In healthcare organizations, patients are admitted, tested, put under medication, and discharged. All these activities generate data that is analyzed to produce information stored as patient records. This information can be overwhelming especially for large organizations. In some cases, patient information may be scattered in different hospital departments. This means that reconciling such information would be a difficult task yet patient information is important. Therefore, information needs to be managed in such a way that it is accessible to authorized personnel, easily modified and stored (Vest & Gamm, 2010).
Health informatics is a discipline concerned with the management of healthcare information through available technology resources (Hoyt, Bailey & Yoshihashi, 2012, p. 4). Health informatics is important to healthcare organizations and health centers because it improves the productivity of clinical officers. For this reason, the patients receive improved quality of healthcare services and thus respond well to treatment (Hoyt, Bailey & Yoshihashi, 2012, p. 4). When the quality of heath services improves and patients are satisfied, health organizations get more referrals and this translates to profits (Ferranti, et al., 2010). Most heath organizations see the impotence of having health informatics systems in place but unfortunately, their implementation has not been successful.
Before implementing any healthcare information management system, it is important to assess the organization and the kind of information gathered from patients. With this knowledge, a health informatics manager can choose the type of information management system suitable for the specific organization’s needs. According to Lorenzi and Riley (2013), successful implementation of information management systems requires strategy. When introducing a new system into an organization, there are several factors that the informatics manager must put into consideration. First, he or she should calculate the cost of introducing the system compared to the expected profits (Chaudhry et al., 2006). Also, the manager should consider conducting a test run of the system to find out if there are any problems or sections that need to be modified to suit the needs of the organization.
The system cannot work without personnel. Therefore, training personnel to use the system is imperative (Lorenzi & Riley, 2013, p. 12). In addition, the manager should ensure that the personnel have both technical skills and healthcare knowledge to accurately interpret the information on the system. The information on the system should be organized in such a way that it is accessible to the medical personnel when they need it: in an accessible and applicable format. Also, the information should be inaccessible to unauthorized personnel.
In their book, Lorenzi and Riley (2013) outline the importance of organization skills when implementing a healthcare information system (p. 17). The training of personnel should not be done too early because the users will have forgotten how to use the system by the time it is implemented. On the other hand, it should not be done too late because the personnel will not have enough time to adapt.
As the Healthcare Informatics manager of a small organization, I would prepare the organization for a new healthcare information management system by carrying out a survey. The survey would aim at discovering the organization’s needs. With this knowledge, I would identify the most suitable system for the organization. There are different healthcare information management systems in the market that cater for different needs (Chaudhry, et al. 2006). For instance, an organization can have an information management system that is limited to the organization. Another system may incorporate memory chips to hold patient information, identification details, and medical history. Such memory chips can be presented to other healthcare facilities to assist doctors with patient records (McLaughlin, Yellin, & Singer, 2008). A test run will be conducted on the system to see if it works according to the expectations. If the system works, it will be modified to fit the existing structure of the organization and all data entry centers. The system service providers will conduct training sessions for all stakeholders. The personnel will get a chance to interact with the system: uploading actual data to see if there are any inconsistencies. The service providers will continue assisting the personnel to adapt to the system until every user becomes comfortable with the system.
The following are survey questions designed to aid organizations to measure their business strategy, leadership and management styles and their readiness to implement Healthcare Informatics initiatives:
How many patients does this organization receive in a day?
How many referrals does the organization get?
How can you describe the storage and accessibility of patient records in this organization?
How does storage and accessibility of patient records affect the organization’s performance?
How does patient satisfaction translate to profits?
What are the challenges facing your current information system?
Is the management aware of these challenges?
How have they responded to the situation?
What is an information management system?
What kind of information management system would you prefer? Why?
Do you have enough skills to operate a healthcare information system?
What do you think about your colleague’s competence?
Do you think your department needs training to be equipped to operate a healthcare information system?
How long do you think it will take for a healthcare information system to be implemented? Why?
How often do patients change their insurance covers?
How is this information updated?
How often do you witness cases of erroneous prescriptions?
Are patient records managed in different departments or are they managed centrally?
What recommendations would you give to improve the system?
How does the management respond to patient complaints?
A pilot study can be conducted to see if the questions are clear and if they will provide reliable information (Maeder, & Martin-Sanchez, 2012).
In summary, it is clear that healthcare organizations need information management systems to manage large amounts of information stored on databases. Many organizations see the importance of such systems but are not capable of implementing the initiative because of poor management or organizations skills. Implementation of healthcare informatics initiatives requires strategy. Healthcare informatics managers must first conduct research to know the current status of the organization’s information management system. Research can be carried out using questionnaires: these are distributed to stakeholders in the organization. This knowledge will inform the decision to implement an information management system suited to the needs of the organization. It is the role of the manager to prepare the organization for the implementation of the system. Such preparation includes continuous training and consultation. Systems can be implemented successfully if the managers possess good organizational, technical and people skills.
References
Chaudhry, B., Wang, J., Wu, S., Maglione, M., Mojica, W., Roth, E., & Shekelle, P. G. (2006). Systematic review: impact of health information technology on quality, efficiency, and costs of medical care. Annals of internal medicine, 144(10), 742-752. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-144-10-200605160-00125
Ferranti, J. M., Langman, M. K., Tanaka, D., McCall, J., & Ahmad, A. (2010). Bridging the gap: leveraging business intelligence tools in support of patient safety and financial effectiveness. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 17(2), 136-143. doi: 10.1136/jamia.2009.002220
Hoyt, R. E., Bailey, N., & Yoshihashi, A. K. (2012). Health Informatics: Practical guide for healthcare and information technology professionals. Lulu.com.
Lorenzi, N. M., & Riley, R. T. (2013). Organizational aspects of health informatics: managing technological change: New York, NY. Springer Science & Business Media.
Maeder, A. J. & Martin-Sanchez, F.J. (2012). Health Informatics: Building a Healthcare Future Through Trusted Information: Selected Papers from the 20th Australian National Health Informatics Conference (HIC 2012) (Vol. 178): Amsterdam, Netherlands. IOS Press.
McLaughlin, M. R., Yellin, S. A., & Singer, W. J. (2008). U.S. Patent Application No. 12/168,835.
Vest, J. R., & Gamm, L. D. (2010). Health information exchange: persistent challenges and new strategies. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 17(3), 288-294. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jamia.2010.003673
