Discuss about the Impact of IT on Healthcare for IT Industry.
As IT industry is penetrating in the healthcare industry, the patients and physicians are experiencing the advantages of on-demand access to the healthcare information, whenever it’s required. By facilitating the information flow in the healthcare companies, healthcare providers can give more quality services (James 1997).
iCareHealth is one of the successful healthcare organization of Australia, which was founded in the year 2002, and is involved in offering both clinical and management solutions. iCareHealth also provides aged care software’s, which provides person electronic health record (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). The organization is efficiently working towards enhancing organizational efficiency, the level of patient care and productivity of staff (About Us 2017).
IT in healthcare sector supports health information management all across the computerized system as well as help in secure exchange of healthcare data among the care providers, consumers, quality monitors, and players. IT in healthcare organizations like iCareHealth assist in enhancing the healthcare effectiveness and healthcare quality; minimizes the cost of health care; increase access of patients towards affordable care, and even prevent the healthcare errors and improve the accuracy of healthcare and correct the procedure (James 1997). It also supports in increasing the efficiency of administration and process of healthcare. It also reduces the paperwork, idle work time as well as unproductivity. It also increases real time interaction of the healthcare informatics among the professionals in healthcare (Michael 1992).
In the modern IT healthcare is more than the unfriendly applications and computers (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). Due to the increase in imparting proper patient care, new tools and information are exploited that are provided by the system, while simultaneously it maintains the patient-centric approach (Michael 1992). Software or applications that help in the process of core medicine, hardware’s that permit to have easy access to data for imparting care, along with standards that create integration among the various systems are all considered as the main feature of the new IT healthcare system (Michael 1992).
The business success relies on different factors. Some of which relates to the relevant analysis, selecting the correct technology as well as a future vision of the company (McKenney, Copeland and Mason 1995). In the present time, information technology is referred not only related as a helping tool, but it’s also a strategic necessity through the world-class companies (Sandy and Sean 1992). With the increase in competition, the use of various sophisticated IT techniques and tools, like Internet and information warehousing is referred as quite imperative for the companies, to collect the competitive benefits (Sandy and Sean 1992). The healthcare industry through the changes in regulations is no considered as immune through the escalating competitive wave (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009).
To survive in the environment of hard business, healthcare companies are turning towards advanced IT tools. Healthcare companies like iCareHealth had tried to raise the investment in information technology from around 2% of the operating cost to around 5% as well as 7% as mentioned by the CEO of iCareHealth. Along with this, it is estimated that healthcare industry in Australia spent around $12 billion as well as $16 billion on the information technology services in the year 1996 (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009).
Information systems are considered as the central part of any business in present time, and even every business need to make an investment in implementing technology to compete in the market (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). Most of the companies talk that through implementing IT, they can easily manage cost, conduct better planning, designing. Install better equipment’s, and hold regular and practical training sessions (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). Healthcare organizations are required to implement IT into business, as it helps them in reaching out to various potential customers, and even develop better relations with patients (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). It even supports in streamlining the operations of hospitals, minimizes the cost incurred on medical services, enhances the efficiency, increases profits, reduces medical wastage, and even help in developing talent into the core healthcare business (Ross, Beath and Goodhue 1996). IT in healthcare industries also provide better services to customers, and even doctors can check the previous medical history of the patient, before offering them better treatment (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009).
Due to the availability of data, healthcare institutions, can better conduct planning and design the programs, which benefit both staff and patients (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). Advancement in technology had also lead to the use of better medical equipment’s that are quite effective in treating patients and give better results (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). In the last few years, medical science has improved and had even come up with better treatments for life threating diseases (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). Though the initial cost is high for implementing IT in healthcare, later on, the cost can be reduced by various treatment (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). Through value proposition, the healthcare institutions can save employees time, and ask them to come with innovation (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009).
Internally, the IT practical use covers up IT technologies, which can leave a profound effect on the functions and organizational structure of the healthcare organization. As information is often distributed inefficient way to the one, who require it when needed (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). It also was given to lines of control and explain the influence, along with individual units, which are self-organize in the efficient and new ways (Cimino, Socratous and Clayton 1995). This effect could be multifaceted, and not only try to flatten the structure of the company, but also bring change in the mix skilled employees (Sambamurthy and Zmud 1996). It is noted that Information technology in business, often motivate the consumers to explicitly discuss the items or either topic of related interest (Cimino, Socratous and Clayton 1995). For instance, IT book merchants, also permit the readers to clearly give their review about the healthcare services offered in healthcare institutions and then rate the quality provided in these facilities (Cimino, Socratous and Clayton 1995).
It based vendors related with healthcare information usually help the client-generated debates over the particular treatment techniques (Cimino, Socratous and Clayton 1995). All these methods are highly intended towards assisting the patients in making right decisions and simultaneously, it also attract the patients towards specific sites (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). It also permits the merchants to work towards developing the in-depth analysis of the patients (William and Edward 1997). Through automatically collecting or either recording the patient’s choice and preferences, merchants can provide both the advertising and goods, which are the likelihood of meeting the expected consumer audiences (William and Edward 1997). If this technique is successfully applied, then these technologies can easily enable their merchants to develop the sense of going one to one personalized services for many customers, and this process is referred as mass customization (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). Even vendors also permit customers to clearly preview and experiment with medical products before they purchase it (William and Edward 1997).
Most important is that patient relationship set up by the successful healthcare information companies are not static (Raghupathi 1997). Instead of that, these companies are more evolve as per the evolvement of patients’ needs as well as sophistication (Amit 1996). The active consumer empowerment often initiates the companies to offer high targeted services along with high degree of various commensurate with the needs of buyers (Drucker 1999).
