NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

The Benefits of a Hospital Management Information System.

It is important to evaluate and understand the benefits of Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) thoroughly and pit them against the needs of your hospital when trying to figure out why you need an HMIS implemented in your hospital.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

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Here we list out some of the unique benefits of HMIS and how they impact hospital processes. Pit them against your needs and see if they fit:

1. Easy Access To Patient Data

A well-implemented HMIS means readily available patient data to the care providers. It is only a matter of few clicks and all the requisite information about a patient, from various departments in the hospital, can be available on the screen. If the treating doctor needs to re-check the test reports of a patient, he need not go looking for the IPD file in the patient floor; logging into the HMIS will give him instant access to those reports and timely treatment decisions ensue. If the HMIS is implemented, the doctor will be able to access reports remotely improving productivity.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

2. Cost Effective

HMIS cuts out a lot of manual work that are performed in hospitals especially documentation and record keeping. The level of human intervention is really low with a well-implemented HMIS. It helps in cutting down manpower costs because a lot of work gets automated and does not require manual intervention to store or analyze the information. HMIS also saves much on storage and the related costs. A well-implemented HMIS practically makes a hospital paper free. (Only the legally mandatory documents need to be maintained on paper to comply with the rules.)NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

3. Plugs Revenue Leakage

Because processes on HMIS are automated and a lot of tasks are assigned to the software to be performed with utmost accuracy, with minimum human intervention, the scope of error is reduced dramatically. For instance, while billing an IDP patient for consumables used, with HIS the bill can hardly go wrong because the consumables used are immediately entered into the HMIS by the nurse under the patient’s ID. Per unit rate of the consumable is already saved in the software as part of standard operating procedure of automation; merely selecting the consumable name and the quantity will enable the software to calculate the amount due accurately.

4. Increased Data Security & Retrieve-ability

Record keeping in hospitals is a mandatory bane with two challenges: keeping the data safe with only authorized personnel getting access to it and retrieving it within the minimum time possible. Add to these the perennial problems like space shortage, protection from natural elements and protection from pest damage etc.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

When HMIS is implemented in a hospital, all the data is stored on the server or Cloud. Since HMIS works on logins, data security is not an issue as long as the personnel keep their passwords secret and safe. Logins ensure that only when logged in from the login, which has access rights, will anyone be able to access the data, ensuring data safety. Retrieve-ability of data stored on a server or Cloud is only a matter of few clicks.

5. Improved Operational Effectiveness

Improved access to patient data and improved work efficiency means better and faster clinical decisions. In this age of evidence based medicine, the faster the clinician gets the diagnostic reports and the quicker his orders are implemented the faster is the patient’s recovery and the better it is on the patient care index. With automation, all departments in the hospitals are inter-connected and faster information access further improves the quality of patient care and the resultant bed turnover in the hospital.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

6. Accountability

HMIS comes with logins. Logins are like individual locks the key of which is alpha numeric with special characters. Every employee who needs to work on HMIS is given an individual login with access controls. Every task happens through logins, only. HMIS gives the kind of accountability that manual processes never manage to give. With an audit trail, HMIS allows every task to be traced to the employee who performed it.

Information systems can improve cost control, increase the timeliness and accuracy of patient care and administration information, increase service capacity, reduce personnel costs and inventory levels, and improve the quality of patient care. However, experience shows that most of these benefits will not occur automatically following system implementation. Operational problems may exist that diminish information timeliness, accessibility, and accuracy; policies and procedures may not have been sufficiently tailored to reflect the realities and intents of the systems; and personnel tasks may not have been adequately restructured. In order to realize the full potential of information systems, health care organizations must plan for and implement strategies that are designed to maximize such benefits. This paper describes a method for developing benefits maximization strategies. The processes used to define strategies and their outcomes are presented.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Health Information Systems is a broad category that encompasses several specific types of systems. Here’s a look at some of the most common HIS types.

