Overview of Health Informatics

Midterms – Lesson 3
Health Information System

Health Information Technology

The dawn of the information age has resulted
in the generation of huge amounts of routine
data, particularly in health care, which can
become perplexing (confusing) to process and
analyze. This is the challenge for health
informatics-to make sense of large amounts of
data while ensuring that the processes are
valid and secure.
The transition from a manual to a more
Health Care Software Systems
advanced health information system is an Rouse (2016) enumerates the following types
overarching issue for providers of health care, of health information technology:
managers, policymakers, researchers, and
patients alike. While there are benefits, there An electronic health record (EHR) is also
are also undeniable disadvantages. One called an electronic medical record (EMR). It is
innovation that manages health information for one of the fundamental components of health
better service delivery is health information information technology infrastructure. EHR is
technology. the patient’s official health record in digital form
and this information is shared across multiple
Rouse (2016) defines health information health care providers and agencies.
technology (HIT) as “the area of IT involving
the design, development, creation, use and The other key elements are the personal
maintenance of information systems for the health record (PHR) and the health
health care industry. Automated and information exchange (HIE).
interoperable health care information systems
A PHR is a person’s self-maintained health
are expected to improve medical care, lower
record while the HIE is the health data
costs, increase efficiency, reduce error, and
clearinghouse which is comprised of health
improve patient satisfaction while also
care organizations with interoperability pact to
optimizing reimbursement for ambulatory and
share data among their health information
in-patient health care providers.”
technology systems.
Health information technology vows to provide
In the United States, since the inception of the
innovation to health care delivery and
HITECH Act of 2009, the use and
connection among users and stakeholders in
implementation of HER systems have
the e-health market. Systems such as
increased dramatically. Hospitals and
electronic health records, decision support
physicians using the government-certified EHR
systems, and personal health records are
systems meet the meaningful use criteria and
promising and are becoming widely deployed
are qualified to receive incentives. The said
worldwide (Kushniruk & Borycki, 2017).
criteria is regulated under the Office of the
National Coordinator (ONC) for health IT which
certifies approved IT technology use.
Under the federal reimbursement program and
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMMS). However, meaningful use is changing
due to the Medicare Access and Children’s
Health Insurance Plan Reauthorization Act
(MACRA) which is a law on value-based
reimbursement system passed by the US
Congress in 2015.
There are two widely used types of health
information technology, the picture archiving
and communication systems (PACS) and
vendor neutral archives (VNA). These two
helps manage and store the patients’ medical
images.
PACS and VNAs integrate radiology into the
main hospital workflow. Radiology used to be
the primary repository for medical images.
Presently, other specialties such as cardiology
and neurology are also among the large-scale
producers of clinical images. VNAs can also be
installed for the purpose of merging stored
imaging data from various departments into a
multi-facility health care system.
Health Information Ecosystem
The Healthcare Information and Management
Systems Society (2017) defines a health
interoperability ecosystem as a composition
of individuals, systems, and processes that
share, exchange, and access all forms of
health information, including discrete, narrative,
and multimedia. Individuals, patients,
providers, hospital/health systems,
researchers, payors, suppliers, and systems
are potential stakeholders within such an
ecosystem. Each is involved in the creation,
exchange, and use of health information and/or
data.
An efficient health interoperability ecosystem
provides an information infrastructure that uses
technical standards, policies, and protocols to
enable seamless and secure capture,
discovery, exchange, and utilization of health
information.
Health Informatics in the Cloud
The role of cloud technology is undeniably
significant in our everyday lives. Currently, 83
percent of health care organizations are
making use of cloud-based applications, and it
is changing the landscape of the health care
system and health informatics. However, both
benefits and threats exist (University of Illinois,
2014).
Advantages of Cloud Technology
1. Integrated and Efficient Patient Care
Cloud technology offers a single access
point for patient information which allows
multiple doctors to review laboratory results
or notes on patients. Physicians can spend
more time deciding and performing patient
treatment instead of waiting for information
from different departments.
2. Better Management of Data
The accumulation of electronic health records
will allow more meaningful data mining that can
better access the health of the general public.
More data can mean more opportunities to
identify trends in diseases and crises.
Disadvantages of Cloud
1. Potential Risks to Personal Information
The strength of cloud technology is also very
same characteristic that makes it vulnerable to
data breaches. The information contained
within medical records may be subjected to
theft or other violations of privacy and
confidentiality. Fortunately, safeguards may be
put in place to minimize such threats such as
encryption, proper data disposal, and other
security features.
 indeed resulted in higher efficiency rate among
health workers since more time can be spent in
providing patient care (Philippine Council for
2. Cloud Setup Seems Cumbersome Health Research and Development, 2012).

The transition from a traditional to an Despite the development, health informatics in

automated system might be difficult for some the Philippines still suffers from various issues
members of health care organizations that may that hamper progress, one of these is the lack
not be familiar with cloud technology. This of interest in the field. Health informatics is
technology, however, will be adopted by more seen more as a novelty rather than as a
institutions in the future. With proper education profession. When professional and economic
and illustration of its function, hesitant constraints come into play, priorities shift
practitioners may be able to see its towards clinical responsibilities at the expense
advantages. of health informatics as a discipline.
Another issue is that many decision-makers do
Health Informatics in the not use the benefits of information technology
Health informatics is the application of both in the health sector. The large initial
technology and systems in a health care expenditure for a health information system
setting. It has been loosely practiced in the remains another barrier to the integration of IT
Philippines since the 1980s. Practitioners who in the Philippine health care system (Marcelo,
had access to IBM (International Business 2012).
Machines Corporation) compatible machines
used word processors to store patient
information. Since then, significant milestones
in health informatics have occurred over the
years, one of which is the Community Health
Information Tracking System (CHITS), a
Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP-based system
released under the general public license
(GPL).
CHITS was named finalist at the Stockholm
Challenge 2006 and one of top three e-
government projects in the Philippines by the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC).
CHITS is an electronic medical record (EMR)
developed through the collaboration of the
Information and Communication Technology
community and health workers, primarily
designed for use in Philippine health centers in
disadvantaged areas.
It is currently utilized in 111 government health
facilities. What used to be manually done, e.g.,
looking up a patient’s record for four to five
minutes, can now be executed within a couple
of seconds. The Implementation of CHITS has