The data management problem in the healthcare industry is one of the most urgent issues because it affects the quality of the treatment as well as the daily work of different healthcare organizations. The process of operating the necessary data is influential for resolving the questions of the patients’ care and organization’s activities, and even for handling the financial issues.
The problem is in the fact that the computer software for managing the data and the used databases are not effective today because of the necessity to operate significant amounts of the information and share it with different healthcare providers.
Utilizing different systems, programs, and software, healthcare providers cannot receive the access to the required information. Moreover, the ineffective databases can provide the unauthorized access to the confidential data, but there are no possibilities for physicians to receive the important information on the definite case in time because of the system’s weaknesses.
Thus, the problem related to the data management in the healthcare industry is controversial and requires the effective solution. There are several possible variants to resolve the problematic situation which are the modernization of the industry with references to the modern IT devices and implementation of electronic health records, health information exchanges, and national data repositories.
The data management problem should be resolved basing on developing the IT system used in the healthcare organizations. It is significant to provide the single approach to collecting, managing, and preserving the data with the possibility to share it with the healthcare providers. That is why, the implemented technologies should be interoperable.
Moreover, researchers pay attention to the fact that the usage of only one approach to solving the data management problem can be ineffective, and the orientation to the complex procedure is more advantageous (Hillestad et al., 2005).
The usage of the electronic health records and health information exchanges with the help of which it is possible to operate the data on patients, healthcare providers, and pharmaceutical companies is the approved initiative to resolve the data management problem (Data management, 2012).
Electronic health records are based on collecting and managing the data according to the definite standards, and homogeneous sources of the data provide different healthcare organizations with the possibilities to use them effectively (Khosrow-Pour, 2006).
Today, different healthcare organizations try to use the systems of electronic health records in order to optimize the data management process. The challenges experienced by these organizations are connected with using different proprietary systems and rather heterogeneous sources of the information (Khosrow-Pour, 2006).
That is why, the process of sharing the data becomes complicated. It is necessary to use similar systems of electronic health records in order to provide the effective work of the whole system. However, there are a lot of organizations which have different levels in operating IT for their needs.
Furthermore, there are many organizations which use different systems and programs to prevent the unauthorized access to the information and its modification and to follow the principles of confidentiality (Khosrow-Pour, 2006). Nevertheless, these programs cannot be discussed as the single system shared by different healthcare providers.
Healthcare providers need the appropriate and timely access to the necessary data which can be collected in any organization or department within the industry. Thus, when a patient enters the hospital his personal data are fixed, the particular features of treatment and procedures are recorded, all the necessary information is preserved in the system, and it can be accessed by physicians and shared with different healthcare providers when it is necessary (Khosrow-Pour, 2006).
The orientation to using the electronic health records and health information exchanges along with the possibilities to refer to the national data repositories can resolve the data management problem and improve the system of sharing the necessary information.
The system of electronic health records can work effectively and respond to the necessity to have the integrated and shared data when all the information is collected according to the definite standards, and only one system is used and accessible for each healthcare organization within the industry (Hillestad et al., 2005). The national data repositories can be based on the national sources of data which are regularly collected and registered.
The provision of the access to these sources for the healthcare organizations is necessary to complete the cycle of sharing and integrating the data within the industry. Health information exchanges are in the process of development, and they will be associated with the system of electronic health records. The main task is to provide the healthcare organizations with the necessary tools and information technologies to support the program.
The implementation of electronic health records, health information exchanges, and national data repositories in complex can be discussed as the effective method to resolve the data management problem with references to the issues of operating patients and physicians’ portfolios, integrating and sharing the data.
To realize this strategy, it is important to pay attention to the definite government’s regulations and make the healthcare providers adopt the same standards and rules in relation to using the information technologies, resolving the problem of funding these programs.
References
Data management in the healthcare industry. (2012). Web.
Hillestad, R., Bigelow, J., Bower, A., Girosi, F., Meili, R., Scoville, R., & Taylor, R. (2005). Can electronic medical record systems transform health care? Potential health benefits, savings, and costs. Web.
Khosrow-Pour, M. (2006). Emerging trends and challenges in information technology management. USA: Idea Group Pub.