Evolution of Heath Care Systems

Evolution of Health Care Systems

Jessica Slone

HCS/533

October 14, 2013

Jacqueline Sommerville

Evolution of Health Care Information Systems

Health care information system has evolved over the years. In the past twenty years new technology has opened up many doors for the health care industry. It has affected patient care and the delivery of health care. In the past everything was done by hand and kept by a log book. Today computers are a part of the health care information process. All health care facilities have computers and data is entered into them. Health care information systems have changed drastically over the years. New ideas and products are being introduced to enhance patient care. "A health care information system is an arrangement of information processes, people, and information technology that interact to collect or provide as output needed to support the health care organization" (Wager, Lee Wickham, & Glaser, 2009, Chapter 4, History and Evolution).

Comparison of Health care facilities

The health care industry has changed in many ways from twenty years ago. All orders and prescriptions were written by hand. It was hard to read physicians hand writing and easy to make errors. Hospitals twenty years ago focused more on RN care they did not have nursing aids to help with patients. Medicines were kept in a cart and locked. The only people that used computers back then were mainly administration and business office to transmit claims to insurance companies. Some were transmitted by computers and others had to be sent out by mail. They were limited to what they could do on the computer system. Physicians were limited to medications also because back then not many trial studies were being done on medications. All information related to the patient was written out and kept in a paper chart. Today in hospitals orders and prescriptions are mainly typed in a computer and printed out and given to the patient. Medicines are in a computer generated dispensing system. Medical records can be accessed by computers now. The history and evolution of health care information systems has changed due to many events and advances in technology. Friedman (2013), "Health information systems were only used for appointment scheduling, but a patients complete medical history can be stored now" (para. 2). At my current organization that I work at computers were obsolete twenty years ago. The registration process was done by hand and a log was kept. In the ER all medications were kept in plastic containers and placed in a locked cabinet. Only nurses and house supervisors had access to the medications. Patient orders such as X-ray and lab were written out and someone from that department would come to the ER and get them. Then the patients would then get labs drawn and the x-ray's they needed. They were no hospitalists just admitting physicians. That meant that doctors done their own admissions and done their own patient rounds. Nurses would accompany doctors during patient rounds. Doctor's would hand write new orders and nurses would have try to read what it said. With changes in technology my organization transitioned over to computerized systems. Patient data can be entered into a computer such as demographics and insurance information. This made the reimbursement process move faster. In the 1990's the health care industry saw many changes. The internet and electronic medical records were introduced. This would enhance patient care for the future. My organization is in process of transitioning over to a complete electronic based system. Currently we still have paper charts but our order entry is done by computer. Basically twenty years ago most health care facilities did everything by hand. Today health care information systems are all computerized.

Major Events

There have been many major events that have influenced current health care information systems. One is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. This was a major event that President Bill Clinton implemented while in office. According to "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act" (2013), "This act gives the right to privacy to individuals from age 12 -18" (para. 2). Physicians must have a signed document from the person affected before giving out any information