Information technology overview of healthcare systems

¶ … Health Care Systems

Based upon your employment experience working for the DOD in the medical Field, identify 2 or 3 examples of the competencies NON-it specialists should have in relation to health care it. How much expertise do physicians require?

The integration of automated processes within the field of healthcare delivery has resulted in a rapid evolution of the medical industry, as the continual stream of data generated by patient interactions, shared by physicians and nurses, and recorded by medical journals has become computerized. In response to these seismic shifts, the field of information technology (it) for healthcare administration has emerged to provide a framework for healthcare professionals to effectively guide their practice using informatics, analytics, and other essential aspects of automated service. The concept of it healthcare and medical informatics, as it relates to the functioning of hospitals, medical centers, and private practice, can be subdivided into three distinct areas of input reception, processing, and output production according to systems theory: mechanical systems, human systems, and man-machine systems.

Having read the it Overview Lecture describing the employment experience of a healthcare it professional working for the Department of Defense, it is apparent that the seemingly exponential rate of progress in terms of implementing informatics systems threatens to leave many healthcare professionals behind the learning curve. While one does not require a foundation of technical it skills to thrive in an automated healthcare delivery system, nurses, physicians, and other healthcare providers must develop a set of core competencies to remain effective in an increasingly computerized working environment. The regrettable fact that "at least 44,000 and as many as 98,000 individuals die in hospitals each year as a result of preventable medical errors" (Citation, pg. 11) would suggest that medical professionals must prioritize the continual process of education, learning about new abbreviation systems, pharmaceutical interactions, and other information that may decrease the likelihood of a preventable death from occurring. Another non-it competency that healthcare workers would be well advised to develop the ability to interpret and analyze the endless stream of data generated by patient interactions, because while a nurse does not need to know how data is obtained from a toxicology screen, they must be capable of translating that raw data into viable information used to enhance the delivery of treatment.

2.) Based upon your personal, non-professional experiences, briefly discuss 2 or 3 applications of it which have enhanced or hindered your financial or medical well being. It and cyber-commerce/e-commerce do not exist devoid of context; thus please help define and shape this context.