Information Systems For Healthcare Management

An information system is a system of persons, data records and activities that process the data and information in an organization, and it includes the organization's manual and automated processes. The attention towards information systems originated and generated from the study of computer sciences. In the beginning, information systems, their structure and how they are formed was a sub-discipline of Computer Science. With the passage of time as the importance of information systems became clearer, the study became a discipline in its own right in the area of management sciences.

The health care industry is currently among the most rapidly expanding ones. The volume of research being conducted today is unparalleled when compared to past decades. All this has brought a more focused view on managing the many health care processes and making research more streamlined. Health care management is now one of the fastest growing fields of management, its success is however greatly dependant on the degree to which the information system within the health care unit is refined and well integrated to meet the health care requirements. In fact Feldman (1992) in his book on Managed Mental Health Services, notes that "There are few enterprises more information intensive than managed mental health and more dependent on good information systems for efficient operations, for evaluation and for effective quality assurance processes."

A well maintained and strongly placed information system within health care helps to cut costs while delivering high quality health care services. It also provides critical data for further research in improving health care services and enhancing research. While at the face of it, the total cost of establishing a fully automated information system may seem too high, especially when compared to the fractional cost of having a partially automated and partially manual system in place, the long term cost benefits are undeniable. This has been proven by steady research which has sought to give equal importance to delivering quality health care as well as cutting costs to ensure continuity of the health care. "The wise choice for the vast majority of group practices and clinics involved in at-risk contracting is to purchase a full-featured computer system from an established vendor of healthcare systems" (Zieman 1995).

For this very reason, healthcare management relies on sound and specially designed information systems that can augment the whole health care structure.

A successful information system for health care involves the following basic components;

1. Client Information Management

2. Accounting

3. Clinical Records (basic charting functions, treatment planning, and clinical management functions)

4. Utilization Management

5. Office Systems

6. Outcomes & Performance Improvement

Within these categories, a strong and detailed system that taps into all relevant areas of a health care unit and provides consistent information to the entire system is needed. The categories work in a cohesive manner and not in isolation of each other. This is not only necessary but also essential to the success of health care. Most health care institutes make the mistake of outsourcing of the above categories or automating one of them. The former creates lags in decision making while the latter creates inconsistency. Both are very cumbersome for the system as a whole. Hence, you information system needs to be implemented in total and with expertise.

• Cassandra Bagley
• 25/12/2008, 4:59 AM
• 0 Comments