Strategic or Operational Systems

Strategic or operational systems are typically used for information classification. Provisions are made for information systems based on the type of information they’re handling. A pyramid classification system allows organizations to assess the spread of digitization. Because operational systems are generally developed before executive information systems or management information systems, this is easily achieved. The ability to evaluate dependencies can help to identify system deficiencies, as well. For example, a properly configured information system should pull data from a clinical system rather than require nurses and clinicians to collect and document data manually.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Clinical and Administrative Systems for Managing Patient Information on an Administrative Level

Clinical systems are dependent on administrative data. The foundation of an integrated HIS is a master index developed around the most basic patient information with links to different clinical systems, and the clinical system contains the electronic patient record (EPR), diagnostic data, outcomes, and processing.

Electronic Health Record and Patient Health Record

Open EHR aims to enable semantic interoperability for health information systems between various EHR systems in a non-proprietary format to prevent vendor lock-in. Knowledge concepts are stored outside the EHR as archetypes, which support the recording of clinical information. Archetype building blocks include instructions, evaluations, observations, and actions, and information built using these building blocks is stored in the EHR.

Subject- and Task-Based Systems

Subject-based systems are related to patients or healthcare professionals in any type of healthcare organization. Task-based systems, on the other hand, are associated with particular tasks such as admission or discharge. Subject-based systems are often preferred, as they reduce data duplication. In a task-based system, the same subject could be related to various tasks, with basic information such as the patient’s ID being duplicated across each task. In a subject-based system, this basic information is entered only once and flows with the subject through various tasks. For example, an EHR is a subject-based system.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Financial and Clinical Health Information Systems

These systems provide easy access to patient financial information, such as costs and payors, and they also aid in monitoring patient usage of different departments or services. Financial systems typically include invoicing capabilities as well as tools for following up on non-payments.

Decision Support Systems

Decision support systems convert data to clinically relevant information and present it in actionable form to clinicians, aiding in adherence to regulatory guidelines and best practices. These systems can give results for several data manipulations to mimic cognitive processing. For example, a decision support system may provide a list of medications for a particular condition appropriate for the patient’s demographics, such as the patient’s age and weight, as well as any comorbidities. Decision support systems can also facilitate next steps in the workflow, such as submitting a prescription to the pharmacy and scheduling a follow-up appointment for the patient.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Examples of Health Information Systems

There are many specific health information systems, most of which can be classified as one of the types discussed above. Specific examples include:

• Master Patient Index (MPI)
• Medical billing software
• Patient portals
• Health Information Exchange (HIE)
• Activity Based Costing (ABC)
• Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO)
• Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
• Scheduling software
• e-Prescribing software
• Laboratory information systems
• Hospital Patient Administration Systems (PAS)
• Human Resource Management Information Systems (HRMIS)

As you can see, health information systems run the gamut from high-level administrative systems to those that manage detailed, patient-specific information.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Benefits of Health Information Systems

The healthcare industry relies on a massive amount of data to make decisions about patient care, facilitate the delivery of care, and handle the many complex administrative tasks that go on behind the scenes. Health information systems are valuable tools that aid clinicians and administrative personnel in ensuring a seamless patient experience from end-to-end. Other benefits include:

• Data analytics – HIS help to gather and analyze data to manage population health and reduce healthcare costs.
• Supports collaborative care – HIS facilitates the sharing of PHI between providers and organizations, making it possible for patients to receive coordinated care from multiple providers while improving care delivery and patient outcomes.
• Cost control – By sharing information, HIS can eliminate duplicate testing and procedures, reduce time demands on staff (such as for sending paper copies of patient records), and reduce costly human errors.
• Population health management – Aggregating patient data can help to identify patterns and trends, predict or prevent outbreaks, identify at-risk populations, and more.
• Clinical decision support – Integrating a patient’s individual data and medical history with broader population data and research improves both diagnostics and treatment.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Challenges of Health Information Systems

Health information systems must be both user-friendly – otherwise, staff simply won’t use them – and cost-effective to run. They should also be able to use and interpret health data. However, achieving these goals has been challenging in the past, leading the industry to aim for interoperability – which is crucial for maximizing the benefits of HIS.

