ICT in Health and Social Care: Legal Aspects and Advantages

This report delves into the legal considerations and benefits of utilizing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) within health and social care settings. It addresses crucial legal aspects, such as data protection, employee health and safety, and the prevention of misuse of computer systems, emphasizing the importance of adhering to relevant government regulations and acts. Furthermore, the report highlights the various advantages of ICT implementation, including improved communication, streamlined data storage, enhanced coordination between healthcare practices, and reduced risks for both patients and healthcare professionals. The report also provides examples such as electronic health records and alarm systems to showcase the practical impact of ICT in healthcare, supporting the enhancement of service quality and overall patient wellbeing. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of considering legal aspects when implementing ICT solutions in healthcare.

Running head: INFORMATION AND COMMUICATION TECHNOLOGY
INFORMATION AND COMMUICATION TECHNOLOGY
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Legal considerations in the use of ICT impacting on health and social care settings:
There are several specific legal considerations in the use of the ICT that can impact on
the health and social care. Using of the ICT by the healthcare professionals to certain extent can
impact on the physical aspect of the health and social workers. The legal considerations are there
for ensuring the proper usage of the ICT as well as reducing the risks of health issues of the care
giver. For example, working on the computers for long hours at a stretch can cause severe pain in
the upper limbs of the worker. Again, looking at the computer screen for a long time can cause
harm in the eyes too. The management of the health and social care organizations must ensure
the implementation of the health and safety act by the respective government of the nation, in
order to take care of the health of the employees (Antheunis, Tates and Nieboer 2013).
On the other hand, protection of the data stored in the information system also needs to
be secured by the management of the organization as well as the employees of the same. There
are data protection act by the government that is established for the confidentiality and the
security of the data and information provided by the clients. Another important legal
consideration is referred to the employees for preventing the misuse of the computers. The legal
consideration states that the health and social care employees must not use the computers for the
personal use (Locatelli et al., 2012). In addition, the laws also protect the unauthorized access to
the computers. However, the legal consideration also covers the safety of the employees as well
as the clients while using the ICT in the health and social care setting. Therefore, the health and
social organizations as well as well as the employees must consider the legal aspect in terms of
using the ICT.

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The benefits of Using ICT:
There are several benefits of the usage of the ICT in the context of the health and social
care for the health care professionals as well as for the organizations. Undoubtedly the
communication and the storing process of the vital data and information are improved and easier
with the implementation of the ICT in the health organizations (Sultan and Sultan 2012). The use
of ICT is contributed towards the improvements of the provision in the health and social care as
well as the outcomes through the practice of the effective monitoring. In some of the cases
special initiatives and policies have been developed for addressing the requirements of the
healthcare professionals as well as the service users. Some of the benefits are:
 The use of the ICT in the health and social care service not improves the service quality
for the clients as well as the healthcare professionals through providing the necessary
support to the health and social care workers. The support includes the communication,
managements, diagnosis of the clients and others.
 The use of the ICT within the organizations enhances the coordination between the social
and health practices which reduces the possibilities of the failures due to the medication
error (Gagnon et al., 2012). For example, the electronic health record (EHR) and the
integrated information system (IIS) are used for collecting, monitoring and sharing
information of the clients medication effectively.
 The new technologies used by the ICT reduce the health and safety risks of the clients
and hence improves health of the same. For example, the alarm system, video monitoring
system, different types of electronic sensors are the new technological tools that help in
reducing the possible risks and ensure the wellbeing of the clients.

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Reference:
Antheunis, M.L., Tates, K. and Nieboer, T.E., 2013. Patients’ and health professionals’ use of
social media in health care: motives, barriers and expectations. Patient education and
counseling, 92(3), pp.426-431.
Gagnon, M.P., Desmartis, M., Labrecque, M., Car, J., Pagliari, C., Pluye, P., Frémont, P.,
Gagnon, J., Tremblay, N. and Légaré, F., 2012. Systematic review of factors influencing the
adoption of information and communication technologies by healthcare professionals. Journal of
medical systems, 36(1), pp.241-277.
Locatelli, P., Restifo, N., Gastaldi, L. and Corso, M., 2012. Health care information systems:
architectural models and governance. In Innovative information systems modelling techniques.
InTech.
Sultan, N. and Sultan, Z., 2012, June. The application of utility ICT in healthcare management
and life science research: A new market for a disruptive innovation. In The European Academy
of Management conference EURAM (pp. 6-8).