What Are the Benefits of Healthcare Information Through Electronic Technology?

Health care system architects and technology proponents see a natural adoption of information technology with health care information. However, the health care industry has been one of the slowest areas to adopt automated information management wholescale. In some cases, the sheer costs associated with these systems is prohibitive. In other cases, concerns with regard to privacy and structure design have hampered further efforts. The benefits are large, but the problems associated with the automation of health care may still exist.

The Benefits

• Benefits include ease of data access, massive storage capability, statistically enhanced modeling and a large capacity of information to draw patterns and conclusions. Health care administrators also see a benefit to the extent systems are designed properly. The key benefits should include the ability for information to travel with the patient from system node to node. The ability to access records across counties and hospitals competitors is the primary goal for such technology.

Current Problems

• Obstacles in the form of design limitations and internal bureaucracy hamper the full utilization of health care technology. For information to travel freely, it must be able to cross over different businesses and institutions. It's insufficient to tunnel data into just one HMO versus another. Technology's best offerings in health care information utilization are provided via an aggregate platform of multiple users versus a singular entity.

Current Status

• Health care systems are not a simple, off-the-shelf software package. They are almost always tailored to the specific businesses and their goals. This is an expensive approach, and compatibility between different service providers has to be forced by regulation and government. Those with larger systems that integrate all their divisions currently have a better handle on health care technology benefits and promise than providers who build their systems with insular networks.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule

• The HIPAA federal protection requires specific management of individual health care information. All service providers and administration entities have to follow these rules. In some cases, these privacy restrictions stand in the way of the free flow of information. HMOs, health plans, insurance companies, medical providers and government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are all included in restricted practice groups by HIPAA.

Training

• Along with the migration to new technology also come the challenges of training medical personnel to use the new systems. Many doctors, nurses, administrators and technicians who have worked for years with independent computers and paper find integrated systems challenging, particularly in treatment room environments. Typical of all technological benefits dependent on data input, the information is only as good as the user's input. If resources are not allocated to proper staff training, medical providers will find their new systems are really just expensive boondoggles.

Outsourcing

• As medical providers seek to trim costs with automated systems, outsourcing the data input to cheaper labor sources has created it's own issues. Recent years have brought up issues with medical records and information being processed overseas, and outsource providers suddenly reneging on delivering final products unless they are paid more. These issues are few and far between, but they do evidence the risks associated with outsourcing medical data input too far aware from the medical provider's control.