The Emergence of Healthcare Informatics

Running head: RESPONSE TO DISCUSSION POSTS
RESPONSE TO DISCUSSION POSTS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1RESPONSE TO DISCUSSION POSTS
Discussion Response 1
The emergence of healthcare informatics and healthcare data management systems have
improved healthcare organizational functioning in a variety of ways (Owolabi and Evans 2018).
These include: improved patient documentation, enhance diagnosed, faster deliverance of
healthcare services, improved inter-departmental data exchange and overall patient satisfaction
(Hassan et al. 2019). However, the incorporation of information technology within healthcare
organizations raises several concerns pertaining to the security, confidentiality and accessibility
of healthcare information (Abouelmehdi, Beni-Hessane and Khaloufi 2018). This is a major
concern in the case of healthcare databases, as evidenced by a recent news article I read which
report 2149 incidences of healthcare security breaches between the years 2010 to 2017. Thus, the
question arises, what organizations must do to prevent such security risks (Carroll 2018). The
answer lies in inter-professional functioning – while information technology (IT) specialists may
be required to engage in timely database monitoring and incorporation of data encryption
facilities, there is a need for healthcare professionals to communicate to IT specialists the
importance of patient privacy and legal as well as ethical principles of service quality followed
across the organization (Gordon, Fairhall and Landman 2017).
References
Abouelmehdi, K., Beni-Hessane, A. and Khaloufi, H., 2018. Big healthcare data: preserving
security and privacy. Journal of Big Data, 5(1), p.1.
Carroll, L., 2018. Health data breaches on the rise. [online] U.K. Reuters. Available at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-data-security/health-data-breaches-on-the-rise-
idUKKCN1M524J [Accessed 20 Jan. 2020].

2RESPONSE TO DISCUSSION POSTS
Gordon, W.J., Fairhall, A. and Landman, A., 2017. Threats to information security—public
health implications. N Engl J Med, 377(8), pp.707-709.
Hassan, M.K., El Desouky, A.I., Elghamrawy, S.M. and Sarhan, A.M., 2019. Big Data
Challenges and Opportunities in Healthcare Informatics and Smart Hospitals. In Security in
Smart Cities: Models, Applications, and Challenges (pp. 3-26). Springer, Cham.
Owolabi, K. and Evans, N., 2018. Clinical informatics tools for healthcare quality improvement:
a literature review. Inkanyiso: Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 10(1), pp.74-89.

3RESPONSE TO DISCUSSION POSTS
Discussion Response 2
When dealing with administrative affairs as well as activities directly impacting the
present as well as the future of an organization, it is indeed difficult for a manager to comply
with both moral as well as professional responsibilities (Li et al. 2018). However, engagement in
personal reflection as well as interpersonal communication are ways in which a manager can
effectively address such dilemmas (Tønnessen, Ursin and Brinchmann 2017). I would highlight
the experience of my friend – a manager at a reputable healthcare organization – to demonstrate
the same. During the time of Christmas, despite high patient influx, my friend had to permit a
nurse – who is Dutch - to take leave so that she can spend time with her family who had just
arrived to visit her from their home town. Managers often may feel guilty when favoring staff
preferences instead of the organization (Zhang, Gino and Margolis 2018). My friend shared with
me on how guilty he felt of the fact that he had to grant leave to staff despite work pressures.
However, along with ensuring organizational functioning it is also the duty of a manager to
ensure wellbeing for associated staff (Lee and Yun 2019). Engaging in mindfulness and
reflection pertaining to positive self-perceptions can assist managers in overcoming such issues
(Monrouxe and Rees 2017).
References
Lee, E.J. and Yun, J.H., 2019. Moral incompetency under time constraint. Journal of Business
Research, 99, pp.438-445.
Li, F., Chao, M.C.H., Chen, N.Y.F. and Zhang, S., 2018. Moral judgment in a business setting:
The role of managers’ moral foundation, ideology, and level of moral development. Asia Pacific
Journal of Management, 35(1), pp.121-143.

4RESPONSE TO DISCUSSION POSTS
Monrouxe, L.V. and Rees, C.E., 2017. Healthcare professionalism: improving practice through
reflections on workplace dilemmas. John Wiley & Sons.
Tønnessen, S., Ursin, G. and Brinchmann, B.S., 2017. Care-managers’ professional choices:
ethical dilemmas and conflicting expectations. BMC health services research, 17(1), p.630.
Zhang, T., Gino, F. and Margolis, J.D., 2018. Does “could” lead to good? On the road to moral
insight. Academy of Management Journal, 61(3), pp.857-895.

5RESPONSE TO DISCUSSION POSTS
Discussion Response 3
With healthcare organizations constantly competing with each other for delivering
healthcare of optimum quality, it is not surprising to find the prevalence of bias in order to ease
and quicken the process of vendor selection (de Jong and Benton 2019). However, I would like
to draw upon key strategies which used to be followed in my previous organization as well as
evidenced to be effective for bias prevention by current practice. These include: relying on
multiple source of information, engaging in group discussions comprising of inter-professional
departments, encouragement of arriving at new solutions rather than on previously successful
options, focusing on long term rather than short term issues and avoidance of prioritizing new
technology unnecessarily (Kros, Kirchoff and Falasca 2019; Bahreini, Doshmangir and Imani
2018). However, there are no established standards which can guide healthcare organizations to
prevent vendor bias (Blackburn et al. 2019). Thus, along with establishment of equipment
procurement principles, criteria for vendor bias must also be formulated (Sumrit 2019).
References
Bahreini, R., Doshmangir, L. and Imani, A., 2018. Affecting Medical Equipment Maintenance
Management: A Systematic Review. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research, 12(4).
Blackburn, C.W., Thompson, N.R., Tanenbaum, J.E., Passerallo, A.J., Mroz, T.E. and Steinmetz,
M.P., 2019. Association of Cost Savings and Surgical Quality With Single-Vendor Procurement
for Spinal Implants. JAMA network open, 2(11), pp.e1915567-e1915567.
de Jong, J.L. and Benton, W.C., 2019. Dependence and power in healthcare equipment supply
chains. Health care management science, 22(2), pp.336-349.

6RESPONSE TO DISCUSSION POSTS
Kros, J.F., Kirchoff, J.F. and Falasca, M., 2019. The impact of buyer-supplier relationship
quality and information management on industrial vending machine benefits in the healthcare
industry. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 25(3), p.100506.
Sumrit, D., 2019. Understanding critical success factors of vendor-managed inventory in
healthcare sector: A case study in Thailand. International Journal of Healthcare Management,
pp.1-12.