Information System in Health Care

Information system in Health Care

Introduction

Because of several reasons, the health care sector might not have a similar tradition in the use of information systems than many other industries. First, application of ICT (information and communication technology) is quite a new phenomenon in health care. Second, transformation has been very intensive and fast. Data mining permits health care providers to save costs, provide better care, and save lives. Sentara Health System at Norfolk introduced a data mining concept to improve the quality and the treatment of pneumonia patients. After implementing data mining, its mortality rate was reduced from 12 percent to 9 percent. It is expected that data mining with information warehousing will become common place in the health care industry. Brad L. Armstrong, a global managing director of Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group's Health Systems Integration Practice in Los Angeles, says “there are thousands of services, relationships built over time, and multiple diagnoses and interactions. That complexity will continue to push progressive data mining applications that will rival those in banking or retail” (Anderson, 2002).

Discussion

Recently, GDSSs have been developed in many non-health care organizations to assist in the decision making process of group members by broadening the quantity, quality, and structure of data exchange. While IT-oriented industries, such as financial institutions and retailing stores, are employing GDSSs, little implementation of GDSSs in the health care industry has been reported. The EIS has been used to support senior executives in analyzing critical management problems. In 1992, 33 percent of hospitals were adopting EIS according to Niederman. The implementation domain, however, is more likely to be on the strategic level rather than on the doctor's level for patient care. Among the four types of DSSs, information warehousing is one of the fastest growing areas. As computer technology ...