HCI 111

By Dr. Khaled Ouanes Ph.D.E-mail: k.ouanes@seu.edu.sa

Twitter: @khaled_ouanes

Management of Information

in Healthcare Organizations

Healthcare Information System (HCIS)

REMEMBER?

The Data-to-Knowledge Spectrum

Data

Information

KNOWLEDGE

The Data-to-Knowledge Spectrum (data, information, knowledge)

CONSTANTLY EVOLVING CYCLE : KNOWLEDGE CHANGES

…AndThanks to the standards….

Data

Information

KNOWLEDGE

WISDOMDIKW Pyramid. Standards allow this!

THE BIG PICTURE

WHY IS THIS DIKW PYRAMID IMPORATNT?

UNDERSTANDING

PRINCIPLESUNDERSTANDING

PATTERNSUNDERSTANDI

NG RELATIONS

IS DIKW IMPORTANT?

Data: Many Organizations collect and store vast amounts of raw data. Problem? This collected data is valuable information but many

companies do not know how to use or leverage it properly.

Information: Data is processed to be useful & to provide answers to

“who”, “what”, “where” & “when” questions.

Making use integrated, good quality data & putting it in the right context

(creating reports, showing different views of data…) is the process of translating

data into meaningful, useful information.

Knowledge: The application of data and information and answering the

“how” questions is the process whereby we receive and absorb

information which becomes knowledge.

Knowledge is therefore information that is then applied. Decisions can be

made, judgments formed and forecasts made.

Wisdom: Organizations are empowered to apply their knowledge

and change their processes. This helps them set up guidelines to be

able to make effective, timely decisions and gain a competitive advantage to be more efficient.

Wisdom is evaluated understanding.

Let’s now focus on:INFORMATION

MODERN INFORMATIONInformation, Nowadays, includes both electronic & physical information.

The organizational structure must be capable of managing this information throughout the information lifecycle

regardless of source or format (Data, paper documents, electronic documents, Imagery, audio,

video, etc.) for delivery through multiple channels (Software, Print, Web, Mobile…).

MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION

The management of information is the collection and the

controlling of information from different sources and the

distribution of that information to different audiences through

different channels.

Management means the organization of & control over the planning,

structure and organization, controlling, processing, evaluating and

reporting of information activities in order to meet objectives and to enable corporate functions in the delivery of

information.

MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION

Health Care Information Systems (HCIS)

HCIS Provide and support Technology and information & communication systems that enable quality patient care, progressive medical education,

processes improvements, and innovative research.

WHY DO WE NEED HEALTH

INFORMATION SYSTEMS?

WHY HCIS?

• Good management is an important requirement to increase the efficiency of health services.

• Improved HCIS is obviously linked to effective management.

• Information and timely access to it is crucial at all management levels of the health services from periphery to the center. It is required by policymakers, managers, health care providers, community health workers.

WHY HCIS?

“Changing the way information is gathered, processed, and used

for decision-making implies changing the way organizations

operate.”

WHY HCIS?

MAIN ISSUES WITH CURRENT HCISIrrelevance of the information gathered

Poor quality of data

Duplication & waste among parallel health information system

Lack of timely reporting, concurrent control & feedback

MAIN ISSUES WITH CURRENT HCIS

Poor use of information

Cultural and background differences between data professionals and decision makers

e.g.: Planning and management staff rely primarily on intuition to frame ad hoc decisions rather seek pertinent data

MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION IN HEALTHCAREFunctions and Components of a Healthcare

Information System; 5 Distinct purposes

1. Patient Management and Billing2. Departmental Management3. Care Delivery and Clinical Documentation4. Clinical Decision Support5. Financial and Resource Management

MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION IN HEALTHCARE

A carefully and well designed computer-based system (HCIS) can easily increase the effectiveness

and productivity of health organizations

MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION IN HEALTHCARE

These systems will also help improving the service quality

and reducing the costs.This is true for the 5 Distinct

purposes of HCIS.

HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS (HCOS) HCOs, like all business entities, are

information-intensive enterprises.

Healthcare professionals require sufficient data & information management tools to make appropriate decisions while caring for patients & managing the

enterprise, to document and communicate plans and activities, and to meet the requirements of regulatory and accrediting organizations.

Patient Management and Billing

Systems that support patient management functions perform basic Health Care Organizations Operations (HCOO) purposes related to patients.

(e.g. Identification, registration, admission, discharge, billing, transfer…)

Departmental Management

Ancillary Department systems support the information needs of

individual departments and services within a Health Care

Organization (HCO).

Departmental ManagementAreas and departments that are

mostly relying on automated systems are:

Laboratories, pharmacies, blood banks, radiology units, and medical

records departments.

Care Delivery & Clinical Documentation

Although comprehensive Computer-based patient record systems (CPRs) are

the ultimate goal of most HCOs, many organizations today are still building

more basic clinical-management capabilities.

Care Delivery & Clinical Documentation

2 important functions provided by the clinical components of an HCIS:

1. Automated order entry 2. Results reporting

Care Delivery & Clinical Documentation

Many HCOs have developed diagnosis-specific clinical pathways that identify:

Clinical goals InterventionsExpected outcomes by time period

Care Delivery & Clinical Documentation

Using the clinical pathway, case managers or healthcare providers can

document actual Vs expected outcomes

They are alerted to intervene when a significant unexpected event occurs.

Care Delivery & Clinical Documentation

More hospitals are now implementing systems to support “closed loop medication systems” in which every task from the initial order for medication to its administration to

the patient is recorded in the HCIS

This is one outcome of increased attention to patient safety issues.

Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS)

Clinical decision-support systems directly assist clinical professionals in data interpretation and decision-

making.

Clinical Decision SupportOnce the basic clinical components of an HCIS are well developed, clinical decision-support

systems can use the information stored there to:

Monitor patients and issue alertsMake diagnostic suggestionsProvide limited therapeutic adviceProvide information on medication costs

Clinical Decision Support

These capabilities are particularly

useful when they are integrated with other information-management functions.

Clinical Decision Support

Example:

A useful adjunct to computer-based physician order-entry (CPOE) is a decision support

program that alerts physicians to patient food or drug allergies; helps physicians to calculate

patient-specific drug-dosing regimens; performs advanced order logic…

Financial and Resource Management

Financial and administrative systems assist with the traditional business functions of an HCO.

e.g.: Invoicing, Management of the payroll, human resources, general ledger, accounts payable, and materials purchasing and

inventory.

Financial and Resource Management

Most of these data-processing tasks are well structured, and have been historically labor intensive and

repetitious (ideal opportunities for substitution with computers).

With the exception of patient-billing functions, the basic financial tasks of an

HCO do not differ a lot from those of organizations in other industries.

Financial and Resource Management

Financial and administrative applications have typically been

among the 1st systems to be standardized and centralized in

integrated delivery network (IDN).

Financial and Resource Management

Financial and administrative applications have typically been

among the 1st systems to be standardized and centralized in

integrated delivery network (IDN).

Integrated delivery network (IDN).

Integrated delivery network (IDN).

An IDN is a network of facilities and providers that work together to offer a

continuum of care to a specific geographic area or market. The

concept was developed in the 1980s and has since evolved to address

common concerns, such as complaints from patients regarding access

REMEMBER!

The ultimate objective of health information

system is not “to gain information” but “to

improve action”

HCI 111

By Dr. Khaled Ouanes Ph.D.E-mail: k.ouanes@seu.edu.sa

Twitter: @khaled_ouanes