Health and Social Care: Examining the Benefits and Regulations of ICT

This report delves into the significant role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the health and social care sectors. It highlights the numerous benefits of ICT, including improved communication between healthcare professionals and patients, enhanced efficiency in data management, and a shift towards patient-centric care. The report explores how ICT has facilitated the digitalization of patient records, leading to better service quality and more informed treatment decisions. Furthermore, it emphasizes the positive impact on healthcare professionals, increasing their job satisfaction and efficiency. The report also addresses crucial legislative considerations, such as the Data Protection Act and the importance of maintaining patient confidentiality. It concludes by underscoring the transformative potential of ICT in advancing healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. The report is contributed by a student to be published on Desklib, a platform providing AI-based study tools for students.

Running head: HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
Health and Social Care
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1HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
Information and Communication technology or more commonly called by the name
of ICT is one of the most important developments of the 20th century (Maillet, Mathieu and
Sicotte 2015). Thus, it is generally seen that the various industries of the world take the help
of this particular technology to not only improve the quality of service which they provide to
the end users of the products or the services which they offer but at the same time to enhance
the overall prospects of their organization (Maillet, Mathieu and Sicotte 2015). The health
and social care industry is essentially concerned with catering to the medicinal as well as
health needs of the people from the diverse parts of the world and in a way it can be said that
the health and the social care industry forms an indispensible part of the modern world
(Franklin, Lavie and Arena 2015). Thus, it is generally seen that in order to enhance the
quality of the health care services which they provide to the patients from the different parts
of the world the health and the social care organizations often take the help of the ICT to
provide quality treatment facility to the patients and that too at very affordable prices
(Franklin, Lavie and Arena 2015). This article will discuss about the various benefits which
the use of ICT provides to the health and social care organizations as well as the health care
professionals who are associated with them and also the patients. The article will also provide
an overview of the various legislations which the health and the social care organizations and
the professionals need to take into effective consideration for the use of the ICT.
The use of ICT provides various kinds of benefits to the health and social care
institutions and the health care professionals who are a part of the institutions. Many experts
argue that the use of this particular technology is equally beneficial for the patients from the
different parts of the world who take the help of the health care services provided by these
institutions (Hoque, Bao and Sorwar 2017). For example, it is generally seen that the
innovation of ICT has improved the process of communication between the health care
professionals and the patients who take the help of the health care facilities provided by them

2HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
(Maillet, Mathieu and Sicotte 2015). In the earlier times, the health care experts had to
depend on various traditional as well as conventional methods of communication to
effectively convey the relevant information about their health to the patients. The patients
also found it difficult to convey information about the various problems which they were
facing with the help of the traditional methods of communication (Hanseth and Bygstad
2015). However, the use of ICT for the process of communication between the patients and
the health care professionals has in a significant manner solved this particular problem and in
a way can be said that the use of this particular technology for the process of communication
between the patients and the health care experts has improved the quality of communication
which the health care experts and the patients have in the present times (Marful and Winter
2015). ICT has completely digitalized the health and the social care industry and it is a
reflection of this particular fact that the health and the social care institutions are required to
keep a digital record of the medical history as well as the data of the patients who take the
help of the health care services offered by them (Hanseth and Bygstad 2015). This has in a
significant manner enhanced the efficiency of the health and the social care industry and at
the same time has helped them to provide better quality of services to the patients. One of the
major benefits which the use of ICT provides to the patients who take the help of the services
offered by the health care industry is the fact that the use of ICT has shifted the focus of the
health care professionals and it is a reflection of this particular fact that the health care
professionals of the present times need to take into effective consideration the needs as well
as the requirements of the patients who seek their services (Marful and Winter 2015). Thus,
the medical and the health care facilities provided by the various health and the social
institutions of the present has become patient centric which was rarely seen in the earlier
times. In addition to these, the use of this particular ICT also enables the health care experts
to meet the individual needs as well as the requirements of the patients and administer

3HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
treatment to the patients on the basis of this particular fact. Many experts hold the view that
the use of ICT has in a significant manner contributed to the independence of not only the
health care experts but also of the patients who take the help of the health care services
provided by them (Rorís et al. 2016).
Many experts hold the view that the use of ICT has not only enhanced the quality of
the health care facilities provided by the health and the social care institutions to the patients
but at the same time it also provided various kinds of benefits to these institutions and the
health care experts who are associated with them as well (Yang et al. 2015). One of the most
important aspects of this particular fact is that it has much improved the efficiency of these
institutions. The use of ICT has at the same time helped the various health and social care
institutions to meet the needs as well as the requirements of the health care experts in the
most effective manner (Yang et al. 2015). This particular factor not only enhances the job
satisfaction of the health care experts but at the same time motivates them to perform in a
much better manner. The use of ICT has a direct effect on the accountability as well as the
auditing system used by the various health and social care institutions and also the relation
which they share with the other health and social care institutions.
The health and the social care institutions need to take into effective consideration
various legislations and other kinds of factors for the use of ICT. The most important
legislation which they need to take into consideration is the Data Protection Act (Kaur and
Chana 2014). This particular act states that the health care professionals are to use the
medical history as well as the data of the patients only for the process of their treatment and
other researches and for no other purposes (Kaur and Chana 2014). Furthermore, the health
care experts and the institutions to which they are associated also needs to take into effective
consideration the clause of confidentiality and ensure that the use of the ICT do not cause any
kind of stress to the patients who take the help of the health care services provided by them.

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To conclude, the health care industry is concerned with fulfilling the health care needs
of the people and therefore the quality of services which they provide to the people matters a
lot. Therefore, it becomes all the more important for the various health and the social care
institutions to take the help of ICT. The use of ICT is not only likely to help the health and
the social care institutions to provide better quality of services to the patients and but at the
same time enhance the efficiency of their overall institution as well. However, the health and
the social care institutions need to take into effective consideration various legislations like
Data Protection Act and others for the implementation and the use of this particular
technology.

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