Healthcare creates the most amount of data in the entire world. To use this data efficiently, we need systems that can manage it. Health informatics Systems, or HISs, are used in every healthcare sector to manage health data and make it more accessible. Here, we will look at what health information systems are, their various applications, benefits, and challenges going into the future.
Overview of Health Informatics Systems
Health Informatics Systems (HISs), in a nutshell, are electronic systems designed to hold and manage healthcare data at both large-scale and individual patient levels. HISs are an integral part of health informatics. Their use on a patient level improves the patient care experience and outcomes. When we look at large-scale use on organizational levels, HISs influence key decisions and policy making.
When HISs were first being developed, the goal was to manage an expanding healthcare system better and evolve patient needs. This underlying goal hasn’t changed in the decades since the foundation of health informatics technology was formed, but there has been a significant evolution in technology and systems.
Early systems mostly automated transactions. They made the recording of patient information easier and streamlined appointment settings. They helped manage the new regulatory requirements that were emerging thanks to health insurance, including Medicaid and Medicare, in the 1960s.
Today, HISs are much more complex in the healthcare landscape. Health information systems are key to efficient patient care, clinical decision-making, and organization or practice management.
There are several key components to health information systems that are used today. These include electronic health records, clinical decision support systems, telehealth platforms, and patient portals, to name a few.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
In the simplest terms, EHRs are digital patient health records that replaced paper health records of the past. They hold everything about a patient’s medical history, including details of medical visits, diagnosis information, treatment plans, medications, test results, radiology images, allergies, and immunizations. [1]
Key Features of EHRs:
- Patient data management across their entire medical history
- Accessibility for all care providers to comprehensive patient health information
- Integration capabilities
Benefits & Challenges
It’s safe to say that the benefits of EHRs outweigh the challenges, especially for the end goal of improved patient experiences and outcomes. EHRs lead to improved data accuracy and administrative efficiency and are key to the emerging telemedicine landscape.
On the other side of this are the challenges. The privacy and protection of patient data remain a concern, and the challenges related to system interoperability aren’t going away soon. As the technology of EHRs evolves, so do user training requirements, along with an increased need for health informatics professionals with the knowledge and skills to adopt new technologies.
Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS)
Clinical decision support systems assist in making patient healthcare decisions. CDSS looks at a patient’s health history and data in real time and offers detailed insights on effective patient care that clinical teams and patient care providers can then implement.
The use of CDSS allows for integrated workflows in the clinical setting. These systems take on the tasks of chart reviews, health assessments, health provider education, and communication, which are necessary players in the patient’s healthcare.
Advantages & Limitations
Studies show that using CDSS can improve the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis process. [2] This reduces errors, not only in diagnosis but also in treatment plans, including medications. The main overall advantage of clinical decision support systems is the positive outcome in patient care. This is the goal of modern healthcare, and CDSS plays an integral part.
There are still limitations to CDSS, including the fact that the systems completely rely on the quality of data input. This, rightfully so, has many physicians apprehensive about using CDSS to its full capacity. Mistakes are still made, and that’s a significant weight put on the physician’s shoulders.
There’s also a concern with alert overload and burnout. A survey revealed that features of CDSS, including the changes in workload, alert fatigue, and loss of physician autonomy, have led to increased provider burnout. [3]
In other words, CDSS is just too much sometimes. A patient can be seen for an issue such as a broken bone. Yet, the physician is bombarded with alerts about medication allergies that don’t apply to the issue or notifications for upcoming visits, immunization needs, and suggested health maintenance screenings. This can create an even larger workload, putting more stress on healthcare providers.
Other Health Informatics Systems
Health Information Exchanges (HIEs)
HIEs allow healthcare professionals to access and share key patient health data electronically and securely. HIEs provide a holistic snapshot of the patient’s health and history to a provider.
If you’ve ever gone to a pharmacy and had the pharmacist advise you on how it may interact with other medications or medical conditions, you’ve benefited from HIEs.
HIEs help avoid dangerous and costly diagnostic and medication errors and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.
Telehealth and Telemedicine Platforms
Telehealth platforms are designed to meet the expanding field of telemedicine. These platforms must be secure, offering a virtual space as private as a physical doctor’s office. They also must be HIPAA compliant.
Patient Portals and Personal Health Records (PHRs)
Patient portals and PHRs have been instrumental in getting patients more involved in managing their care. PHRs give patients access to their health information and can often view test results in real time, like their care providers. They can schedule and manage appointments and prescriptions and share their records on their terms.
These portals hold significant private information and must be as secure as systems used in healthcare offices, facilities, and hospitals.
Mobile Health Applications (mHealth)
This broad area of technology includes using all mobile and wearable devices that support health. This includes mobile health apps, wearable devices, and medical devices that transmit real-time information about a patient’s health status.
mHealth helps patients monitor their health and lead healthier lifestyles. Still, it also assists healthcare providers in quickly identifying changes in health status and the sudden onset of concerning health symptoms.
Future Trends in Health Informatics Systems
Health informatics systems are not static. If anything, they are continually shifting, evolving, and embracing technological advancements. There have been incredible technological advancements since the early days of health informatics, but we’re not done. Here are a few of the future trends in health informatics systems.
- AI Integration: AI technology can improve overall health outcomes by utilizing enhanced disease surveillance, predicting disease, predicting disease outbreaks at the public and population health levels, and other applications of large-scale data analysis.
- Predicative Analytics: This is the process of accumulating historical healthcare data and leveraging it to create snapshots that identify current trends and predict future trends in healthcare.
- Blockchain Technology: Critical to protecting and securing data at all levels of healthcare, blockchain technology is integral in the future of health informatics.
- Personalized Medical Applications: This area of growth in health informatics systems considers each patient’s unique traits in defining health care plans. This may include patient history and tools such as genetic testing that provide insights that enable individually tailored approaches to healthcare.
Challenges & Considerations in Modern Health Informatics Systems
Careers in health informatics are growing, and those entering the field will be tasked with solving the challenges that health informatics systems face today. This includes challenges like enhanced data security and continuous system upgrades.
The field also needs professionals knowledgeable on regulatory compliance issues and can train and lead others in system usability and the evolving landscape of regulations.
Conclusion
When we look at the healthcare system as a whole, we see health informatics systems emerge as a critical area of focus for the future of healthcare. The field of health informatics needs professionals like you who understand the complexity of health informatics systems and bring innovative thinking and problem-solving skills to the table.
Whether you’ve been in health informatics for years or are just considering a career in this growing field of health technologies, we know that staying on top of the latest developments in health informatics systems is important for success across the entire health industry. We want to help you stay informed about the latest developments in health informatics systems and how they enhance the healthcare system, from the daily work of healthcare professionals to more positive patient outcomes.
Sources
[1] Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. “Frequently Asked Questions.” HealthIT.gov, 2019.
[2] Tao, L., et al. “Accuracy and Effects of Clinical Decision Support Systems Integrated with BMJ Best Practice – Aided Diagnosis: Interrupted Time Series Study.” Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2020.
[3] Jankovic, I., and Chen, J.H. “Clinical Decision Support and Implications for the Clinician Burnout Crisis.” Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 2020.
