Lesson 4: Health information systems

Question 1

at its simplest, is a combination of computer hardware and software that can process data into information to solve a problem

Answer 1

information system

Question 2

both refer to an information system used in a healthcare enterprise. The healthcare enterprise is most usually an acute-care hospital but can be a group of related hospitals and healthcare settings.

Answer 2

healthcare information system and hospital information system (HIS)

Question 3

are large, computerized database management systems that support several types of healthcare activities, including provider/ practitioner order entry, results retrieval, documentation, and decision support, across loca-tions (a.k.a., a distributed system)

Answer 3

Clinical information systems (CISs)

Question 4

support client care by managing financial and demographic information and providing reporting capabilities. This category includes client management, financial, coding, payroll, human resources, and quality assurance applications.

Answer 4

Administrative information systems (AIS)

Question 5

What are the potential benefits of health-care information systems

Answer 5

improving healthcare quality, efficiency, and use of guidelines; and reducing both the inci-dence and associated costs of medication errors and adverse drug events

Question 6

facilitates the process of selecting scripted orders that include precise start-and-stop times, timing of orders, and much more detail. support the prescribers’ deci-sions to enter orders and immediately share the orders with appropriate health professionals who execute the orders and the departments that need to dispense, schedule, or immediately deliver services to patients.

Answer 6

Computerized provider (or practitioner) order entry (CPOE)

Question 7

facilitate the sharing of laboratory values and results
from other diagnostic tests within the electronic health records for clinicians to view. The values can be displayed in different formats along with associated reference ranges to help in the interpretation of values.

Answer 7

Results-reporting applications

Question 8

is provided through electronic health record systems
(EHRSs) and other applications reported here. enhances the tra-ditional paper-based documentation through the EHRSs’ capabilities of rapid movement of data, data-and-information sharing simultaneously from multiple locations, presenting data in multiple formats

Answer 8

Electronic documentation

Question 9

provide functionality to receive requests, schedule the tests, and track specimen collection and trajectory through the appropriate labo-ratory. The transmission of test results is accompanied by referenced knowledge for accurate interpretation of the findings.

Answer 9

Laboratory-information systems (LISs)

Question 10

have functionality to receive requests; schedule imaging, including people, rooms, and equipment; provide patient-focused information that helps patients prepare for scheduled diagnostic imaging, manage image storage, and store and report the radiologists’ interpretations.

Answer 10

Radiology-information systems (RISs)

Question 11

applications support the wide-spread use of digitized medical imaging for x-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography, and ultrasound. is designed specifically for storage, retrieval, presentation, and sharing of digital images. These images may be viewed simultaneously by multiple healthcare team members and electroni-cally transmitted to remote locations

Answer 11

Picture archiving and communication system (PACS)

Question 12

combine administrative and patient-care func-tions. On the administrative side, functions may include inventory control, billing, and prepa-ration of documentation such as patient profiles, medication labels, and fill lists. Clinical functions address order entry (or receipt of orders from a CIS), tracking of drug dispens-ing, alerting practitioners and pharmacists of prescription errors and potential interactions, patient education, and providing access to clinical information

Answer 12

Pharmacy information systems (PISs)

Question 13

are applications that obtain and store real-time data about various physiological (versus anatomical) aspects of a patient. Monitoring is done to track changes in the monitored parameter from a baseline. Aspects that can be monitored today include basic vital signs, arterial blood pressure, intracranial pres-sures, cardiac rhythm and waveform trends, fetal heart rate, pulse oximetry, continuous video EEG monitoring, electromyography, phonocardiograph, and many more

Answer 13

Physiological monitoring systems

Question 14

provide managerial functions to manage the OR case times and assignment of rooms (a.k.a., surgical scheduling), which helps to minimize the costs of unused OR time and the performance of elective cases outside of normal allocated OR time. Patient tracking, perioperative nursing and anaesthesia documentation, tissue track-ing, integration of medical devices, and revenue and materials management, and real-time displays of ongoing OR activity are additional functions found

