Health care information systems diagram essay
Health care information systems diagram essay
Healthcare information systems refers to such systems
that are used to process data, information and knowledge
in healthcare environments (Haux, Winter, Ammenwerth, & Brigl, 2004). While healthcare information
systems and health information systems are often used
today to refer to the same concept, a series of terms
have been used in the evolution of this phenomenon
from its early foundations in the 1960s. Though there
is no clear consensus in literature until lately, the term
health information systems is analogous to various
primitive forms of this concept such as hospital information systems. Similarly, terms such as computerized
patient records, electronic medical records, and the
more current electronic health records have come to
be commonly used almost interchangeably. Though
the exact meanings may differ, all represent a progression in the development of healthcare information
technology. Haux (2006) discusses major evolutionary
developments from the primitive hospital information
systems to the health information systems as we know
them to date. In the following paragraphs important
trends are discussed in a bid to provide a perspective
to this chapter.
Trend 1: From Paper-Based Systems to
Computer-Based Systems: Meanwhile health
data and information in the past have been created and stored mainly on paper, there has been
a clear migration from paper to computer-based
systems (Haux et al., 2002). This ability means
that more data can be processed and stored
through the use of modern information technologies to yield better knowledge. The future of
healthcare information systems looks towards a
near “paperless” era.
Madison N. Ngafeeson
Northern Michigan University, USA
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-5888-2.ch332
Healthcare Information Systems Opportunities and Challenges Category: Health Information Systems
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Trend 2: From Local to Global Information
Systems: While earlier healthcare information
systems were limited to departmental units
(e.g. radiology, or laboratory) or just within
a healthcare practice system (e.g. hospital or
clinic) (Linberg, 1968), modern healthcare systems target regional, national and even a global
reach.
Trend 3: From Healthcare Professionals to
Patients and Consumers: Originally, healthcare information systems were designed to be
used by mainly physicians and administrative
staff (Ball, 1971; Ball et al., 1994), but it was
later passed on to be used by nurses. Since
then, the trend has shifted to involve more patient input.