Interoperability improves both the quality and use of health information, but traditional integration techniques are costly and time-consuming to implement. That’s why more healthcare organizations are turning to API solutions like Emissary®. APIs make interoperability more practical, cost-effective, and user-friendly, allowing for the seamless integration of a variety of disparate systems to eliminate silos and streamline the flow and management of data between systems. Learn more about Sansoro Health’s integration solutions and how our solutions can remove the painful, lengthy barriers of application integration to start getting more value from your HIS.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Advantages of a Hospital Information System

Reasons why HIS is a necessary change you need in your hospital.

Why automate your hospital processes when your staff has the caliber and expertise to perform them manually? Why the unnecessary cost? Aiming to clear that confusion, in this post we explore the advantages of implementing a hospital information system and the changes the hospital processes undergo as a result.

1. Easy Access To Patient Data

A well-implemented Hospital Information System means readily available patient data to the care providers. It is only a matter of few clicks and all the requisite information about a patient, from various departments in the hospital, can be available on the screen. If the treating doctor needs to re-check the test reports of a patient, she need not go looking for the IPD file; logging into the HIS will give her instant access to those reports and timely treatment decisions ensue.

2. Cost Effective

HIS, when implemented well, cuts out on a lot of manual work that are essentially performed in hospitals, especially the ones where documentation and record keeping is required. It helps in cutting down manpower because a lot of work gets automated and does not require manual intervention to store or analyze the information. It also saves much on storage and the related costs.

3. Improved Efficiency

Processes automated using software would mean that the processes will be taken care of mechanically without any human intervention and this will instantly ensure improved efficiency. The software will not face human problems like fatigue, miscommunication or lack of focus; it will perform every task assigned to it with the same accuracy day in and day out.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

4. Reduces Scope of Error

Because processes on HIS are automated and a lot of tasks are assigned to the software to perform with utmost accuracy with minimum human intervention, the scope of error is reduced dramatically. For instance, while billing an IDP patient for the drugs used with HIS, the bill can hardly go wrong because the drug the nurse indents is what is billed for until and unless there is a shortage in stock or change in drug order after the indent has been sent. Per unit rate of the drug is saved in the software as part of standard operating procedure of automation. Just selecting the drug name and the quantity will enable the software to calculate the amount due,accurately.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

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5. Increased Data Security & Retrieve-ability

Record keeping in hospitals is a mandatory bane with two challenges: keeping the data safe with only authorized personnel getting access to it and retrieving it in the minimum possible time. Add to these the perennial problems of space shortage, protection from natural elements and protection from pest damage etc.

HIS is the perfect solution for these problems. All the data is stored on the server or cloud, keeping it safe. Since HIS works on logins, data security is becomes a non-issue offering data access based on the role of the person – Receptionist, doctor, nurse, radiologist etc. Retrieve-ability of data stored on a server or cloud is only a matter of few clicks and the data will appear on the screen within seconds.

6. Improved Patient Care

Improved access to patient data and improved work efficiency means better and faster clinical decisions. In this age of evidence based medicine, the faster the clinician gets the diagnostic reports and the quicker her orders are implemented the faster is the patient recovery and the better it is on the patient care index. With automation, all departments in the hospitals are inter-connected and the faster information access further improves the quality of patient care and the resultant bed turnover in the hospital.