Answer 14

Operating room information systems (ORISs) a.k.a., surgical-information systems
(SISs) or perioperative information systems

Question 15

are separate, specialized applications
for the surgical setting. These systems are connected to physiological monitors, anaesthesia machines, other devices, and—ideally—to the facility’s clinical information system. Anaes-thesia personnel can enter other data into the online anaesthesia record, such as intubation status, induction time, and extubation

Answer 15

Anaesthesia information management systems

Question 16

incorporate or integrate most of the prior
applications as well as interfacing with multiple bedside devices to automatically capture physiological dataand fluid intake and output; facilitating calculation of clinical indices; and helping to organize and manage the large volume of data assessments to reduce diagnosis and treatment time

Answer 16

Critical care information systems (CCISs)

Question 17

are applications that support healthcare practitioners in making patient-care deci-sions. combines one patient’s specific data, available because of integration with the facility CIS, with up-to-date clinical knowledge to generate recommendations or guide-lines for that particular patient. include clinical guidelines and reminders; drug-dosing support; and alerts for drug allergy, drug-drug interaction, and drug-laboratory interaction

Answer 17

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs)

Question 18

is critical to the effective operation of many other systems within the healthcare setting. The system applies predetermined rules for deter-mining how resources and client information should be used to schedule a particular type of appointment. collects and stores all client identification and demographic data, which
is verified and updated at the time of each visit.

Answer 18

registration and scheduling system

Question 19

is used in healthcare organizations to
support the process of providing client care. This system is integrated with other administra-tive and clinical systems and tracks a patient’s activities and location from hospital or clinic admission through any and all transfers within the facility and, finally, through discharge.

Answer 19

admission/discharge/transfer (ADT) system

Question 20

the first information systems implemented in healthcare-delivery orga-nizations, are integrated with registration systems and ensure that patients’ demographic data and insurance information could be accessed to charge for services provided and receive reimbursement.

Answer 20

Financial systems

Question 21

enhances an organization’s ability to identify potential risks and develop strategies to deal with them.

Answer 21

risk-management system

Question 22

come with a variety of software, including pro-cesses for tracking, depending on the organizational needs. The systems can provide tracking mechanisms from attendance—including vacation, time sheets—tracking for payroll pur-poses; health benefits, including insurance information; and career development.

Answer 22

Human-resources information systems

Question 23

is a way of checking that the organization is continuously improving what it does and how it does it. This is done through continuous monitoring and evaluation of performance and through the collection and processing of data and other evidence.

Answer 23

quality-assurance (QA) or continuous-quality-improvement (CQI)

Question 24

provides invaluable assistance to organizations to better manage their resources and improve efficiency. Healthcare institutions typically have multiple contracts with third-party payers as well as with vendors and various suppliers.

Answer 24

Contract-management (CM) software

Question 25

is the functionality behind the scenes that provides the capability of the electronic system to send real-time messages to all of the various areas required during a patient visit, where providers document the visit, order the medications while also checking alerts for errors, schedule appointments, and generate bills, to name just a few of the functions of an EHRS

Answer 25

Smart technology

Question 26

where the patient’s armband is scanned as well as the medi-cation pulled from the medication cart. If there is no match of patient-to-medication, the medication cannot be given.

Answer 26

bar code-scanning capability

Question 27

when an older, slower system cannot handle large volumes of information and data movement during peak work periods nor additional users on the sys-tem at the same time, it may cause the system to become inaccessible, which is also known as

Answer 27

downtime.

Question 28

This system has “point of care diagnostics for the routine monitoring of health-related vital information and status of chronic diseases as well as the detection of contagious diseases in settings out-side of the hospital or clinic”

Answer 28

lab-on-a-chip

Question 29

which is a specialized communication network that integrates miniature sensors/devices in the human body to enable the remote monitor-ing of the vital signs of patients, that can transmit information to care providers using the Internet.

Answer 29

wireless body area network (WBAN)