The health industry is growing at a feverish pace. It is estimated that up to 30% of the total health budget may be spent one way or another on handling information, collecting it, looking for it, and storing it. In the coming decades, the healthcare system will be undergoing the biggest transformation of any industry in the history. Health being information-intensive, safe and reliable healthcare will depend more and more on access to, and the use of, information that is accurate, valid, reliable, timely, relevant, legible, complete and retrievable.
From the care delivery point of view, there will be significant increase in the demand for high quality care. The aging population with more complicated medical problems coupled with the increasing medical knowledge, will demand greater services and effort from limited medical resources. Furthermore, the increasing utilization of multidisciplinary care creates the need for interoperability between various healthcare entities. The need for rapid automation of the medical care with new technologies addressing the medical data management is therefore obvious.
Although our current health system in general is inconsistently and significantly underutilizing the Web and IT, it is asserted that technology is one of the most pervasive and ubiquitous tools in healthcare today, transforming not only healthcare but also the professions within it by alleviating in certain ways, both financial and management burdens. Information technology (IT) is therefore perceived to possess the potential to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care. Lines below, try to describe how this comes to happen.
Table of Contents
- Chapter 1: Healthcare in the Era of Advanced IT: Overview and Evolution
- Chapter 2: Electronic Health Records and Interoperability
Objectives and Key Themes
This work aims to concisely describe the role of Information Technology (IT) in hospitals and explain its contribution to reducing economic costs in the healthcare sector. The paper examines the evolution of IT in healthcare, highlighting its impact on efficiency and cost reduction.
- The evolution of IT in healthcare
- The role of Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
- The importance of interoperability in EHR systems
- The contribution of IT to cost reduction in healthcare
- Improving healthcare quality and efficiency through IT
Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1: Healthcare in the Era of Advanced IT: Overview and Evolution: This chapter explores the historical development of IT in healthcare, tracing its evolution from early computer applications in clinical data management to the sophisticated systems of today. It emphasizes the increasing importance of timely, accurate, and readily accessible information in providing quality healthcare. The chapter highlights the challenges faced by healthcare systems, such as managing large amounts of data, shortening hospital stays, and ensuring secure billing processes. It also discusses the role of health informatics in addressing these challenges and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery by reducing redundant data and providing information at the point of care. The chapter further touches upon the significant delay in translating research findings into clinical practice and how IT has helped to mitigate this issue, improving the quality of care through easier dissemination of research.
Chapter 2: Electronic Health Records and Interoperability: This chapter focuses on the crucial role of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and the concept of interoperability in modern healthcare. It describes the shift from paper-based records to EHRs, emphasizing their potential for real-time access to patient data and creating a comprehensive longitudinal record of care. The chapter underscores the importance of standardized and structured data within EHRs to facilitate interoperability—the ability of different systems to exchange and utilize information seamlessly. It discusses the development of standards, medical terminologies, and security protocols that underpin interoperability, mentioning examples like ICD-10, HL7, and SNOMED CT. The chapter concludes by highlighting the established benefits of interoperable EHR systems in improving both healthcare quality and cost-effectiveness, referencing the significant number of medical errors and the frustration caused by patients repeatedly providing the same information to multiple providers.
Keywords
Information Technology (IT), Healthcare, Hospitals, Economic Costs, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Interoperability, Health Informatics, Quality of Care, Efficiency, Cost-Effectiveness, Data Management.
Frequently Asked Questions: A Comprehensive Language Preview on IT in Healthcare
What is the overall focus of this document?
This document provides a comprehensive overview of the role of Information Technology (IT) in healthcare, focusing on its impact on cost reduction, efficiency improvements, and the enhancement of healthcare quality. It specifically examines the evolution of IT in healthcare, the crucial role of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), and the importance of interoperability in EHR systems.
What topics are covered in Chapter 1: Healthcare in the Era of Advanced IT: Overview and Evolution?
Chapter 1 traces the historical development of IT in healthcare, from early computer applications to modern sophisticated systems. It highlights the challenges of managing large data sets, reducing hospital stays, and securing billing processes. The chapter also emphasizes the role of health informatics in improving efficiency and effectiveness, addressing the delay in translating research into clinical practice, and improving care through better research dissemination.
What are the key themes discussed in Chapter 2: Electronic Health Records and Interoperability?
Chapter 2 focuses on the shift from paper-based records to EHRs and the vital concept of interoperability. It explains the benefits of real-time access to patient data and the creation of comprehensive patient records. The chapter details the importance of standardized data for seamless information exchange between different systems, mentioning key standards like ICD-10, HL7, and SNOMED CT. It concludes by highlighting how interoperable EHR systems improve both healthcare quality and cost-effectiveness, reducing medical errors and patient frustration.
What are the main objectives of this work?
The main objective is to concisely describe the role of IT in hospitals and explain its contribution to reducing economic costs in the healthcare sector. It aims to examine the evolution of IT in healthcare and its impact on efficiency and cost reduction.
What are the key themes explored in this document?
Key themes include the evolution of IT in healthcare, the role of Electronic Health Records (EHRs), the importance of interoperability in EHR systems, the contribution of IT to cost reduction in healthcare, and improving healthcare quality and efficiency through IT.
What keywords are associated with this document?
Keywords include Information Technology (IT), Healthcare, Hospitals, Economic Costs, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Interoperability, Health Informatics, Quality of Care, Efficiency, Cost-Effectiveness, and Data Management.
What is the purpose of including a table of contents and chapter summaries?
The table of contents provides a quick overview of the document's structure. The chapter summaries offer concise descriptions of the key points and findings within each chapter, allowing readers to quickly grasp the main ideas without reading the entire text.
Who is the intended audience for this document?
While not explicitly stated, the document's structure and content suggest it is intended for an academic audience, possibly researchers or students studying healthcare information technology or related fields.
- Quote paper
- Dr Bruce Wembulua Shinga (Author), 2016, Role of IT in the management of Hospitals, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/349843
