health care organization. One of the major duties of a CTO is to monitor and assess new technologies which can help improve the health management system. The individual should have the knowledge and expertise about the rate of change of the many technological systems. The CTO should be updated with the latest technologies and must be able to create a system that is versatile to changes. The CTO is a person who serves an advisor to other health care executives during strategic planning and decision making. They should be able to identify access and also investigate technologies in which the organization can generate more profit. The CTO should also be aware of the organization’s processes and its plans in order to suggest the latest technologies to help in administering these plans (O’Neil & Bridenbaugh, 1992).
Both the CIO and CTO are responsible in making sure that the employees will understand the health management system and be familiar with the chosen technology. The CIO is in charge of making sure that the employees or the hospital staff understands how to use the tools in order to improve their communication with the patients. The CTO on the other hand, should monitor if there are any problems on how the staff are using the technology and if there are improvements that needs to be done. The CIO and the CTO must be able to use their expertise in information technology in order to implement and at the same time find possible solutions to technical problems regarding the use of the tools.
Health Care Technologies
Two of the developing technologies that all health care organizations should include in the management system are the electronic medical records (EMR) and the computerized physician order entry (CPOE). There are studies and surveys that show that EMR’s can reduce several types of errors in the health management system which are related to prescription of drugs, tests and medical procedures (Carter, 2004). It is a comprehensive and robust electronic health record which is shared through all the departments in the organization and other health care professionals. It also enables the patients to connect with their health care providers. It contains patient registries in order to promote collaboration inside a medical team and also the compare patients, not only on the organizational level but also in the national and international level. This technology can help health care providers improved service to their patients because it can help them determine small changes in care processes which can have significant outcomes, so it is a great help in the decision making process of physicians. This technology makes the information accessible at all times, making the health care service more patient and family centered. With the help of this technology, physicians and other health care workers can monitor patients even when they are at home.
Another important tool for health care organizations is the Computerized Provider (Physician) Order Entry or CPOE. It was revealed that prescribing errors have become the largest identified source of preventable mistakes inside the hospitals. Studies show that there are patients exposed to medication error each day and this is the reason of extended stay in the hospital ("Preventing Medication Errors", 2007). With the use of this technology, medical practitioners or physicians can relay instructions to other health care staff for the treatment of patients that are under their care. This system has found out to be efficient in the instructions process as it provides order in the instruction distribution and decreases delay in the order completion. It was also found out that it significantly reduced errors which are related to transcription and it provides the health care providers the opportunity to check for further errors in doses and tests. It is a form of patient management software that ensures the correctness of the physicians’ instructions as related to the other medical staff like nurses and pharmacists.
Health Care Data Protection
Because the system handles large amount of data, it has to be protected and secured. However, there are still cases of identity thieves, taking advantage of the low security of the system that gives them access not only to financial records of a patient, but also medical information. Many cyber criminals use medical records as a valuable source of information, not only on the patient’s addresses but also insurance and bank information. By stealing this information, cyber thieves can illegally obtain medical services with the use of the patient’s name. Since the information is shared among multiple resources and devices, data protection can be a challenging task for the health care system. There are a few ways to protect the electronic health records are to focus on the access and the audit controls, person authentication, transmission and data integrity. The access controls must be implemented to be able to manage the users and the applications which allow the access to the systems which contains the data. The audit control on the other hand must be able to record and analyze the activity involved in the systems and processes. There should be strict policies and procedures which regards to integrity of the data and it should be protected from modification or deletion. This is also the reason why the health care management information system must have a security department to be able to provide solutions and policies which regards to protecting the data.
Another way to ensure patient data privacy is to look into a solution that is comprised by hardware security modules, high speed encryptors, and data encryption solutions. It is important that the information cycle is understood to be able to design a complete information life cycle data protection. With the use of these technologies, health care providers can easily transfer data among themselves and with the use of end-to-end data security, this information can be protected. Bottom line, the validation and the authenticity of the data should be ensured. By securing the information from data center to endpoints as well as into the cloud, health care organizations can protect not just their data base but also their applications and networks. Implementing authentication technology and granular policy management, patient records and data can only be accessed by the authorized parties. When these data are all kept in an encrypted state, it can only be viewed by authorized people as dictated in the organization’s policy.
Training For Health Care Providers
Extensive training is very important for a health care organization to provide for their staff in order to properly use the health management system. Training of the office staff and the health care staff is one of the larger investments in the implementation of the health management system. One effective strategy is for the organization to take advantage of the vendor training in order to create a group of “super users” of the applications or the technologies. In case for EHRs, it is important that the staff will understand how it works through the vendor training because the vendors can elaborate how the system works and how it can benefit them during their work hours. The vendors can also give useful tips and techniques in using the system. This group will then provide the necessary training to other staff and practitioners. This strategy is effective because it combines specialized technology training with training on how the technology will be used inside the organization for the specific workflow.
Effective IT Alignment and Strategic Planning Initiatives
In order to ensure the success of these strategies and initiatives, the organization must follow at least three best practices. One of which is to adhere to the principles of the organization. Next best practice is to make sure that the organization executives must actively participate in shaping the information technology initiatives, as well as the training in the health care staff. The information technology planning should be considered as an integral part of the planning process and it should be a transformative element which will support the organization’s priorities and initiatives. The CIO must put the advancing of the organization with the help of its mission and priorities through the chosen information technology. Proper planning will ensure the success of the information technology alignment. Planning will also include monitoring, evaluation and feedback. The executives should also be transparent with their plans and inform the staff about the status of the strategic plans.
According to studies, one of the most significant ways to ensure the success of an organization from information technology is by having effective information technology governance. It is important that the organization has common governance mechanisms across the different divisions inside the system to have uniformity in the policies and the processes. Lastly, the key element in an effective information technology system would involve the effectiveness of the leadership principles the CIO and the CTO uses to communicate with the staff. When they effectively communicate with the health practitioners by giving vital information and training on the management system, they can work hand in hand to make it successful. The management system must be understood by all the organization’s functional units in order for it to give the best and quality care to their patients.
References
Carter, J. (2004). How EMR software can help prevent medical mistakes. American College Of Physicians Observer. Retrieved from http://www.acponline.org/journals/news/sep04/emr.htm
Chaudhry, B. (2006). Systematic Review: Impact of Health Information Technology on Quality, Efficiency, and Costs of Medical Care. Annals Of Internal Medicine, 144(10), 742. http://dx.doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-144-10-200605160-00125
O’Neil, P., & Bridenbaugh, P. (1992). Credibility between CEO and CTO – A CEO’s perspective.Research Technology Management, 35(6).
Preventing Medication Errors. (2007). http://dx.doi.org/10.17226/11623
Tan, J., Payton, F., & Tan, J. (2010). Adaptive health management information systems. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