Objectives for Health Care Information Systems and Electronic Health Records in Primary Care

From the outset, professional organizations of GPs have played an active role in setting guidelines for information systems in general practice and in assessing the systems available in the market. This active role was started in the early 1980s, when they identified the basic needs of GPs for using systems in their practices and set the first broad guidelines for systems tailored specifically for primary care. Few patients today deal with only one healthcare provider. This is particularly true for those who have complex health problems, for those who move frequently for work purposes and for travelers generally. In the absence of continuity of care, continuity of information is essential to optimize healthcare.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper There is a great deal of interest with both the public and private sectors in encouraging all health care providers to migrate from paper-based health records to a system that stores health information electronically and employs computer-aided decision support systems. In part this interest is due to a growing recognition that stronger information technology (IT) infrastructure is integral to addressing such national concerns as the need to improve the safety and quality of health care, rising health care costs, and matters of homeland security related to the health sector.

Network technology and communication (telematics) are now prominent developments in information technology and have a large impact on health care. By using standard communication networks and standard software, data interchange between the four levels of health care delivery (i.e., the region, the institution, the clinical department or outpatient clinic, and the individual physician, nurse, or patient) is more efficient. A fully operational exchange of patient data between systems, with proper authorization, is one of the present challenges in European health care.

There are significant privacy and security requirements which need to be satisfied. The needs of both patients and health care providers must be addressed. This is essential, challenging, and achievable. Information privacy in health involves optimizing individual rights and public good. The benefits expected include:NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

– Improved clinical decision making
– Reduced duplication of diagnostic testing, imaging and history taking
– Better medication management
– Increased adoption of screening programs and preventive health measures

As a consequence of these projected benefits, the quality of individual care can be expected to improve substantially.

Definition of Health Informatics

“Health informatics is the knowledge, skills and tools which enable information to be collected, managed, used and shared to support the delivery of healthcare and promote health”

Principles

The Health Information System should:

– Be systematically developed in a coordinated manner to facilitate inter connectivity.
– Recognize the needs of primary health care.
– Guarantee all privacy and confidentiality requirements.
– Serve the needs of both the individual patient, the individual doctor and the national health care statistics, enabling monitoring of health care parameters and facilitating administration and management.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper
– Improve effectiveness and efficiency of health care services/delivery but also public health services.
– Enable quality assessment and quality improvement (expert systems, data analysis, etc)

Assumptions

– Communication between all healthcare providers involved in care of patients will be via electronic means.
– Healthcare providers will still be allowed to maintain detailed and confidential paper medical records.

IT within the Future Health Care System

The development of an IT infrastructure has enormous potential to improve safety, quality and efficiency of GPs’ work. Computer assisted diagnosis and chronic care management programs can help clinical decision making, adherence to the best evidence based guidelines, often needed in patients with several chronic diseases.

Computer based expert systems both for patients and clinicians can improve preventive activities and patients’ compliance.

Immediate access to computer based clinical information such as laboratory and radiology results can reduce redundancy and improve quality. Availability of complete patient health information at the point of care delivery, together with clinical decision support systems (e.g. diagnosis and medication order entry) reduce medical errors and adverse events.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

If needed all participants in the health care process can share health information on the patient.

Advanced health information infrastructure is also vital for all kinds of research, education and health information.

Therefore we urge all UEMO countries to promote the implementation of health information technology and to become actively involved in its development. Our goal is to enable that patient’s information and data become available to all healthcare providers involved in the medical care of patients.

Challenges to Implementation of Health Informatics

To facilitate the adoption of health informatics and health record systems the following challenges have to be addressed:

– Safeguarding privacy and security
– Technical problems
– Organizational barriers
– Financial costs
– Different policies
– Training programs for practitioners and other health care providers

Information systems in healthcare have become increasingly advanced over the last decade or so, and their ever-growing range of capabilities have led to widespread use of these systems throughout the healthcare industry. In fact, use of some level of information management has become virtually universal among healthcare providers, facilities and health systems. So why have these systems become so important?NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Information Systems: Essential Infrastructure For A Safe, Efficient Healthcare System

Much of the importance of information systems in healthcare stems from, as mentioned above, their growing usefulness. While such systems were once largely geared towards mundane tasks like storage of patient records and tracking inventories, modern healthcare IT has evolved into a digital healthcare infrastructure . That infrastructure is responsible for collecting, managing and integrating the tremendous volume of clinical, financial and operational information generated daily by today's healthcare system, enhancing the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of that system.

