Health Information System Case Assignment Order Instructions: Case Assignment
1. For this Case Assignment, you will be assuming the role of a lead person on a technology review committee at a multi-facility regional hospital. Your committee has been tasked with evaluating the plausibility and possible selection of a new Health Information System that will enable the hospital to electronically collect and share patient medical history information among its various hospital centers and departments.
2. Currently, each hospital center maintains paper copies and files of patient records, which are separately managed and stored at each facility. Few of the electronically based information systems are integrated between the various centers and locations.
3. To add to the challenge, the CIO informs you that most of the members on the committee have limited experience with information systems and databases. However, the CIO is aware that you are studying Health Informatics, so she has asked you to help familiarize the committee with fundamental concepts related to database systems and relevant health information standards.
4. Specifically, the CIO (and your professor) request that you prepare a brief overview of the following:
• Fundamentals of database characteristics and structure.
• Various types of medical data and information record relevant to this project.
• The importance of uniform terminology, coding, and standardization of the data.
• Various information standards and organizations that may be applicable, and possibly required, for this project.
1. In addition, search the Internet and find three healthcare information systems vendors that offer electronic medical record products. Compare and contrast the functions and features of each product and barriers to implementation (financial, physical, and personnel).
2. Remember, your committee mostly comprises clinicians and other healthcare practitioners. Accordingly, they do not have a great deal of technical knowledge related to information systems.
3. Submit your assignment by the end of this module.
Health Information System Case Assignment Module Overview
There is a need to describe healthcare concepts in a consistent manner. We as humans are able to assimilate, without confusion, many variations of descriptions. Computers, on the other hand, are very poor at recognizing concepts from inconsistent descriptions.
A preferred term is an agreed-upon short description of a concept, and a concept is an image created by the words that describe it. However, in some cases, a definition of a concept may still be needed. This is because, too often, the wording of a preferred term means something different to different users.
A unique identifier (or code) for each concept is required. Anything would do, as long as it is unique and suitable. If a preferred term is used, its description should not be changed; however, it does sometimes happen. Accordingly, a preferred term is generally not suitable as a code. In fact, words are not efficient ways to store identifiers in computers, as the computer may be required to store an identifier many times. Therefore, the code should be reasonably “compact,” preferably a “number” of some sort. Using a number is not an issue, because the computer can always display equivalent descriptive words that are seen by the users.
Coding is the process of matching a healthcare entity to a term in terminology and assigning it a code. The terminology may be called a coding system. Sometimes rules are offered to improve the accuracy of coding. These rules are commonly known as standards.
In this module, we will explore the language of Health Informatics. We will examine database fundamentals and types of health information data and records, and explore standards used to ensure the information is understood across various systems and disciplines.
This module covers a large amount of area and material. Do not get overwhelmed by trying to dig too deeply into the technical aspects. Indeed, each area can be an entire field of technical study of its own. Instead, focus on the concepts, application, and purpose surrounding structured data and standards as they relate to healthcare information.
Presentations and Required Reading
• Carefully read through the following material, which describes the fundamentals of databases, and their structure and function.
Health Information System Case Assignment and the Fundamental Database Characteristics
• Eric McCreath provides a well-illustrated and concise overview of database fundamentals in the following presentation: Database Basics Presentation2
• The following slide presentation identifies various types of medical data and records. Presentation by Peter Szolovits, MIT (February 2002). Nature of Medical Data3
• There are many standards guiding the format and use of healthcare-related information. The following is a comprehensive list and review of these standards. It is not necessary to memorize every one of them. Instead, just get a sense for the vast number of standards that exist. Pay particular attention to those standards that reference Health Level Seven (HL7) and Unified Medical Language System (UMLS). Review of Healthcare Information Standards4
• The following is a list of Standards Organizations. Standards Development Organizations5
• Read through this overview of the Unified Medical Language System. UMLS6
• Jiang Bo provides a good overview of Health Level Seven (HL7) in this presentation. HL77
Sources for Presentation Material Referenced Above
1Beaumont, R. (2000). Database and Database Management Systems. Retrieved from Fundamental Database Characteristics
2McCreath, E. (2002). Lecture Notes for COMP1200: Perspectives on Computing, Information Systems Database Basics. Retrieved from Database Basics Presentation
3Szolovits, P. (2003). Nature of Medical Data. MIT, Intro to Medical Informatics: Lecture-2. Retrieved from http://groups.csail.mit.edu/medg/courses/6872/2003/slides/lecture2-print.pdf
4Blair, J. S. (1999). An Overview of Healthcare Information Standards, IBM Healthcare Solutions. Retrieved from Review of Healthcare Information Standards
5Health Level Seven: Links to Standards Developers. Retrieved from Standards Development Organizations
6Unified Medical Language Fact Sheet. (2003). National Library of Medicine: Office of Communications and Public Liaison. Retrieve dfrom http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/umls.html
7Bo, J. (2003). Health Level Seven Overview Presentation. Bioinformatics Institute. Retrieved from HL7
Health Information System Case Assignment Sample Answer
Health Information System
Database management
A general database correlated with all the data of study is usually collected once within a well-defined as well as stated period. The study involves the collection of specific data that comprise data and medical records of previous dates used to diagnose medical complications. However, this study does not relate to those that are carried out for prevalent unique and rare diseases. Additionally, all the findings are computed and calculated with resolute averages and any other statistical methodologies involving calculations of frequency. General databases also comprise methods that make use of individual data performance (Alexander, 2016). These databases assist individual’s assessment in the most probable manner.
