Introduction
The management of patient’s health information is one of the important features of a hospital. The health information is usually referred to during the treatment of the patient as it provides a medical history of the patient. Health information management consists of the collection, maintenance, and proper care of all the patients’ health records either by traditional paperwork or modern electronic means. Health managers use the knowledge of informatics for health data collection, storage, utilization, and generation of information. Some of the duties technicians’ deals with in health include:
- Health information
- Developing patients health documents such as medical history, diagnostic tests, examination results, and treatment methods
In addition, they also conduct management of diverse health data. This ensures that qualities such as accessibility, accuracy, and quality are incorporated. Regular communication with the physicians and other parties in the medical field is conducted. This ensures that there is effective clarification of diagnoses.
Positives of change at the hospital
According to WHO (2005, para.4), an effective health system will have an efficient process of base data collection and this will have many benefits to the hospital. Among the benefits will include the following; it will help the decision-makers at the hospital to detect and control emerging and endemic health problems and to monitor progress towards health goals and promote equity in the health care system. It will also empower the individuals visiting the hospital and the whole community at large with information that is timely and easily understandable to them. This will enhance major improvements in the quality of health services at the hospital. Furthermore, it will strengthen the evidence-based for major effective health policies. This permits the evaluation of scale-up efforts and enables many discoveries on new medical procedures through the carrying out of the research. In addition to these benefits, the health information system will improve governance in the hospitals. By so doing there will be increased resources mobilization from different stakeholders and it will also ensure that there is accountability in the way the mobilized resources are utilized.
Scope of change
The change is set to begin from the initial contact of a health worker with the patient all through to the dissemination of the information to the various stakeholders in the medical sector. First and foremost, there will be a change of rationale from what we used to follow before. Every patient both in the in-patient and also out-patient departments will be questioned at every encounter. The que4stions will seek to identify the Aboriginals, those from Torres Strait Island, both the above and none of the above. This question will be mandatory and will be reported back to the government. The information will then be stored in electronic medical records which enables easier retrieval whenever necessary. Finally, dissemination of information will be conducted to the patients whenever necessary or the concerned health stakeholders for policies formulations.
Implications
Previously recorded data in the old file format shall be taken through the scanning process and stored electronically. All the old files will undergo thorough scrutiny by the health technicians and a competent recording system will then follow. To ensure the quality of the data obtained, a team of efficient and competent health technicians will be hired to guide the data recording and processing. In the beginning, the hospital may decide to outsource bio-statisticians who are well endowed with the necessary knowledge to take care of such lump some data. All these measures will see to it that all the health data will be captured and in an efficient manner.
Training plan
The introduction of a new system to the hospital often requires training of the individuals who will see to it that it is well implemented and does not stall. It may also require the employment of new staff to oversee the transition process. For the change that has occurred in this hospital, it is recommended that a training package or manual be developed to guide the employees in adapting to the process (Shelly, Cashman, and Rosenblatt, 2009, p.508). With this nature of changes, the manual will be sent to each employee via e-mail and the information will also be available online on the hospital’s official website. This training will be meant to enable the employees to learn how this new system will help them in performing their duties.
Testing and change over plan
To be able to test this system it is suggested that a pilot study be conducted at one department of the hospital. It is proposed that the out-patient will be the best since the outcome can be evaluated within a very small time. The initial result will then guide the management on how the process will be rolled out to the rest of the hospital’s departments. By doing this the identified hurdles will be worked on and the process is bound to be successful. A full change over will be expected within the next half year so as to work within the current budget.
Reference list
Shelly, G., Cashman, T. and Rosenblatt, H. (2008). Systems Analysis and Design. Boston, Massachusetts: Thomson Course Technology.
World Health Organization (2005). Improving the Use of Information for Health Care Decision Making: What Is Needed. Issues in Health Information. Web.