For instance, clinical management is enhanced by electronic health records (EHRs), which place comprehensive patient data at the fingertips of healthcare professionals.

• EHR programs feature interactive clinical decision assistance tools, which alert providers to potential problems, such as medication interactions, allergies or critical lab values, and reminders about preventive care and/or clinical guidelines.
• Patient portal software improves patient engagement, offering online patient education, electronic communication with clinicians and digital access to personal health information.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper
• Financial and operational management is aided by accounting software for healthcare organizations, healthcare billing systems, healthcare policy and contract management software, and interactive and intuitive inventory control systems, among many other software solutions.

Healthcare Information Systems: Keeping Up With Explosive Growth

The cycle of increasing healthcare IT innovation and adoption of these systems throughout the healthcare industry has created a corresponding surge in demand for healthcare IT professionals who are fluent in new and emerging technology solutions. What that means for those entering or already working in this rapidly expanding field is that continuing education will be key to maintaining your edge against the increasing competition from new candidates flooding into the industry in response to that demand.

Many are pursuing that continuing education via certificate programs . Why, as an experienced healthcare IT professional, should you invest in certification in healthcare technologies? While you may feel that your experience in the field speaks for itself, getting certified adds credentials to your resume that make it clear to employers/clients that you are on top of your game, well-versed in all aspects of managing the latest healthcare information systems.

Those credentials, combined with your real-world experience and work history, will help you stand out from the crowd -- and stay a step or two ahead of all those newly minted healthcare IT professionals nipping at your heels as they work to break into the field.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

The objective of this work was to design and evaluate a health information technology (HIT) dashboard that presents evidence-based quality indicators for the purpose of evaluating patient risk in a hospital care setting. A focus group of nurse managers, physicians, and hospital quality professionals was conducted to identify design criteria for the HIT dashboard. The dashboard was developed from dynamic process data from a medical surgical unit in a Midwestern, academic hospital using human factors principles. Heuristic and system usability evaluations were performed to assess the HIT dashboard’s functionality and usability. Evaluation results suggest that the HIT dashboard was considered “good” by evaluators (following System Usability Scale criteria), with five suggested changes being recommended by 40% or more of the heuristic evaluators. This work provides a preliminary model for the development of future HIT dashboards intended to communicate patient risk information to hospital care staff.

1. Focus of the Research Curation
Health information technology (health IT) research is conducted at an intriguing intersection between societies, organizations, and consumers. Health IT is defined as “a broad concept that encompasses an array of technologies to store, share, and analyze health information.”  The rapid increase in adoption and use of health IT since the mid-2000s has afforded considerable research opportunities to evaluate and test existing theories (e.g., Paul and McDaniel Jr 2004) as well as to create and refine new ones (e.g., Gao et al. 2015). Such growth comes with challenges for information systems (IS) researchers, particularly with respect to staying up-to-date with the latest advances in the health IT field as well as recalling, cataloging, and understanding how it has developed over the years. In this research curation, we offer insights into how health IT research has thematically advanced over the past two decades within MIS Quarterly.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Our desire to fully represent the domain of health IT has guided us toward an inclusive approach for determining the scope of this research curation. Specifically, an article was included in our final dataset if was published in MIS Quarterly and if it met one or both of the following criteria: 1) centrally focused on a commonly known health IT artifact (e.g., EHR, telehealth, etc.), or 2) centrally focused on healthcare as the primary context of interest as assessed by having health IT, health, or medically-related terms in the title, abstract, or keywords. Based on these inclusion criteria and our identification of health and health-related terms (and the semantic roots of these terms) for the search process (e.g., health, medicine, hospital, clinical, patient, doctor, physician, nurse), our initial search yielded 56 MIS Quarterly articles. After carefully evaluating each of the articles, we excluded 15 of the 56 from consideration due to in congruence with our inclusion criteria (e.g., the article used the term “health” only to refer to the health of an IS, for instance, or only referred to health or medical concepts tangentially rather than centrally). The final dataset consisted of 41 articles representing a census, to our knowledge, of health IT research published in MIS Quarterly from 2003 (the date of the earliest included article) to June 2018.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

