health information systems (HSM 386 Discussion 1)

Based on what you have learned so far, what benefits and risks do health information systems bring? How do they affect clinicians, healthcare leaders, and patients? Provide an example of a clinical application or information system within your discussion to serve as an example. Do not forget to add a scholarly resource to back up your claims; this is a requirement. All formatting should follow APA standards.

Divide them up into two full paragraphs!!! Must use at least one SCHOLARLY RESOURCE!!

ANSWER

Health Information Systems

Healthcare information systems (HIEs) encompass various benefits and risks. Administrators should be well-versed with these benefits and challenges to make informed decisions. One of the benefits of these systems is that they provide collaborative care services where various professionals can interact to boost patients’ healthcare status. They can communicate via these systems to relay vital patient information. This translates to patient’s safety based on reduced errors (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017). Patients experience improved quality and safety. Also, these systems translate to reduced costs based on the effective sharing of patient data. Since healthcare providers can exchange information, patients spend minimum costs for the services offered. Lastly, healthcare information systems advance patient’s care outcomes due to the quality care and attention services relayed by healthcare providers. These systems allow clinicians to offer excellent services while healthcare leaders benefit from improved organizational outcomes based on the quality of services delivered to patients. For example, the Clinical Decision Support (CDS) system allows care providers to analyze data and make vital clinical decisions. It ensures that these professionals can effectively diagnose patients and make quality decisions that safeguard their health and well-being.

There is a general risk of system failure that could hamper healthcare delivery. If a technical issue emerges, patients might fail to receive quality services (Kim, Coiera & Magrabi, 2017). Service disruptions become a major issue of concern when a system failure occurs. Notably, there is a threat of data exposure into the public domain. These systems are prone to attacks by malicious agents who can access confidential and private consumer data. This can interfere with a patient’s progress and overall health status. These issues could affect healthcare leaders and clinicians based on an adverse brand image.

References

Alotaibi, Y. K., & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi medical journal, 38(12), 1173.

Kim, M. O., Coiera, E., & Magrabi, F. (2017). Problems with health information technology and their effects on care delivery and patient outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 24(2), 246-250. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocw154