Assessing the Impact of IT on Healthcare Services: A Review

This report analyzes the impact of information technology (IT) on healthcare services. It begins with a literature review, exploring the use of IT in healthcare, including electronic health records (EHRs) and data-driven tools like artificial intelligence, highlighting benefits such as improved collaboration a...Read More

Case Study

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................................................1
Use of information technology within healthcare ......................................................................1
Benefits of IT within healthcare .................................................................................................2
Information technology risks .....................................................................................................2
Analysing the overall impact of IT on healthcare services ........................................................3
METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................................3
DISCUSSION ON DATA ..............................................................................................................4
FINDINGS ......................................................................................................................................7
REFLECTION ................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................9
APPENDICES ..............................................................................................................................11
1. Questionnaire .......................................................................................................................11
2. LO 2 .....................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
The information technologies greatly influences the quality benchmarks and functional
efficiency of healthcare services (Weaver and et.al., 2016). This project will analyse and discuss
the impact of IT so that relevant dependency and conclusions can be drawn with the helps of
statistics or observations. For this purpose literatures are reviewed in this report in order to
achieve following aims and objectives:
Aim:
To analyse the impact of information technology (IT) on healthcare sector.
Objective:
 To understand the use of IT in healthcare.
 To evaluate the benefits and possible risks of IT within healthcare
 To analyse the impact of IT on performance and quality of healthcare services
LITERATURE REVIEW
Use of information technology within healthcare
According to Wager, Lee and Glaser, (2017) clinical equipments and processes have been
experiencing significant changes due to increasing role of information technology in healthcare.
These service providers are using number of IT services and tools for enhancing their quality and
patient safety as well. For instance the use of electronic health record (EHR), data base systems,
computerised order entry systems and simulators are making healthcare operations more precise
and quick.
Similarly Fabian, Ermakova and Junghanns, (2015), stated that data driven IT tools such
as artificial intelligence are also assisting service providers in diagnosis and treatment processes.
The information sharing of the people through IT has provided a way to seek better quality of
services by consulting with experts as well as by easy communication with the service users.
Almost every healthcare organisation is using information systems for managing the medical
details of individual so that information can be used in future as well and clinical errors can be
reduced to a great extent.
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Benefits of IT within healthcare
As per the view of Yang and et.al., (2015) collaboration, time management and
communication are the basic elements which makes any healthcare system effective. The health
IT systems are capable to improve all these attributes. The managed infrastructure for recording
and sharing the healthcare information helps service providers and health agencies to improve
the service quality. The storage of these records using IT system is reliable , easy and affordable
method and it plays a great role in improving the safety of patients.
Zhang and et.al., (2017) stated that health practitioners can use IT systems for making
better and accurate decisions without any medication error. For instance order entry system
keeps record of allergies or type of medication to be provided. Thus even when nurses review the
patient after few days they can refer these records for delivering accurate care. The inadequate
medical records can be harmful for the safety of people as it leads to improper decisions. In the
same context Dimitrov, (2016) described that these systems are used for sharing information so
that patients and service providers can interact with each other at instant without any delay.
Information technology risks
Contrary to the above discussion Wang, Kung and Byrd, (2018) argued that it is not easy
to employ IT within healthcare because its related risks can be severe for the safety of people. A
minor error in managing records or system functioning can be life threatening for the patients.
The lack of risk management infrastructure can create a threat on privacy of personal and
biological information of people. Thus information can be easily modified authentically and
service users can be harmed (The future of healthcare: our vision for digital, data and
technology in health and care. 2018.).
The lack of proper maintenance approaches or the trained staff members can lead to
significant errors in information management which is completely unacceptable within
healthcare as it will directly influence the life of patient. Lee, Son and Kim, (2016) explained
that artificial intelligence and other advance IT systems cannot be completely trusted for
providing healthcare services thus their usage must be limited and controlled. Hence it is highly
essential for the health service providers to analyse and overcome these risks so that functional
accuracy of health care is not affected.
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Analysing the overall impact of IT on healthcare services
According to Yue and et.al., (2016) health IT systems are vital as they can be really
effective in achieving the goals of public healthcare. Their integration within services helps in
early detection, tracking and management of chronic and infectious diseases. These systems
improves administrative efficiency by continuous monitoring and clinical accuracy.
However Castiglione and et.al., (2015) stated that for health delivery infrastructure IT
systems can be helpful but their adverse impacts and risk vulnerabilities cannot be neglected. If
healthcare service providers are not capable to manage these systems then it will not only
outbreak the privacy and security concerns but the safety of patients will also be at risk. It has
been also analysed that the knowledge gap between health service providers and users may not
help healthcare providers to achieve their quality standards. The operational cost and same level
of digital literacy between patients and professionals are also important consideration for the
health organisations before predicting the benefits of IT systems.
METHODOLOGY
For achieving the aim and objectives of literature review narrow down approach is used
in the study. Since the topic is too broad the study is limited to only its implications on quality
and processes of healthcare services. For this purpose a variety of literature papers and sources
were reviewed on search engines like Google Scholar and Emerald Insight. The search terms
such as advantage of using IT in healthcare, how healthcare professionals use IT, IT and
healthcare, Impact of IT on healthcare were used to search for the relevant sources.
The articles which focused on only positive or one side impact of IT were not excluded in
order to make review more fair and critical. The data sources which highlights the overall role of
IT in both positive and negative perspective were preferred so that all objectives can be
addressed. Further literature sources of past few years were preferred and included so that the
actual impact of current IT trends can be evaluated in context of healthcare. For making the
review credible and authenticated it is vital that credibility of sources is checked. Thus before
choosing the literature its CRAP test was performed so that its authenticity and reliability is
confirmed. The data collection and analysis methods are also important for reaching to
conclusions. In this study following methods are used.
Data collection :
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The data collection methods can be primary and secondary. In this study secondary
sources such as literatures have also been analysed so that better understanding can be
developed. However to gain more insight of the actual impact and extent of use of IT system a
primary data collection methods is also employed in the study by using a questionnaire.
Sampling:
For primary data collection it is essential to use the reliable participants or samples so
that accurate interpretations can be developed. In this study 20 healthcare professionals were
selected as the samples so that more realistic observations can be developed. In this study the
random sampling has been used so that participants are chosen without any specific condition.
Data analysis: The qualitative analysis which does not use statistical data is employed in this
review. On the basis of questionnaire themes were developed and thematic analysis is used for
analysing the data. For reviewing the literatures or the secondary sources systematic analysis is
also used in this study.
DISCUSSION ON DATA
Theme 1 Use of information system for managing records of patients
Q- 1 Does your organisation use information system for managing
records of patients?
Frequency
Yes 17
No 1
Not sure 2
Total 20
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Interpretation- Out of 20, 17 professionals confirm that IT systems are being used by their
organisation. Thus it can be interpreted that most of the healthcare service providers are using IT
system for specific application and purpose.
Theme 2 Security threats of using information system in health care
Q- 2 Do you believe that there are security threats of using information
system in healthcare services?
Frequency
Yes 5
No 10
Not sure 5
Total 20
5
Yes No Not sure Total
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Frequency

