Identify health care system barriers to achieving the seamless continuum Identify social, family or other “non-system” barriers. Propose ways in which community organizations or the government might assist in overcoming the barriers you have identified. OR Hospital emergency departments continue to be used as a source of primary medical care by large numbers of the community’s medically underserved population. What are the implications of this practice for the patients, and on health care costs and quality of care? What would you propose as a means to change this situation?

 

The integration of health information systems (HIS) into health care implores hospitals and providers to develop systems focused on managing medical services data, especially from patients. Health information systems also include systems that deal with information associated with providers and health associations (Legido-Quigley et al., 2021) As such, the assignment shows a systems diagram of the health information system at my most recent organization. The paper also discusses advantages and challenges that a hospital using information systems faces in provision of healthcare services.

Diagram: Health Information System

Description

The above health information system is the standard used in my most recent organization. The system is standard as it can be found in other entities. The system consists of two parts; patient information system and managerial information system which together make up the hospital information system. The different components of the system are aimed at ensuring that the facility provides high quality services in a fast, efficient, effective and value-based manner. The information system for patient care is essential as it has various components like patient management unit that focuses on data about the management of different patients with diverse ailments. The second component is clinical information system where providers, especially physicians, clinicians, and nurse practitioners share information and views on the best treatment interventions for different patients (Wager et al., 2020). The clinical information system is essential in enhancing inter-professional collaborations and having multidisciplinary team approaches to patient situations.

The third component is the system for clinical support services that is dedicated to provision of administrative services related to clinicians and physicians. The system’s main aim is to manage welfare of providers in the facility. The three components combine to create a database with patient information that is linked to the electronic health records (EHRs) system for effective input of data and decision making by providers and all stakeholders. However, the system does not have a patient portal where patients can access their information or data for increased interactions with physicians and other providers. The managerial information system focuses on data and information by the management (Wager et al., 2020). The information in this system is mainly for decision making on operational level by the management of the facility.

Advantages and Challenges of Using Information Systems

Health care facilities that use information systems attain benefits and also encounter challenges. The use of information system provides a host of benefits that include better quality care delivery, reduced cost of care, and increased access to health care. Information systems collect, store, process, retrieve and show data that is critical in making care decisions, especially in interdisciplinary teams and settings. These systems allow providers and stakeholders to communicate timely information required in different areas like practice, education and research (Ifinedo, 2018). The challenges entailed in using information systems include the need for training, use of best equipment to avoid data breaches through hacking or malware attacks. Further, it is costly to design, implement, and maintain an information system for a healthcare facility.

Conclusion

Health information systems are essential to provision of quality care for patients in different health settings. These systems collect, store, process and display critical data that providers interpret to offer quality care to patients. Despite their challenges, the benefits accrued from them are immense in provision of quality care services.

References

Ifinedo, P. (2018). Empirical study of Nova Scotia nurses’ adoption of healthcare information

systems: implications for management and policy-making. International Journal Of Health Policy And Management, 7(4), 317. doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2017.96

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