The Healthcare Information Technology

Introduction

A nation that is free of illness and disease and people that achieved the wellness is great, and yes, impossible. Indeed, there is no such country that possesses those kinds of characteristics. But improving the quality of life is anticipated for over the years. Is the current healthcare standardization is enough in assuring the individual health? The global healthcare situation is plagued by different problems, including the knowledge about the disease involved, medical history, and applicable solutions.

Background of the Study

The availability is enough but accessibility is not. The dynamic expenditures and weak growth of healthcare development will critically reflected on healthcare services. In addition, the lack of knowledge about health status can contribute to slow the progress of better health outcome of an individual. The use of information technology in healthcare will be a great advantage in delivering the quality healthcare. The rationality, utility maximization, and individual sovereignty will be attained when the promotion of information technology in the healthcare is processed (Dunn, 2006).

Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study is focused on the fast accessibility or acquisition of health benefits of each individual with the use of information technology. Although there are many factors that should be addressed in promoting the healthcare and its benefits, the challenge here is delivering the healthcare information that can affect the health outcomes of each individual. It is a great challenge that existed in healthcare system that can affect the future healthcare (Schiff, 2007); therefore, an innovation is greatly anticipated (Daschle, 2005).

Significance of the Study

A healthcare information technology is useful in every case that an individual wishes to apply. The innovation of healthcare is publicly administered, free at the point of access, equitable, centered on care, responsive on needs, has quality, cost-effective and accountable (Rudiger, 2009).

Healthcare Review

What is healthcare? Healthcare refers to the treatment and management of illness, and the preservation of health through services offered such as the medical, dental, pharmaceutical, or clinical sciences. For the past years, the idea of healthcare and its goods and services are used to promote health not only for individuals but for the population. The revolving fact about the healthcare is the treatment and prevention of illness and disease to achieve the human well-being.

Application of IT in Healthcare

The use of information technology or IT in healthcare industry is generally low and yet promises the improvement on quality, safety, and efficiency. There are present barriers like costs and complexity on IT implementation. The payment policies and delivery system are also part of the barriers to a continuous adoption of IT. Inspired by the given IT potential benefits, both the private and public sectors put their efforts to promote its use within and across healthcare settings. Delivering quality healthcare requires the providers and patients to integrate the complexity of information from different sources. In fact, with the help of the increasing skills and abilities of various health providers and the readily access of information can improve the quality of health of the patient. It is not impossible for the technology to lead a way for better health.

The Quality of Healthcare Information Technology

Quality healthcare relies on medical practitioners or providers, patients and their families, and others having the right information at the right time to make decision – if not right at least applicable to the patient’s current situation. The changes in health statue of a patient means the changes in health information that keeps the IT busy in updating the information, integrate, and store. The problems may appear in various ways of collecting the information and storing but people cannot conceal the truth that the IT can contribute significantly to quality improvements in healthcare institutions. The adaptation of every medical organization in IT systems can deliberately deliver the service towards the patients (Mahmoud and Rice, 1998).

IT in Process to Healthcare System

IT can definitely make the healthcare transactions easier when the idea of transferring the necessary information in an electronic card, and the acquisition of electronic reader is developed. Inside the card, all the medical histories of a patient is built and protected. A swipe of the card entitled the physician or medical representative to access through the patient’s health record, and in return, records all the findings back to the card. The information inside the card are the patient’s medical condition, medical history, medical interventions and laboratory results, and other information that is related to his or her current condition, such as allergies, side-effects, or family history (Parente, 2008).

All the information inside the card is bound to the patient’s own privacy and nobody can use the information unless the patient intentionally shared it. The healthcare providers are also trusted to keep the information away from any threat or public viewing without the knowledge or consent of the patient (Parente, 2008). This is the action that can be developed in applying the technology since its growth and competition plays in different industry (Garrett, 2007). A need to find a doctor to take of a patient is important and providing the healthcare service in an efficient way can be more convenient n achieving the quality.

Conclusion

The healthcare system is not the kind of industry that uses much of the IT application but the investment placed into it is not wasted. The only problem that may disturb its progress is the existence of the said barriers. But these barriers can serve as a challenge for IT to show its strength of the drivers, such as the quality and process improvement. Healthcare systems that aims to capture efficiencies tends to be more advance IT users because in general, IT allows healthcare and the system to collect, store, retrieve, and transfer information electronically and at ease. However, IT in healthcare is quite challenging due to lack of precise definitions, volume of applications, and rapid pace technological change or improvement (Mahmoud and Rice, 1998). The challenges are overflowing but the effort in setting the project in promoting the quality of health and its importance in life is not yet enough.

References:

Daschle, T., (2005) Health Progress and Policy, Myths and the Global Case for U.S. Health Reform [Online] Available at: http://www.americanprogress.org/ [Accessed 29 October 2009]

Dunn, S., (2006) Prolegomena to a Post Keynesian Health Economics, Review of Social Economy, 64(3)

Garrett, J. (Pub), (2007) Healthcare Directory, Community Impact Newspaper [Online] Available at: http://www.impactnews.com/pdfs/guides/Healthcare2007.pdf [Accessed 17 Nov 2009]

Mahmound, E., & Rice, G., (1998) Information Systems Technology and Healthcare quality Improvement, Review of Business, 19(3)

Parente, S., (2008) Healthcare IT and Financing’s Next Frontier: The Potential of Medical Banking [Online] Available at: http://www.nabe.com/rt/health/parenteFeb-2008.pdf [Accessed 17 Nov 2009]

Rudiger, A., (2009) Ten health Care Financing Principles to Ensure Universality, Equity, and Accountability, Human Right to Health Program [Online] Available at: http://www.nesri.org/Human_Rights_Principles_for_Financing_Health_Care.pdf. [Accessed 29 October 2009]

Schiff, G., (2007) U.S. Health Care Insurance: Current Status and Future Vision, Journal of Medical Care, 45(9) [Online] Available at: http://www.soa.org/files/pdf/hlth-medical-care.pdf [Accessed 29 October 2009]

Additional Work Cited:

Report to the Congress, (2004) Information Technology in Healthcare, New Approaches in Medicare [Online] Available at: http://www.medpac.gov/publications%5Ccongressional_reports%5CJune04_ch7.pdf [Accessed 17 Nov 2009]