Advanced Information Management and the Application of Technology
Western Governors University
A1. Advantages and Disadvantages of a System: While
... [Show More] electronic health information systems were incorporated over a decade ago, there are still many advantages and disadvantages with using these systems. The use of these systems could make patient records easily accessible and help providers deliver a higher quality of care to patients (Menachemi &Collum, 2011). Some advantages of health information systems include accessibility to records, removal of poor penmanship, care provided in a safe and efficient manner, elimination of errors, and better collaboration between providers and outside facilities (Menachemi &Collum, 2011). Health information systems can help the provider with better clinical outcomes. According to Menchemi & Collum, “doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to the right person and having the best possible results” defines what quality care is (p. 49). They also go on to add that “avoiding injuries to patients from the care that is intended to help them” defines patient safety (p. 49). Health information systems allow the providers to access patient records, which include patient demographics, medications, tests, and labs. Providers having easy access to this information can eliminate redundant testing because they will be able to view those results through the electronic health exchange. Many billing errors and inaccuracies can be avoided by using a health information system (Menachemi & Collum, (2011). The organization can benefit from this system because revenue could be increased and the cost of maintaining a paper-based charting system would be diminished. Using health information systems provide an increased ability to help patients in a way that wasn’t feasible with paper-based systems but still comes with its disadvantages. One major disadvantage of implementing a health information system is the cost. In order to ensure proper functionality of a health information system, there are [Show Less]