Information System Interventions in the Health Care Sector

Abstract

ABSTRACT newlineThe term Information System refers to the data, equipment and computer programs that are used for consistent generation of productive and meaningful information. A cohesive collection of such information systems ensures the successful operation/execution of an enterprise. Health Information Systems make it possible for a Hospital/Healthcare unit to run like an enterprise for financial benefits to the stakeholders and overall improvement of the health/living standards of the society. These systems do not simply mean technology, rather are a judicious balance of information usage and managerial controls. Multiple benefits of the implementation of such systems include increased operational efficiency, effective and quicker decisions, satisfied consumers, progressive research and development and greater possibility of special focus on life threatening diseases. India being competitively placed in terms of all types of available resources is well set to take advantage of emerging global domains like Telemedicine, Remote consultation and Medical Tourism. The benefits of this progress in the global healthcare arena will be beneficial to the providers and consumers alike. Information system implementations play an important role for achieving success in these global domains. Each health information system will have dependencies for success on some associated critical factors. Depending upon the primary implementation objectives, these critical factors are positively impacted by an information newlinesystem intervention and in turn contribute to the healthcare provider operational success in varying proportions or hierarchies (ranks). newline newlineThus, in context of the Indian healthcare sector, appropriate forms of health information systems will help speciality healthcare providers in improving their operational performance by newline Consistently meeting consumer or patient expectations, newline Supporting research and development, newline End to end financial management between healthcare stakeholders, newline Optimization of resources etc.