Healthcare Information Systems: Opportunities and Challenges

The prognosis for successful healthcare information systems (HIS) implementation is really great. It is expected to increase legibility, reduce medical errors, shrink costs and boost the quality of healthcare (Jha et al., 2010; Blumenthal & Tavenner, 2010). Healthcare information technology (HIT) implementers and promoters continue to espouse these benefits as opportunities for the transformation of the healthcare sector. Nevertheless, the journey to this ideal is fraught with challenges. These challenges range from issues arising from the very nature of healthcare information, to the issues pertaining to healthcare information technology and its users. This article discusses the opportunities and challenges that lie within healthcare information technology and systems as a whole. In the proceeding sections, the following themes are examined more closely: a quick view of the evolution of HIS and current trends, opportunities and challenges within HIS, and finally, some lessons learned are discussed. These themes relate issues that touch HIT standards and stardardization, electronic health records, healthcare technology adoption and implementation, resistance to healthcare technology, policy issues, and privacy/security. There exists a potential for healthcare information systems to significantly increase the overall quality of health (Blumenthal & Tavenner, 2010). This is evidenced by the investments that are currently being pumped into the HIT development and adoption (Blumenthal & Tavenner, 2010; Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Nevertheless, for HIS to deliver its promise, there are significant hurdles that must be dealt with stemming from the interaction of HIT system users, HIT itself and the policies that regulate healthcare information systems use. BACKGROUND

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