An organizations IT organization and activities are usually perceived as a cost center rather than a strategic enabler; calculating benefits and return on investment is difficult and can be costly, which means that simple direct fiscal metrics are generally utilized rather than indirect benefits with regard to operating efficiencies and improved quality. And according to Shortlife, further, IT is poorly incorporated into cost models for health financing, so organizations have few incentives to make necessary investments.
In addition , the arguments for implementation of health IT are too often viewed by clinicians as being primarily directed at health systems , payers, and patients with much less direct benefit valued with physicians themselves. I agree with Shortlife (2005), that when physicians experiencing clear benefits from their IT investments, and see efficiencies and cost savings as well as improved information access, major barrier to suitable investments will have been overcome.
According Shortlife (2005), “fragmentation of the U. S. health system has meant that decision making regarding IT investment is generally made locally, with optimization in mind, leading poor coordination, and a lack of generally accepted standards”. According to Shortlife (2005), there are quite a lot of reasons for the recent trends; one is the increasing use of the internet and the World Wide Web.
I agree with Shortlife when he said that, the resulting empowerment of patients, armed with easily accessible information on health promotion, disease management and prevention, has lead to recognize that IT has become an integral part of society that will play an inevitable role in the way health care is delivered. As what Shortlife has stated, “passage of HIPAA and the subsequent rulings regarding data transmission, system security, and patient privacy have forced health care organizations to recognize the importance of data security and to seek computer-based solutions to problems that defy solution in a paper-based world”.
I think that Shortlife is correct when he said that ordered standards for transmission of data assist supporting the fundamental infrastructure for data sharing and pooling that is vital for both public health goals and patient care. According to Shortlife (2005), the diversity of formal studies in the precedent decades have recognized health care IT as a answer to many of the challenges to both the cost and the quality of modern medicine.
During the past few years, a wide variety of activities have emerged that reflect and contribute to an increased recognition of the role the IT should be playing in the health care system. According to Shortlife (2005), “on the Federal side congress has been responding with frequent hearings and proposals regarding health care IT and its suitable promotion”. I agree with Shortlife that eager anticipation of what lies ahead in the area of health care is at least widely shared; however, the anticipated vision will require major cultural change, logistical planning, and financial investment.
References
Goldstein, D. , Groen, P. J. Ponkshe, S. & Wine, M. (2007). New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Mennerat, F. (2002). Electronic Health Records and Communication for Better Health Care. New York: IOS Press. Park, H. , Murray, P. & Delaney, C. W. & Delaney, C. (2006). IOS Press. Shortlife, E. H. (2005). Strategic Action In Health Information Technology: Why The Obvious Has Taken So Long. New York: publisher. Walker, J. M. , Bieber, E. J. & Richards, F. (2005). Implementing an Electronic Health Record System. New York: Springer.