Improvements taking place in the information technology sector had permitted for having the great reform in the healthcare industry (Mindy 1997). Most of the medical officers can now quickly send as well as receive the electronic medical information from the doctors, as compared to the past doctors (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). These changes can now readily permit the cost to get reduced and enhance the time taken by the doctors of the patients, in comparison to the paperwork (Mindy 1997).
Even, with advancement in IT, security improvements in IT had taken place, so that medical information could be secured, no matter whenever it is sent (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). One can even easily view the prescriptions that are sent through the digital platform to all the local pharmacies in most of the medical (Mindy 1997).
Also, it can be seen that, with the changes occurring in the paperwork needed by the medical officers, IT had helped in updating the technology used by doctors (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). Doctors can now quickly diagnose and efficiently treat the patient, by easily checking the past records of the patients (Fred 1997). By applying the computerized axial tomography (CAT) as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the doctors are able to make use of computer, for the purpose of creating the detailed images of the patient organs and can even create the picture, which depict the changes occurring in the body blood flow and chemistry (Fred 1997). It can be supportive in exploring the illness, which was not easy to found through the blood test or either previous used medical tests (Fred 1997).
Electronic health records, which are saved at the companies are often most vulnerable towards both internal and external agents, which try to violate the security and confidential policies of the enterprise (Greene 2011). These agents are considered as the organizational threat for the healthcare companies (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). Internal agents are referred as authorized system users, who even try to abuse the privileges through accessing the information for unrelated reasons, whether to see the friend’s records, neighbors, co-workers or leaking the medical information in the press (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). External agents include the outsiders that are not authorized to make use of information systems or either access the information, but still, nevertheless, they make an attempt to access or either manipulate the data or render the inoperable system (Greene 2011). Healthcare companies like iCareHealth had also made a long attempt to counter different internal agents in the efforts to safeguard the paper records of patient health (Greene 2011). They have even held less experience in protecting the health information from all the Technical attacks or threats made by the outsiders, as till recently, there are few healthcare companies, which are linked with the publicly accessible networks of healthcare (Greene 2011).
The growing concern related to the health information systems security had increased, due to the rise of HER, and growing sue of mobile devices like smartphones, theft of medical identity, and massively anticipated exchange of information between the companies, federal agencies, clinicians, as well as patients (LaTour and Eichenwald 2010). If the trust of the patients is undermined, they might forthright with the healthcare physician. Healthcare employees are expected to be aware of the security measures, which should be taken to protect the information of patients and data within the healthcare practices (LaTour and Eichenwald 2010).
Healthcare companies can work towards installing control measures, through IT work could be monitored in the company (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009). Through applying internal control measures, risk can be mitigated. By conducting regular audits and installing compliance factors, healthcare institutions can easily monitor the Information technology practices (Odom-Wesley, Brown and Meyers 2009).
Conclusion and Recommendations
Healthcare organizations are expected to keep abreast with the ongoing changes taking place. Some of the companies predict that it might be virtually unrecognizable in the coming years. It is noted that the competition might lead the healthcare organizations, as well as their associations towards the opportunities present in the IT. The question is how well the healthcare providers approach all these risk factors through their strategic planning and implementation, as it will create difference among the success as well as failure in attaining benefits of the opportunities.
References
About Us. 2017. [Online]. Available at: https://www.icarehealth.com.au/about-us/ [Accessed on: 1st February 2017].
Amit, M. 1996. Building a Corporate Internet Strategy: The IT Manager’s Guide. Van Nostrand Reinhold
Cimino, J., Socratous, S., and Clayton, P. 1995. “Internet as Clinical Information System: Application Development Using the World Wide Web.” Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2(5), pp. 273- 284.
Drucker, P. 1999. Management Challenges for the 21st Century. Harper Business Press
Fred, N. 1997. “Data Warehousing at an Urban Hospital.” Journal of Data Warehousing, 2(4), pp. 2-12.
Greene, A.H. 2011. HHS steps up HIPAA audits: now is the time to review security policies and procedures. J Am Health Inf Management Assoc, 82(10), pp. 58-59.
James, A. 1997. “Clearing the Way for Physicians’ Use of Clinical Information Systems.” Communications of the ACM, 40(8), pp. 83-90.
LaTour, K.M, and Eichenwald, M.S. 2010. Health Information Management: Concepts, Principles, and Practice. 3rd ed. Chicago: American Health Information Management Association
McKenney, J., Copeland, D., and Mason, R. 1995.Healthcare. Harvard Business School Press
Michael, K. 1992. “Strategic Requirements for IS in the Turbulent Healthcare Environment.” Journal of Systems Management, 6, pp. 6-18.
Mindy, B. 1997. “Tighter Control of Medical Records Urged.” Computerworld, 31(10), pp. 8
Odom-Wesley, B., Brown, D., and Meyers, C.L. 2009. Documentation for Medical Records. Chicago: American Health Information Management Association
Raghupathi, W. 1997. “Health Care Information Systems.” Communications of the ACM, 40(8), pp. 81-82.
Ross, J., Beath, C., and Goodhue, D. 1996. Develop Long-Term Competitiveness Through IT Assets. Sloan Management Review, 38(1), pp. 31–42.
Sambamurthy, V., and Zmud, R. 1996. Information Technology and Innovation: Strategies for Success. Financial Executives Research Foundation
Sandy, B., and Sean, E. 1992. “Decision Support Systems in the Healthcare Industry.” Journal of Systems Management, 6, pp. 28-31.
William, D., and Edward, S. H. 1997. “Using the Internet to Improve Knowledge Diffusion in Medicine.” Communications of the ACM, 40(8), pp. 101-108.
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