An Experience with Healthcare Information Systems
Healthcare information systems refer to technologically designed software tools that are primarily meant to manage patient data and any other health-related information. The most common one is the electronic health record (EHR), which is used to store patient data, including test results, treatments, and history and to ensure that this data is quickly and accurately accessed by various healthcare providers (Carvalho et al., 2016). I had never used any of the available healthcare systems until I was attached to a neighbourhood facility that was using EHR.
Unlike the manual data management system that we had been used to at school, the EHR was quick, reliable, and accurate. Patient data entered at one department immediately reflected in the rest of the facility’s sectors, ensuring faster information processing and efficient delivery of service. I can honestly confirm that transiting from the manual to the electronic system was one of the best moments during the attachment. The main reason for this positive experience could be the tedious work that is often associated with paperwork. No single nurse would love to take a considerate amount of time on noting down patient information when there is a quicker alternative like the EHR (Hebda et al., 2019).
Getting to know the system was important because it significantly reduced my workload. Ideally, it only took a three-hour orientation to familiarise themselves with the working of the system. It is even more important to note that the experience sparked a new understanding of data storage and sharing mechanisms that I was not previously aware of (Hebda et al., 2019). Other than understanding the working of the system, I paid great attention to other critical aspects such as the security of the information, its integrity, confidentiality, and availability. In addition to storage and sharing, healthcare information systems guaranteed the privacy of patient data as required by the legislation.
References
Carvalho, J. V., Rocha, Á. & Abreu, A. (2016). Maturity models of healthcare information systems and technologies: a literature review. Journal of medical systems, 40(6), 131.
Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2019). Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (6th ed.). Pearson.