In the following sections, we report on our analyses of the temporal progression (section 2) and thematic advances (section 3) of health IT research in MIS Quarterly. After the conclusion (section 4), we have included a table that provides details on the articles included (section 5).

2. Progression of Health IT Research in MISQ
We evaluated the temporal progression of health IT research in MIS Quarterly using three time periods: 1) Prior to 2007, 2) 2007 to 2012, and 3) 2013 to June 2018.

Prior to 2007 (Figure 1), much of the health IT research focused on healthcare as a new context for evaluating traditional IT artifacts. For instance, Dennis and Garfield (2003) considered the use of group support systems by medical project teams. Ray et al. (2005) evaluated the relationship between IT and customer service in the health insurance industry, and Mitchell (2006) examined how application integration in the medical sector could be used to address fragmentation of specialized knowledge. Thus, as seen in the word cloud in Figure 1, many of the primary terms and concepts during this time period were consistent with IS research done in traditional organizational contexts. At the same time, though, IS researchers were also beginning to grapple with how to overcome initial resistance to emerging health IT artifacts and how to better facilitate early health IT adoption processes (e.g., Kohli and Kettinger 2004; Lapointe and Rivard 2005). This is why terms such as resistance, trust, behaviors, and processes also appear prominently in Figure 1, as researchers were working to move beyond a focus on traditional information systems, with a more explicit focus on health-eccentric IT artifacts. The word cloud also suggests that researchers were grappling with the unique social context and types of informational needs and power dynamics of the healthcare domain. NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper Such emerging research provided a basis for the gradual transition to more central focus on health IT artifacts in the 2007-2012 time period.

The 2007 to 2012 time period (Figure 2) was characterized by significant upheaval in health IT markets as governmental programs and policies were being debated and implemented to enhance health IT adoption, assimilation, and use. These programs included the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 and Meaningful Use (MU) policies in the U.S. and continuation of the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) in the U.K. Based on the excitement from such programs and the general nature of substantial growth in health IT markets during this time, research questions tended to focus on health IT investment decision making and governance (e.g, Xue et al. 2008), complementary and changes necessary to benefit from health IT implementations (e.g., Davidson and Chismar 2007), consumer decision making processes associated with health IT use (e.g., Angst and Agarwal 2009), and overall impacts of health IT investments on performance (e.g., Kohli et al. 2012). Thus, the focus shifted from one of evaluating traditional IT artifacts in a new context, as was often in the case in the previous time period, to one of explicitly considering health IT artifacts and their impacts, within this time period.

More recently, from 2013 to June 2018 (Figure 3), the topics of interest and stakeholders considered have begun to significantly diversify. For instance, research has been conducted on how consumers are playing a role in impacting perceptions of medical provider quality (e.g., Gao et al. 2015), the role of online health communities in reducing disparities (e.g., Goh et al. 2016), and how the use of health information impacts outcomes such as duplicate testing (e.g., Ayabakan et al. 2017). Further, the methods used have also significantly diversified with application of predictive models (e.g., Lin et al. 2017), sequence analysis (e.g., Angst et al. 2017b), growth-mixture models (e.g., Angst et al. 2017a), and in-depth qualitative efforts (e.g., Singh et al. 2015). Thus, health IT research in MIS Quarterly has broadened and deepened and continues to significantly contribute to IS theory and practice by pushing the boundaries of our current understandings, explanations, and methodological approaches.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

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3. Thematic Advances in Knowledge
In our thematic analysis, we identified five (5) primary themes that have emerged within health IT research in MIS Quarterly: 1) health IT as a strategic asset, 2) health IT adoption and use, 3) health IT security and privacy, 4) health IT for development, and 5) health as a context.

