Introduction
With the increase in the use of ICT in many organizations, there has been rapid increase in systems that are used to automate operations. This trend has caused many organizations to put in place project management machinery to make sure that the IT solutions are realized in their organizations. ICT systems have reduced costs substantially in many organizations, and are the reason why there is a buzz in the adoption of automation systems in the world today. In this paper, I will look at the strengths and features that have been incorporated into the systems in Mayo hospital. The paper will also look into the requirements that are needed in the implementation of any automation system in any organization.
XForms system
This is a system that uses the latest gadgets like Android phones to send information to the system. This system works in such a way that there is programming interface that connects the hand-held device with the system at the PC. This is possible through the use of XForms, which is programming platform for XML. The XForm will be used to design a form to be uploaded in the handheld device, this case Android G1 Phones or Windows 7 phones (Macnee, & McCabe, 2008). The phone will have the features that will enable it to interact with the form that is being uploaded for the sake of this.
The medical staff will then be using these devices to collect information from the patients. They will enter all the relevant and required data in the gadgets. After this, the data in the handheld devices will be synchronized to the equivalent system in the computer. This is possible through the excellent wireless features that are available in the gadgets. The Android G1 phones have excellent wireless connectivity functionalities. After sending the data to the computer, the data staff working for the hospital, and who has the full authority to work on the data will analyze the information for cleaning.
Relevance of the medical staff in system design
The medical staff will be involved in the process of designing the form. They will be required when the form is being designed so that they give the features that they so desire when the form will be operational. They will work hand in hand with eth designer so that they will agree where they need amendments (Macnee, & McCabe, 2008). This collaboration is so much important because the designers may not have all the required data needed to make complete system fully functional.
Data security
With the use of wireless connectivity for the handheld devices, there is the issue of security which is very critical. There are wireless connections which pose access points for computer attacks. In the recent past, there has been a rise in the access points due to this. The mobile phones are becoming hi-tech so that they are networking devices that can be used to send files over networks. It is due to this that network security is becoming top priority in organizations. One of the very first steps in designing the security of the devices is making sure that the wireless devices that are being used in the network are secured. This can be achieved through the use of WAP and WAP 2 security provision which is available for the wireless routers. The wireless routers will have to be configured so that they are secure (Rick, 2006).
Another step that can be done to ensure security is making sure that the users of the wireless network go through a thorough authentication process before they are accepted into the system. They should be provided with passwords and usernames so that they go through a vetting process before they are allowed to the system. This is possible in the design of the XForms (Poissant et al, 2005).
Blogging system
There exists a communication challenge between the patients and the nurses, in that patient have to come to the hospital to check their medication, consult the nurses on a certain illness and advice on prescription of dosage which could be solved by implementing an interactive system. The system shall also allow patients to interact with their nurses in their prime language online without the patient physically coming to the hospital; furthermore the nurses can post common information to the site. These critical junctures are intentioned to reduce communication problem by building trust, involving patients in their plan of care, improving patient protection, and enhancing the quality of care that is provided in an outpatient setting. The cultural background of the nurses should strictly be seen in that of the patient so that the nursing and the care is well taken of. When nurses can understand the cultural background of the patients speak the same language as their patients, patients are typically more comfortable discussing their health practices, background communication barriers are problems which are intended to be solved by the system.
Also, communication problem between the patients and the nurse exist in terms of dissemination of regular information such as disease outbreaks and solutions to common ailments, in that the patients have to travel to the hospital, where communication costs are the problem. The intended solution should enable the gain interpersonal knowledge; get desired secured information about their illness, technical medical procedures and the general social organs and the structure of the hospitals. The communication problem is that patients have to be physically present in the hospital so has to be attended to.
The great idea is “The ultimate patient nurse Blogspot”
Blog is the most appropriate technology considering the communication problem domain. A blog shall be created where nurses can post relevant information such as medical advice to be assessed by the patients, while the patients can post medical problems, so that the nurses can offer them information through the blog.
The blog shall be used in a manner that, all the contents of the patient information shall be uploaded and interactive window be created whereby all the patients shall be able to check and even access to their medical records, their health care status and any outbreak of the diseases via the system after offering their correct credentials, strong authentication techniques shall be used to ensure that the patient alone can access their confidential information (Margaret, 2006). The combination of text, images, and links to other links enable the patients to determine which nurse or doctor is online for interactive consultation and avail them with direct information on the problem raised. To cap it all, the blog has some capabilities where they enable the patients to use interactive services like messaging and therefore can leave comments for improved service delivery.
References
Macnee, C.l., & McCabe, S. (2008). Understanding nursing research: using research in evidence-based practice. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Margaret, M. (2006). “Case Study: Factors in Defining the Nurse Informatics Specialist Role,” Journal of the Health Information Systems Society, Spring. Vol. 20, Issue 2, p 30.
Poissant, L., Pereira, J., Tamblyn, T., & Kawasumi, Y. (2005). “The impact of electronic health records on time efficiency of physicians and nurses: A systematic review.” Journal of American Medical Informatics Association.
Rick, K. (2006). “Technology – How Healthcare IT Can Address the Nursing Shortage,” Journal of the Health Information Management. Spring. Vol. 20, Issue 2, p. 21.