Evolution of health care information system
Evolution of Health Care Information Systems
HCS/533
October 9, 2013
Kemuel Prince
Evolution of Health Care Information Systems In this paper, we will compare and contrast Skilled Nursing Facilities from 20 years ago to today. Skilled Nursing facilities of today are both similar and different from what they were like two decades ago. Similarities comprise of the organizational structure, including different departments, and the various roles within those departments. The roles of nurses, doctors, administrators, and therapists have not changed much in the last 20 years, and it is still the same hierarchical approach where a top down approach to administration and management is used . The differences outweigh the similarities as many changes have taken place over the years. Most of the changes have been as a result of the advances in information technology in health care. Some of the differences include utilization of information systems such as e-mail for communication, documentation using electronic medical records (EMR), and utilization of advanced medical equipment. Two significant advances in health care information system over the last two decades has been the use of EMR and the advances in medical devices. These two advances have changed how care is being delivered in health care in general and more specifically, in skilled nursing facilities. Two decades ago, majority of documentation was done by hand, often resulting in disjointed, redundant documentation without the ability to extrapolate meaningful data for analytical and benchmarking purposes. By contrast with the current EMR documentation, there is very little duplication of documentation, and internal and external benchmarking is available for quality improvement purposes. Today’s skilled nursing facility is dependent upon computer and information systems to run practically every aspect of the organization. Billing systems, pyxis systems for medication dispensing, minimum data
HCS/533
October 9, 2013
Kemuel Prince
Evolution of Health Care Information Systems In this paper, we will compare and contrast Skilled Nursing Facilities from 20 years ago to today. Skilled Nursing facilities of today are both similar and different from what they were like two decades ago. Similarities comprise of the organizational structure, including different departments, and the various roles within those departments. The roles of nurses, doctors, administrators, and therapists have not changed much in the last 20 years, and it is still the same hierarchical approach where a top down approach to administration and management is used . The differences outweigh the similarities as many changes have taken place over the years. Most of the changes have been as a result of the advances in information technology in health care. Some of the differences include utilization of information systems such as e-mail for communication, documentation using electronic medical records (EMR), and utilization of advanced medical equipment. Two significant advances in health care information system over the last two decades has been the use of EMR and the advances in medical devices. These two advances have changed how care is being delivered in health care in general and more specifically, in skilled nursing facilities. Two decades ago, majority of documentation was done by hand, often resulting in disjointed, redundant documentation without the ability to extrapolate meaningful data for analytical and benchmarking purposes. By contrast with the current EMR documentation, there is very little duplication of documentation, and internal and external benchmarking is available for quality improvement purposes. Today’s skilled nursing facility is dependent upon computer and information systems to run practically every aspect of the organization. Billing systems, pyxis systems for medication dispensing, minimum data
References: www.americantelemed.org/learn www.cms.gov www.lse.ac.uk