Effective health informatics and information system give the mechanism of the best organization. The structure and characteristic of the health database in health informatics are that the database is reliable and able to store all kinds of data relating to any medical records. The database may contain a table of entities that should be easily correlated by all departments in the health setting. This will imply that the relationship between the tables of entities can easily be defined. The tables of objects should be easily mapped to give the best interpretation concerning the medical data and information records.
The senior management plays a vital role in decision making and the formularization of the planning process. In the health information system, the senior management is concerned with;
- Recognizing the complexities of the database and ease any of the arising complications by providing solutions about the health database.
- Developing suitable website advanced content and help in developing essential management for the web content.
- Developing a content of learning management in a healthcare information system.
Therefore, with this health information database, it is assumed that the senior management committee plays an important role within the organization with a sole mandate of structuring efficient health informatics that develops the structure in its entirety.
Health Information System Case Assignment and the Medical Records
West, Borland & Hammond (2015) point out that electronic medical and information records documents information about the patient including current diagnosis, medical and past medical history, treatment, family history as well as all relevant information corresponding to the patient treatment. They are only released under patient or physician authorization.
This information and records about the patient are kept up to date and mark so that reference can be made in future.
The records are usually in a tabulated form containing DOB columns, patient’s name, and the name of the physician, clinical diagnosis, and the treatment plan used. All other relevant information on the patient is contained in the Meta-data. Programming of reports and queries is also necessary. Moreover, the data format that is used should be in the simplest way possible to be readable and comprehended by any other person in health informatics.
The medical records in pocket card files and letter size folders are designed in a manner that follows the format of coding systems and uniform technology that is a standard feature for all other benefits such as:
- The UMLS project can develop computer-based “Knowledge sources” that allows applications to retrieve any lost information arising due to terminology differences and relevant information scattering across databases.
- It can allow for easy linkage of information systems such as bibliographic databases, expert systems, factual databases, and technology-based patient medical records.
Health Information Standards
The formation of this healthcare information system and infrastructure needs the incorporation of new and already existing architectures, services, and application systems. The fundamental elements of this system are patient-oriented care that is simplified and enabled by a Computer-based Patient Record system (CPR). Furthermore, continuousness of any healthcare enabled and supported by allotment, sharing, and distribution of relevant patient information on all information databases and networks, and the measurement outcomes are assisted by the specificity and greater availability of information regarding healthcare informatics.
Coding of health information has changed over time because narrative clinical text can now be translated to procedure and diagnosis codes. Coded data are gaining relevance in its use in the assessment of quality healthcare, severity adjustments, evaluation of patient safety, surveillance of public healthcare, supporting the decision in algorithm development. Coding can meet the standards of an evolving need to capture medical data in a simple and standardized format with a universal meaning applied at aggregate and individual levels. Data standardization has enhanced interpretation of health information and the understanding of accuracy and quality of data presented in a set of codes (Elkin et al., 2016). It has also allowed for great transformational changes in classification systems in health and clinical terminology.
Medical records in databases identify both physicians and doctors in a manner that maintains organization privacy and continuity. For instance, the patient medical records are recognized and identified with a unique Social Security Number (SSN). Physicians are also identified with their Universal Doctor numbers for purposes of registration in databases.
The National Provider File is being developed by the Healthcare Financing Administration (HFCA) to create a new identifier and provider for Medicaid and Medicare services to include all sites-of-care and caregivers. It will also make Medicaid programs available such as those provided by Cthe enter for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). These can also include government agencies that adopt search services. Also, the Healthcare Financing Administration (HFCA) has also helped define the primary Medicare identifiers of provider services.
The Uniform Cord Council maintains the Universal Product Code (UPC). This UPC is used to label all healthcare products that are sold or supplied in retail settings. Moreover, The National Drug Code (NDC) is an important identifier in healthcare informatics.
Health Information System Case Assignment References
Alexander, S. (2016). Designing a Database to Facilitate Efficient Information Management at the Health Mentors Program Office.
Elkin, P. L., Johnson, H. C., Callahan, M. R., & Classen, D. C. (2016). Improving patient safety reporting with the common formats: Common data representation for Patient Safety Organizations. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 64, 116-121.
West, V. L., Borland, D., & Hammond, W. E. (2015). Innovative information visualization of electronic health record data: a systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 22(2), 330-339.
