Information on the Clinical Information Management System

Within a hospital setting, quality medical care procedures rely on a coordinated flow of information from many specialty areas. Efficiency, accuracy and privacy are all necessary components within an information system. Clinical information management systems are designed to integrate the different areas of patient care and service delivery within a hospital setting.

System Design

• Working with a clinical information management system is like working with a continuous reservoir of information that's updated on an up-to-the-minute basis. Every aspect of a patient's care from medical history, existing conditions, insurance information and upcoming tests and appointments is laid out within a structured and continuous framework within the system, according to Biohealthmatics, a health information management resource site.

  Depending on the design, some systems may separate administrative functions from those concerning the health, or clinical side of a hospital's workings. Others may incorporate specialty-specific subsystems designed to handle a certain kind of information like laboratory results and data, or radiology testing information.

Electronic Medical Record

• At the heart of most clinical information management systems lies the EMR, or electronic medical record, according to Biohealthmatics. Whenever a nurse, or doctor goes to access patient information, an EMR database is set up for every patient, containing any and all information pertaining to each patient. Demographics, testings, billing, insurance, even information from other agencies within a patient's health care plan are accessible through the EMR. As the system is designed to be continuously updated, clinicians can base their treatment decisions on the most current information available regarding the patient's condition.

  Clinical information management systems are designed to integrate different types of information, which works to automate administrative and clinical functions within a hospital setting according to Biohealthmatics. An example of this would be calculating out-of-pocket costs for the patient on a scheduled service based on the type of insurance carrier he has. An information management system provides coverage amounts, covered services and deductible and copay requirements, so someone accessing a patient's record would automatically know whether a particular test is covered, how much of the cost is covered and how much to bill the patient.

Quality of Care

• As administrative tasks are a vital component within the day-to-day workings of a healthcare facility, clinicians must devote a certain amount of time to maintaining accurate and complete patient records. Clinical information management systems provide a way to streamline these tasks, so clinicians can devote more time attending to patient care needs, according to Biohealthmatics. Also important is the ability to open up communication pathways between departments so those involved in the treatment planning process have access to all aspects of a patient's condition.

  And while the overall system can go a long way toward streamlining administrative and clinical tasks, it may be difficult to incorporate an information management system within a hospital's existing methods of operation. Integrating an existing system with the numerous features contained in a clinical information management system may be a difficult task, wrought with bugs and malfunctions. The cost of implementing a new system in terms of equipment and training can be considerable as well.