Health Informatics: Challenges and Benefits

This assignment delves into the role of health informatics in modern healthcare. It discusses the shift from paper-based systems to digital models, highlighting the benefits of electronic health records (EHRs) in improving patient care and reducing medical errors. The text also examines the challenges facing the implementation of health informatics, including insufficient investment and barriers to data exchange and security. Ultimately, it emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to leverage health informatics for cost-effective and high-quality healthcare.

Discussion 10: Progressive Issues in Health
Over years, the health industry has changed its working from the conventional paper-based
system to digitized model. Whilst there are many issues plaguing the global healthcare industry,
delivery of patient care has been a perpetual concern for most of the countries. Patient care has
been at the helm of transformation ever since information technology has seeped deeper into
healthcare system. Patient records are organized, stored and interpreted into digital form in
hospitals. The integration of information technology Information has helped health care system
to figure out the apparent loop holes and provided suitable
solutions to improve the medical care delivery. However,
with the emergence of informatics, health industry has
adopted advanced tools and technologies to make the best
out of the available data and information to improve patient
care. It has become an integral element that drives health
care system, thereby providing the much-desired
opportunities for policy makers and healthcare professionals
to use the available data and information to reduce the cost
whilst improving the efficiency (Norris, 2002). The
informatics pyramid represents the connection between knowledge, information and data as
shown in figure 1. The informatics pyramid elaborates on the connection between these three
elements and how they can be used to provide legit evidence to make better decisions and
resolve issues (Dalrymple, 2011). Thus, it can be applied to the health care system where health
patient data and information could be used and processed to derive legit knowledge supporting
health care decisions.
Health informatics is touted as an emerging discipline to improve the health care delivery.
Though there has been decent evidence dated back to 1970s, it was during the 1980s that the
interest rapidly grew (Anderson, Grimy, Pages, 1974). It could be defined as systematic
application of information management and technology (IM&T) to formulate plans for bettering
health care delivery within a cost-effective model (Norris, 2000). Unlike the physical records
Kn
ow
lde
ge
Information
Data
Figure 1 Informatics Pyramid

(medical reports, prescriptions etc), the digital records in the form of electronic health record
(EHR) helps in managing and storing large volume of patients’ data. Thus, patients can
comfortably refer to different doctors, laboratories and hospitals etc without worrying about the
medical records. It improves the patient care as physicians can make better decisions with swift
accessibility to the EHRs. Also, it eliminates the chances of medical errors with the automated
systems improving the entire ecosystem. Dvorak (2009) stated that informatics has managed to
cut down medical errors whilst streamlining the entire process of retrieving medical records.
Even though much of the focus under health informatics is on clinical matters such as the EHRs,
there are many other facets involved such as data exchange and mining, data security, and many
more Dalrymple, 2011. Given the fact that the basic premise of health informatics is to attain a
balance between quality of medical care and cost effectiveness, it could only be made possible if
wise investment is done in creating the framework for IM&T. However, in most of the cases,
insufficient investment dithers away the balance required in the digital tools and applications.
There is dire need to locate the barriers stalling the health care industry to absorb the actual
benefits channeling out of health informatics.
References
Norris, A. C. & Brittain, J. M. (2000). Education, training and the development of health
informatics. Health Informatics Journal, 6(4), 189-95
Dvorak, K. (2016). How informatics can reduce medical records, streamline medical record
retrieval. Retrieved from http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/it/how-informatics-can-reduce-
medical-errors-streamline-medical-record-retrieval
Norris, A. C. (2002). Current trends and challenges in health informatics. Health Informatics
Journal, 8(4), 205-213.
Dalrymple, P. W. (2011). Data, information, knowledge: The emerging field of health
informatics. Retrieved from http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Jun-11/JunJul11_Dalrymple.pdf

Anderson, J., Grimy, F., & Pages, J.C. (1974). Education in informatics of health personnel.
Amsterdam: North Holland