Healthcare Information, Essay Example

Healthcare information technology is currently increasing in abundance and is used for various reasons through different types of organizations, such as pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment companies, physicians, hospitals, and government agencies. Pharmaceutical and medical device companies use technology to work with pharmacies. Hospitals and physicians use this technology to perform medical billing, as well as order and track supplies, inventory and payroll. In addition, the healthcare technology offers disease databases for tracking patients and disease statuses, as well as tracking clinical trials. (Gorman, 2010)

With increasing abundance in Health Information Technology, there is also an increase in problems. For one, installation of Health Information systems is difficult compared to software programs on the Internet. In addition, health care systems are built to prevent errors, but they create ones as well. For instance, reliance on health information systems for patient information leads to errors in patient files. Furthermore, there are privacy and security concerns due to identity theft, hackers, and unauthorized users in the system. (Gorman, 2010)

Although there are problems that occur with Information Technology in the health field, there are many more benefits that emerge from this resource. There is an increased potential for savings, quality of care, access to care, and efficiency. (Gorman, 2010; Shekelle et al., 2006) In addition, physicians have the ability to monitor their patients with diagnosed chronic diseases. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the savings at $78 billion per year. Within the savings is the improvement of quality of care through the integrated systems a management of patient treatments. This allows researchers to statistically measure patient treatments over large sample sizes and determine which treatments are working the best for certain illnesses or diseases. (Gorman, 2010)

Overall, there are some issues that arise from the increasing abundance of health care information and information technology; however, the positives and benefits outweigh the problems. Further research and development into health care information systems can help with the quality of patient care, which is most important.

References

Gorman, L. and Herrick, D.M. (2010).National Center for Policy Analysis. Health Information Technology: Benefits and Problems. Policy Report No. 327:24.

Shekelle, P. MD, PhD., Morton, S.C. PhD., Keeler, E.B.. PhD. (2006). Costs and Benefits of Health Information Technology. Evidence Reports/Technology Assessments, No. 13. Report No.: 06-E006.