Interpretation- Most of the participants are not aware about the security vulnerabilities related to
IT. Thus it is required that risks factors of IT system must be taken into account so for assuring
the quality services.
Theme 3 Benefits of using IT systems
Q- 3 According to you is it helpful for you and patients to use IT
systems?
Frequency
Yes 18
No 1
Not sure 1
Total 20
6
Yes No Not sure Total
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Frequency

Interpretation- It has been agreed by almost all the participants that IT is making their work
efficient and easy. A very few participant denied this fact. Thus from the perspective of health
professionals IT is enhancing the quality service.
FINDINGS
From the above interpretations it has been analysed that health professionals consider that
the information systems as highly beneficial for the improvement of health care services. These
systems provides an easy means to exchange and store the vital information of the patients and
health services. The most dominating impact of these services is on quality of decision making.
The medical history and on time access of records is important in clinical judgements (The NHS
at 70: What will new technology mean for the NHS and its patients?. 2018). The IT systems can
be considered as highly efficient and reliable sources for this purpose and thus health
professionals find it easy to use them for making health care decisions.
However it cannot be denied that there are several risks of IT systems and theses risks
can become highly vulnerable in healthcare context. Thus it is very essential for health service
providers to analyse these risks so that they can effectively explore the huge benefits of IT.
Further research can be conducted to determine the ways through which health care professionals
can mitigate those risks and performance gap due to digital literacy can be eliminated (Dwivedi
and et.al., 2016). It is also concluded from the study that information technology is essential for
7
Yes No Not sure Total
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Frequency

