The last decade has seen spectacular alterations in the infrastructure and information technology used in most healthcare organizations. The American healthcare industry is facing a radical shift especially in the area of information systems. The integration of information technology in medicine has grown in leaps and bounds over the past number of years. Database management systems, web-based systems and network-based infrastructure are now a part of healthcare practices and administration that will forever change the landscape of the healthcare industry (Nitenson, 2010).
This shift in healthcare administration and service delivery has been prompted by the need to use Electronic Medical/Health Records (EMR/EHR). The demand for use of paperless records has been long overdue. This is necessary for easy and efficient management of patient information. The government has also been offering incentives that encourage the use of technology systems. This is evident from the enactment of laws such at the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. By the year 2010, approximately 9 % of the American healthcare industry was using EMR systems.
Growth of health informatics in America has been driven by the need to have accessible data on patients to monitor their progress. Physicians require to access patient information easily to enable accurate diagnosis. Accessing patient medical history will provide physicians with an opportunity to make informed clinical decisions. This is applicable to new patients, returning patients and patients who receive treatment from several health centers. Such a move ensures optimal treatment and care. Patients can also access their medical information and share it with their family members. As a result, patients now have the best opportunity to coordinate care for themselves and their family members. When patient information is stored in a database, it is also easy for laboratory technicians to track results over a given period.
The need to improve efficiency and effectiveness in healthcare organizations has pushed for development of innovative means that cuts costs and improves the quality of service delivery at the same time. Healthcare organizations face stiff competition amongst themselves as they compete for clients. Clients are also demanding cost-effective programs as well as stringent quality of healthcare. In a bid to provide better services and reduce administrative costs, healthcare administrators are enthusiastic about the idea of health informatics. This saves on time and the number of workers required in running the healthcare operations. Faced with the challenge of dwindling earnings, healthcare organizations have been forced to adopt healthcare informatics that re-engineers their workforce to deliver their services in an efficient manner (Noris, 2002).
Several healthcare disciplines are affected by the changing trends in the healthcare industry. The idea is to support health services delivery and improve health management systems. Healthcare administration areas such as billing and record keeping are likely to improve with use of better healthcare information systems. With the use of informatics, physicians can inform themselves before making clinical decisions.
Health informatics and health information systems are two words erroneously used interchangeably but ideally they are different. Both are aimed at improving service delivery in healthcare organizations. Health information systems are concerned with keeping personal health information. A health information system is more into keeping data used to provide accurate patient data. On the other hand, health informatics integrates the use of computer technology, and information technology in the field of medicine. It is designed to support clinical systems. However, both health information systems and health informatics are aimed at keeping accurate patient information to help in better clinical service delivery and administration of health care organizations.
References
Nitenson, S. (2010, January 19). Information Systems Healthcare Trends in 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2012, from HealthNewsDigest.com: http://healthnewsdigest.com/news/Guest_Columnist_710/Information_Systems_Healthcare_Trends_in_2010_printer.shtml
Noris, A. C. (2002). Current trends and challenges in health informatics . Health informatics Journal , Vol 8, 4: 205-213.
O'Carroll, P. W. (2003). Public Health Informatics and Information Systems. New York: Springer .