Research within the health IT as a strategic asset theme focuses on evaluating strategic decisions related to health IT investments (e.g., Angst et al. 2017a; Kohli and Tan 2016; Salge et al. 2015), governance (e.g., Xue et al. 2008) and performance-related outcomes (e.g., Ayabakan et al. 2017). Research within this theme has advanced IS theory and practice by demonstrating how technology and information can be leveraged to address heterogeneity in ways not often considered in other contexts. For instance, predicting which customers (patients) are likely to be the highest consumers of resources and seeking to proactively reduce such costs is something unique to healthcare that provides insights into building and applying predictive models (e.g, predictive modeling of chronic disease risk, Lin et al. 2017). Further, findings within this stream in regard to how to best allocate resources in dynamic health IT processes (e.g., use of telemedicine, Yeow and Goh 2015) and how to apply health IT toward preventing (or reducing) overuse of resources (e.g., reduce duplicate testing, Ayabakan et al. 2017) have advanced our knowledge of how to strategically apply IT toward effectiveness and efficiency.

The health IT adoption and use theme focuses on more granular (i.e., tactical and operational) decisions and processes related to the adoption and use of health IT.  Research within this theme has explored and evaluated challenges associated with leveraging technology to inform users (physicians) regarding use practices and outcomes (e.g., Kohli and Kettinger 2004), how to overcome user resistance (e.g., Lapointe and Rivard 2005), and how health IT impacts structures and practices in healthcare provider organizations (e.g., Romanow et al. 2018). More recently, this stream has diversified by considering health IT artifacts used by consumers including online intermediaries (e.g., Chan and Ghose 2014), online healthcare provider ratings (Gao et al. 2015), and online health communities (e.g., Goh et al. 2016). Such research has significantly advanced our understandings particularly by considering impacts of technology adoption and use on professionals (e.g., Kohli and Kettinger 2004), consumers (e.g., Chan and Ghose 2014), and even society (e.g., Goh et al. 2016). Further, this research has helped to broaden the constructs considered in IT adoption and use research and the conditions under which such constructs emerge or are most effectively applied (e.g., employee work practices and experiences of the adopting firm and technology vendor, Avgar et al. 2018).NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

The health IT security and privacy theme focuses on strategies for managing risks associated with health IT use and information sharing.  The healthcare context is an excellent context for such research due to the strong emphasis within this industry in maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected health information. Thus, it should come as no surprise that research within this stream has considered what drives healthcare institutions to invest in security and privacy (e.g., Angst et al. 2017a; Kwon and Johnson 2014), how consumers view the privacy protections in place (e.g., Angst and Agarwal 2009), and techniques for enhancing privacy (e.g., Li and Sarkar 2014). Such research has advanced our understandings of privacy and security investments, application, and perceptions, particularly by showing that the framing of messages about the value of health IT can alleviate privacy concerns of consumers (patients) (e.g., Angst and Agarwal 2009), and that voluntary adoption of protections (e.g., Kwon and Johnson 2014) and semi-collaborative networks (Menon 2018) are essential predictors of security and privacy initiative success.

The health IT for development theme focuses on how health IT artifacts and innovations are being applied in developing countries and markets. Research within this stream has examined how the application of health IT and related innovations is contingent on the local context and requires attention to regional conditions and available resources when considering how to effectively pilot, scale, diffuse, and sustain health IT implementation and use (e.g., Miscione 2007; Srivastava and Shainesh 2015; Venkatesh et al. 2016). This has advanced theory and practice by evaluating health IT implementation and use under conditions of limited resources and capability gaps and has also demonstrated how new generations of technologies, such as mobile technologies, can be leveraged to overcome such barriers (e.g., Ganju et al. 2016).

