Buying a Clinical Information Technology System

Buying a clinical information technology system challenges every organization's senior management team. Unlike other administrative applications that help manage a facility, the clinical information technology system touches directly the lives of patients and the work flow of physicians, nurses, and other clinicians. Careers and entire organizations can be ruined by poor vendor choices and botched implementations (e.g., installation of the software and hardware) and deployments (e.g., introduction of applications to end users). Poorly chosen clinical information technology systems can drive physicians to competitor institutions, impact facility accreditation, and in some cases invite litigation due to unexpected morbidity or mortality.

As frightening as this task is, the best way to be successful is to be humble. Senior executives must accept the fact that full investigation of the features and functionality of clinical information technology systems before purchase is impossible. No individual or committee has the technical expertise and available time to effectively evaluate and fully review the capabilities of a comprehensive clinical information technology system. Therefore, organizations must base their decision to purchase systems on factors that function as surrogates for the usefulness and appropriateness of the systems in its institutions. These may include such items as the source of clinical content included with the system, list of organizations using the system, and perceived ease of use of the application.

Evaluate Live Systems

Although information technology vendors utilize demonstrations of their software to educate clients about their products, viewing working systems deployed in patient care areas offers the most valuable information. Unfortunately for both vendors and purchasers, the competitiveness of the healthcare information technology marketplace, couple with the complexity of these systems, encourages vendors to showcase software products during demonstrations that are either partially completed or are in beta version.

Therefore, often what is seen in these demonstrations does not accurately represent the features and functionality currently available. It is important to take vendors at their word when they declare that the demonstrated software is representative of features and functionality under development.

Tools and Technologies Used in Health Information Systems

The present article attempts at presenting you how various tools and technologies are used to create and manage health information systems. The list of such instruments and procedures include:

* Web technology standards;
* GIS technologies;
* artificial intelligent techniques;
* imaging technologies;

1. Web technology standards

Working with such an amount of information, a health information system has to resort to the best software and web technological platforms. The data exchange process only provides a static health information from health information systems, disseminating it straightforwardly. A convenient platform through which the information can be pre-designed, validated and captured as an easily accessible multimedia document is offered by the Internet and the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). This platform uses as the main method for data collection the one that implies an automated and direct data input at the source. This way, data's timeliness, integrity and validity is improved. Using pre-designed documents to input information allows the completed documents to be warehoused either centrally or via on/line distributed network technology. The information which is directly input can be thus converted into easily readable and appealing user-oriented information.

Advantages of Information Technology

Speed and Accuracy in information Processing

With the use of IT more work can be done by individuals, businesses, services and government organisations. Function enhancement programs such as word processors, database programs and spreadsheets can get work done in less time with increased accuracy and efficiency.

Global Social Interaction

IT has made global social and cultural interaction very simple. This is evident with the emergence and success of social networking websites, such as Facebook and Twitter. More so, the use of information technology has eliminated language barriers with technologies such as language translators.

Entertainment

The introduction and use of high tech applications and gadgets such as iTunes, iPod and iPone has been revolutionary. Downloading, buying, playing and organising, music, videos, movies and TV shows has been made super easy and accessible. The gallant advancement of information technology through history puts the world in your palm with technologies such as iPad and Amazon Kindle.

The Growth of the Healthcare Industry

The healthcare industry is one of the fastest growing industries of the world. The industry comprises of hospitals and other associated sectors. As per a report by the body of the healthcare industry and Yes Bank, the industry, by 2012 would touch US $77 billion from the US $35 billion in November 2009, registering a growth of nearly 23%. Other economies like Brazil, China and Mexico too have registered a growth, but in the US, the industry has seen a sector wise growth of nearly 9.3. This growth is a result of the rise in healthcare facilities in the public as well as the private sectors, pathological laboratories, medical diagnostics and health insurance sector.

The Use and Implementation of Health Information Systems

The contents of this article are dedicated to investigating the utilization and application of health informatics in a variety of contexts. Hence, the article will treat the subjects of health information exchange, health knowledge management, e-health systems, e-public health systems and m-health systems.

* Health information exchangesrefer to the transmission and dissemination of healthcare information electronically among organizations within a region or community. The technological development registered at the level of health informatics resulted in the capability to electronically transmit clinical data among disparate healthcare information systems without it having to suffer any alterations. The degree of exchangeability has expanded to a national level. This way clinicians can integrate their independent records, creating agile, patient-centered electronic health records that generate a new level of patient safety and information exchange.