Administrative and Clinical Health Systems, Research Paper Example

While administrative and clinical health systems support each other, they both have their own unique features and conditions. Electronic health records, used to store and analyze patient data are used to improve and develop evidence-based practice. Clinical health systems are also suitable for supporting national statistical databases and research.

Clinical health systems are applied at the point of care, while administrative health systems are used by different health care professionals, such as insurance companies, researchers, pharmacists, and suppliers. Clinical information systems, according to Fichman et al. (2011, p. 411) are suitable for helping professionals manage costs, and improving the quality of care. Administrative health care systems are, however, designed to “capture, store, process, and communicate timely information to decision makers for better coordination of healthcare at both the individual and population levels”. (Fichman et al, 2011, p. 411).

The main difference between the two health systems is that one of them is mainly centralized (administrative health system) and does not have an immediate impact on treatment decisions and outcomes. Clinical health systems, on the other hand, consider the unique characteristics of the given health care providers and tailor the data captured and analyzed based on the needs of the organization. One example for an administrative health system can be the Health Metrics Network, established in 2005, supporting national health administration systems. Clinical health systems can be tied to patient health record administration, and can be used to measure performance, increase efficiency, and implement evidence-based practice. Advanced clinical health systems, according to O’Malley et al. (2010) should also support communication between patients and clinicians, while collecting and storing information for improving the quality of care.

References

Fichman, R., Kohli, R. & Krishnan, R. (2011) The Role of information systems in healthcare: Current research and future trends. Information Systems Research Vol. 22, No. 3, September 2011, pp. 419–428

O’Malley, A., Cohen, G. & Grossman, J. (2010) Electronic medical records and communication with patients and other clinicians: Are we talking less? Center for Studying Health System Change. Issue Brief No. 131