In regard to articles that leverage a healthcare context to contribute to IS in general, we established the health as a context theme with the health context either in the foreground or background. In categorizing these articles, we drew insight from other scholars in developing our understanding regarding the role of context.  Within this theme, the ‘foreground context’ articles develop their analyses by drawing out the distinctiveness of the setting details, often drawing on qualitative data.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper These foregrounded aspects of the context were found to shape the study findings, such as having remote or geographically dispersed regions (or catchment areas) (e.g., Paul and McDaniel Jr 2004; Serrano and Karahanna 2016), or non-traditional organizational settings, such as home healthcare (e.g., Nielsen et al. 2014). Other articles foregrounded the unique details of the health technologies being theorized (e.g. Jones 2014) or specific inter-professional tasks and features (e.g. Paul and McDaniel Jr 2004; Sergeeva et al. 2017) critical to developing the paper’s contributions. Context papers themed as ‘background context,’ did not draw out the situational details of the study’s health context in developing their research question or contribution. These studies took a more generalized approach to health organizations as a work context, for example examining integration of knowledge across dispersed units (Mitchell 2006) and group IS proficiency (Kane and Borgatti 2011).

The Steps of HIT Planning and Implementation

Health care reforms and consumer demand have inspired health care providers everywhere to adopt health information technologies, including electronic health records (EHRs), e-prescriptions, and mobile health technologies. Discover how health care providers plan for and carry out HIT implementation in their facilities.

Devise an HIT Strategy

According to Benjamin Franklin, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Devising a strategy is an essential first step for implementing HIT. This strategy should consider the health care facility’s patient population and how it would benefit from HIT implementation, identify which business partners the facility will work with, and determine what outcomes implementation should achieve. Stakeholders should consider what the facility hopes to gain by implementing HIT, both in the short- and long-term.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Assemble the Right Team

Putting together the right team is essential for the successful implementation of HIT. Health information technology affects all sectors of a health care organization. Choose people to represent a range of departments, including physicians, nurses, and administrators.

Physicians should lead the process, as they have much influence within a health care facility. Some physicians may be skeptical of introducing new technology, but if their peers are supportive of the change, they’re more likely to be convinced. Involving staff members with health care informatics qualifications is also a good idea, since these professionals have an understanding of the way technology and health care can work together.

Remember that the team you assemble will play a key part in determining whether implementation of HIT succeeds or fails. Choosing professionals who have authority, credibility, and a commitment to change is essential.

Assess the Budget

The cost of HIT remains one of the key barriers to the successful implementation of the technology, especially for small- and mid-sized health care facilities. For example, a 2014 report published by Perspectives in Health Information Management found that 80 percent of primary care physicians said a lack of financial support was the major barrier to implementing e-prescribing systems in their ambulatory practices.NURS 6431 - Evaluation Methods for Health Information Technology Assignment Paper

Having the funding to purchase HIT solutions and ensure their successful implementation is crucial. You must consider not only the cost of hardware and software, but also the costs of training and support services for HIT installation and upkeep. Federal incentives may help offset some of these costs, so their contribution should also be considered in your budget assessment.

Ensure Effective Operational Integration

Effective operational integration of HIT is essential for making the most of your investment. The central HIT team must distribute the information that they’ve learned throughout the health care facility, so that all staff can successfully use the HIT solutions according to best practices.

Plan for Its Evaluation

Every project needs to be measured to determine its success. Before you ever implement HIT, you should plan how you’ll evaluate its performance. Determine where data can be collected and when that data will be reviewed and acted upon to improve HIT procedures.

With careful planning, health care facilities can ensure a smooth implementation of popular health information technologies.

Health Care Transformation

Analyzing and evaluating health policy issues, from access to payment, with a focus on under served populations

Key Findings

Recommendation