Title: Communication and Information Technology Paper

Marcia Williams

HCA/320Course

08/16/2010
Marcia Baker

Communication and information Technology Paper

Each year technology has become more advance making professionals interaction among people within the business community much better and faster. Especially the internet people are flocking to be a part of that network. There is more virtual banking where cooperation’s are conducting business in a virtual setting. It cut back on their administrative costs tremendously various businesses has capitalized with the utilization of the internet and the Healthcare Industry is a huge beneficiary. Over a period of time many doctors gave such resistance to incorporate the use of modern technology in their daily routines such as entering information on patients, or even a progress or update note in a database or computer system. Many physicians were set in their own way; as the old saying goes a person cannot teach an old dog new tricks it is the same with moving away from paper and welcoming electronic. Almost every specialist embraces the usage of the internet perfect examples of the specialists are Radiologists, Cardiologists to list a few. Electronic Medical Records The utilization of paper records and information’s has been existed for almost a century which the integration has been a very slow and gradual process. It has been underway for twenty years in the Western healthcare system. According to Open Clinic (2005) Computerized information systems have not achieved the same degree of dissemination in healthcare as that seen in various sectors such as finance, transport and the manufacturing and retail industries. Further, deployment has varied to a great extent from country to country and from specialty to specialty and in many cases has revolved around local systems intended for local use. National dispersion of Electronic Medical Records s may have reached over 90% in primary practices in Norway, Sweden and Denmark but has been restricted to 17% of physician office practices in the United State of America (2005). Many Electronic Medical Record systems that have been implemented however have been used mainly for administrative rather than clinical purposes. In the Healthcare Industry that is like a blessing in the sky to have such a great tool that is so effective. Primary Care Physicians and specialists can relate and transferred information much faster and addressing their patients needs in a timelier manner. Advantages The advantages of implemented electronic medical records can be very costly however over a period it outset the cost and provide huge savings for facilities, providers, insurance companies. They also capitalize and cost saving which due to fact that there is less paper used they saved with space and eliminate the use of huge file cabinets with patient records. Patient records are now kept and store on a computer. The administration of the information is governed by a selected amount of people which it is still a small portion verse the actual paper records. Coordination of care among healthcare professionals like the duplication of testing, prescribing medicines which can become lethal if combine. It definitely saves time. In the event of an emergency where a person is incapacitated, the doctors and staff can access your medical records online from any location. By doing this, the doctors know immediately all medications you are allergic to and also what medical conditions you already have.

Disadvantages The interpretation of a physician hand written medical notes and record require expensive software which can be a huge burden for a lot of the medical facilities and doctors. Then there companies that have their own version for digitizing and storing medical records, standardization should be set across the board because it is difficult to transfer information. Then there is the issue with cyber thieves breaching the privacy of patients. Financial Impact on Organizations Many Organization and Medical facilities are compelled to move in the new age with technology and rid themselves and their companies of their old way of conducting business and move in the new era. Implementation can be costly however in the long run it pays off. Least staff is required to managed and maintain these functions. Companies are having huge savings. Recommendation for Improvement Information that is made available to the general public can sometime be deceptive. Therefore regular campaigns subsidize by the government and the healthcare industry directing the public to liable sources can avoid deception to the end user. However random assessment should be mandatory by Department of Health and also the Department of Insurance. Conclusion The utilization of the Electronic Medical Record is one of the best technology invented where information for patients are stored at one centralize location and is readily accessible to a doctor, specialist and insurance company just by the clicking of a button. Having this tool many medical facilities are saving patient’s lives and doctors are having less mal practice law suits due to having all the necessary medical records for a patient before treatment is administered.

References
Chris Conte, (1999). Networking for Better Care. Healthcare in the Information Age. Retrieved from http://www.benton.org/publibrary/health/home.html August 16, 2010

http://www.openclinical.org/emr.html Retrieved August 16, 2010

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-advantages-of-electronic-medical-records.htm Retrieved August 16,2010