the betterment of healthcare sector but suitable actions must be taken so that its possible risks can
be avoided.
It has been also analysed from the review that information technology can act as a bridge
for creating strong relation between health professionals and people. Usually people are not able
to interact easily with their service providers. The use of IT will enable them to access their
health statistics easily and to communicate to professionals with ease. IT systems within health
care empowers people to be more concerned and aware regarding their health.
From the report it can also be concluded that health organisations must evaluate the
suitable and efficient IT infrastructure which helps in management of chronic diseases and can
enhance the safety of patients. With the help of IT system there is a continuous connectivity
between patients and service providers. It helps professionals to take better interventions
(Rahurkar, Vest and Menachemi, 2015). The coordination can be easily improved among
consumers and providers of health services. Thus it can be concluded from the study that health
services must be monitored and improved by using information technology.
REFLECTION
The literature review discussed above in the report has been very helpful for me. Since
the healthcare services are common and essential for everyone it has been an interesting and
knowledgeable experience to conduct the review. By this study I learnt that IT is not limited to
entertainment and business but has also become an integral part of healthcare services. While
collecting data I was not sure that if I will be able to interpret the findings or not but my
discussion with health professionals and to service users as well as my personal experience of
healthcare services greatly helped to achieve objectives.
At first I tried to understand the subject by secondary sources but then I realised that I
can get a more in depth understanding from the realistic and practical examples. So later I
decided to go for primary data analysis. The interaction with healthcare professionals made be
understand that how these service providers are enhancing their capabilities and skills by using
IT. In future if I will get an opportunity to conduct the similar research then I would like to
expand research to service users that how they are visualising IT as a mode to improve their
health and what improvements they expect in the services.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Castiglione, A. and et.al., 2015. Cloud-based adaptive compression and secure management
services for 3D healthcare data. Future Generation Computer Systems. 43. pp.120-134.
Dimitrov, D.V., 2016. Medical internet of things and big data in healthcare. Healthcare
informatics research. 22(3). pp.156-163.
Dwivedi, Y.K. and et.al., 2016. A generalised adoption model for services: A cross-country
comparison of mobile health (m-health). Government Information Quarterly. 33(1).
pp.174-187.
Fabian, B., Ermakova, T. and Junghanns, P., 2015. Collaborative and secure sharing of
healthcare data in multi-clouds. Information Systems. 48. pp.132-150.
Lee, A.R., Son, S.M. and Kim, K.K., 2016. Information and communication technology overload
and social networking service fatigue: A stress perspective. Computers in Human
Behavior. 55. pp.51-61.
Rahurkar, S., Vest, J.R. and Menachemi, N., 2015. Despite the spread of health information
exchange, there is little evidence of its impact on cost, use, and quality of care. Health
affairs. 34(3). pp.477-483.
Wager, K.A., Lee, F.W. and Glaser, J.P., 2017. Health care information systems: a practical
approach for health care management. John Wiley & Sons.
Wang, Y., Kung, L. and Byrd, T.A., 2018. Big data analytics: Understanding its capabilities and
potential benefits for healthcare organizations. Technological Forecasting and Social
Change. 126. pp.3-13.
Weaver, C.A. and et.al., 2016. Healthcare information management systems. Cham: Springer
International Publishing.
Yang, J.J. and et.al., 2015. Emerging information technologies for enhanced
healthcare. Computers in Industry.69. pp.3-11.
Yue, X. and et.al., 2016. Healthcare data gateways: found healthcare intelligence on blockchain
with novel privacy risk control. Journal of medical systems. 40(10). p.218.
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Zhang, Y. and et.al., 2017. Health-CPS: Healthcare cyber-physical system assisted by cloud and
big data. IEEE Systems Journal. 11(1). pp.88-95.
Online
The future of healthcare: our vision for digital, data and technology in health and care. 2018.
[Online]. Accessed through <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-
of-healthcare-our-vision-for-digital-data-and-technology-in-health-and-care/the-future-
of-healthcare-our-vision-for-digital-data-and-technology-in-health-and-care>
The NHS at 70: What will new technology mean for the NHS and its patients?. 2018. [Online].
Accessed through <https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/nhs-70-what-will-new-
technology-mean-nhs-and-its-patients>
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APPENDICES
1. Questionnaire
Questionnaire
Name- __________________
Age- ___________________
Gender- _________________
Q- 1 Does your organisation use information system for managing records of patients?
 Yes
 No
 Not sure
Q-2 Do you believe that there are security threats of using information system in healthcare
services?
 Yes
 No
 Not sure
Q-3 According to you is it helpful for you and patients to use IT systems?
 Yes
 No
 Not sure
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2. LO 2
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