How Information Technology Is Being Integrated in the Healthcare Industry, Application Essay Example

Integration of health care refers to bringing together different approaches and inputs to improve user satisfaction and efficiency in health care programs. It can also be described as coordination of health care. It is a worldwide trend to improve reforms and integrate different health care systems as a measure of attaining proper care provisions. Fragmented delivery of health care services especially to patients suffering from chronic disease has become a disaster in many nations. According to World Health Organization, integrated care can only be achieved if health systems are brought together straight from diagnosis, treatment care and health promotion. These can be achieved by ensuring all parties and systems in the health industry work together with the help of technology.

Technology in health care integration assists in three major ways; maintaining information continuity, continuity between secondary – primary health care and health providers’ continuity. To be able to maintain continuity flow of information technology ensures records are easily shared. This can easily be done by using the internet, medical journals and faxes which are all technology aspects all modes that are continuing to advance. Continuity of secondary and primary care requires specialist and general health care practitioners to work together at all times. Considering specialist may be fewer and scarcely located in health facilities, technology assists maximizing the few that are there. Provider continuity requires trust based relationships between patients and health care providers. Good provider relationships will also assist in improving therapy sections, therefore patients and health care providers can embrace the existing technological related interactions and equipments to achieve continuous health care. It is through these concepts and benefits relating to integrated of health care services that institution such as Accountable care organization are formed.

Accountable Care Organization (ACO) comprises of a group of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who have joined together voluntarily to improve the quality of health care to patients. The organization goal is to improve the care given to chronically ill patients by avoiding repetition in their care provision and prevention of medical errors. The organization further ensures that all patients suffering from chronic illness can easily get proper medical care regardless of their financial capability. To achieve these goals ACO has introduced constant monitoring and communication between patients and health care providers and also between health providers in different departments. Embracing technology has strongly has strongly assisted in achieving this objectives, through improving communication and providing advanced medical equipments.

Using technology to integrate health care is not only noted in Accountable Care Organizations but also in several other nations. In health care, technology has been used in roles; administrative, organizational, service delivery, funding and besides clinical. Most nations such as United States have embraced use of information technology in hospitals through maintaining electronic medical records, patient admission records and management systems. Advanced technology is also wide used in health care especially in virtual reality, cyber surgery, micro-robotic surgery and also in 3D image modeling. It is assumed that in most nations health care facilities will be integrated to the extent that it will be possible to view personal health records online or even get professional health assistance without physically visiting a health center.

However, just like most technologically based projects, telemedicine and integration of IT to hospitals has a number of limitations that should be carefully checked. ACO fears that standardization of systems and maintaining credibility of health providers will be difficult when services rely too much on technology. There is also fear globally and locally that internet related crimes may interfere with maintaining quality health care.

References

Charns M, Schaefer M. (1983). Health care organizations, a model for management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Kodner D. (2001).Long-term care integration in four European countries: a review. Geneva Switzerland. The Cross-Cluster Initiative on Long-Term Care, World Health Organization (WHO).

Lawrence, D. (2005). Building a Better Delivery System: A New Engineering/Health Care Partnership — Bridging the Quality Chasm. Washington, DC

Institute of Medicine. Primary care: America’s health in a new era. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences; 1996.