Evaluating ICT's Importance in Healthcare: A Patient-Centric Study

This report provides a critical evaluation of the importance of Information Communication Technology (ICT) within the healthcare system, focusing on its impact on patient care. The introduction outlines the research background, aim, and objectives, emphasizing the role of ICT in storing and transmitting medical data to improve treatment. The literature review explores how ICT enhances patient care through electronic medical records, virtual reality, and telemedicine, along with the challenges faced by healthcare practitioners during ICT integration. The research methodology outlines the qualitative research approach, interpretivism philosophy, descriptive research design, and inductive approach used to investigate the topic. The report also includes a timeline and conclusion summarizing the key findings and recommendations. The report is very beneficial for the researcher because it has been carried out for the academic and professional interest of an individual.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TOPIC: “To critically evaluate the importance of Information Communication Technology
within the healthcare system.”.........................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Research Background..................................................................................................................1
Research aim and objectives.......................................................................................................1
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................2
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................4
TIMELINE.......................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

TOPIC: “To critically evaluate the importance of Information
Communication Technology within the healthcare system.”
INTRODUCTION
Research Background
Information communication technology (ICT) is one of the extensional term which is very
useful in storing, converting, transmitting and receiving various set of electronic information
(Vroman, Arthanat and Lysack, 2015). ICT is considered to be very useful in health care because
it helps in storing medical set of data. Integration of new set of advanced technology is very
useful in improving the quality of life by integrating new innovative technologies (The
Challenge of Integrated ICT in Healthcare, 2020). Integration of new and advanced information
communication technology in turn helps in changing the life of the patient and results in
improved treatment by various health care practitioners such as nurses, doctors, care
professionals, companies, clinics, etc. This study will highlight on critically evaluating the
importance of Information Communication Technology to improve patient care within the
healthcare system.
Research aim and objectives
Aim
“To critically evaluate the importance of Information Communication Technology to
improve patient care within the healthcare system. A study on NHS”
Research Objectives
 To develop understanding on Information Communication Technology within health care
system.
 To investigate how ICT helps in improving the patient care within the healthcare system.
 To demonstrate the various challenges faced by the health care practitioners while
integrating ICT within health care system.
 To provide appropriate recommendations to integrate ICT within health care system
effectively.
Research Questions
 What is your understanding on Information Communication Technology within health
care system?
 How ICT helps in improving the patient care within the healthcare system?
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 What are the various challenges faced by the health care practitioners while integrating
ICT within health care system?
 What are appropriate recommendations to integrate ICT within health care system
effectively?
Rationale
This study is very beneficial for the researcher because it has been carried out for the academic
and professional interest of an individual. One of the key reason for choosing the specific subject
because it is considered to be as the wide subject matter. It will helps the researcher in gaining
wider set of in depth degree of insight and knowledge related with the importance of Information
Communication Technology to improve patient care within the healthcare system.
LITERATURE REVIEW
To develop understanding on Information Communication Technology within health care
system.
Chen and Schulz, (2016) examined the fact that, Information communication technology
is considered to be one of the specific technique which is very useful in storing, receiving,
converting and transmitting various set of electronic information. Information communication
technology is very prominent within the health care system because it is very useful in storing
medical set of information. Heath care practitioners integrating new set of advanced technology
is very useful in improving the quality of life by integrating new innovative technologies.
Mettler, (2016, September) examined the fact that, Information communication technology is
very useful in keeping medical records of the patient in a systematic manner. It is very useful in
promoting patient centred care which is very useful in retrieving the important information. Use
of electronic textbooks, visuals, audio, email, chat, instructional software, etc. is very useful in
effectively processing and transmitting information on the real time basis.
Moreover, Wildevuur and Simonse, (2015) argued that, nurses within the healthcare
system tends to use management system, information system, communication system and
various decision support system within the health and social care system. This way it helps in
attaining better care results and outcomes. Virtual reality devices is also an appropriate
information communication tool which is very useful in connecting with the care professional on
a real time basis. It helps in better care results and outcomes for the patients.
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Subsequently, Sittig. and Singh, (2015) sought to determine the fact that, Information
communication technology also tends to have high degree of potential which helps in improving
the quality of care and is very useful in educating various health care practitioners in order to
encourage new set of relationship between the health and the patient. Administrative and clinical
system in turn are considered to be as one of the most effective platform which is very useful in
managing the details of the patients. Electronic medical records is considered to be as one of the
appropriate information technology system which is very useful in providing up to date, accurate
and relevant set of information at the time of providing proper care to the patients. Electronic
medical records is an effective tool which is very useful in better managing the care for the
patients.
To investigate how ICT helps in improving the patient care within the healthcare system.
Adibi, (2015) examined the fact that, Information communication technology is considered
to be very beneficial as it helps in improving the safety of the patient by effectively directing
with checking with the online treatment and is considered to be very useful in keeping the
complete track of the progress of the patient. Information communication technology is
considered to be very useful in anticipating the medical error. This way it helps in attaining
better care results and outcomes. Moreover, Gope and Hwang, (2015) argued that, Information
communication technology is considered to be as one of the most appropriate and positive tool
which is very useful for the various health care practitioners like doctors, nurses, health
professionals, etc. in order to provide best possible care to the patients. Digitalization of the
records associated with the patients in turn helps in supporting for the clinical decision. It is very
prominent in transmitting various sets of data which in turn is very easy and quick to access. It
also helps the health care practitioners in taking more informed decision. Integration of
Information communication technology within the health organization is very helpful in
streamlining the specific procedure, reducing the cost and improving the outcome of the patient.
Subsequently, (Vroman, Arthanat and Lysack, 2015) sought to determine the fact that,
Information communication technology is very useful in helping patient with the postoperative
recovery procedure. Patients have better access to the cutting edge treatment and also helps in
providing best set of diagnostic tools which in turn is considered to be as very relevant for quick
health and less pain results to the patient. Big data is one of the appropriate technology which
helps in transmitting large set of data within the healthcare system. Cloud storage within the
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health care system is considered to be as very useful in reducing wastage and in turn is very
beneficial in developing new set of research protocols with lifesaving pharmaceutical
formulations. It is a very cost effective approach and also helps in providing securing solutions
with appropriate recovery and back- up feature. Use of telecare technology is very useful in
positively influencing the nursing practice within the health care system. Nurses record system is
considered to be as very beneficial in attaining higher operational goals and sustainability. Tele
monitoring in turn is also considered to be as one of the effective Information communication
technology system which is very relevant in improving the health outcome of the patients.
To demonstrate the various challenges faced by the health care practitioners while integrating
ICT within health care system.
Chen and Schulz, (2016) examined the fact that, integration of the Information
communication technology in turn is considered to be very useful in improving the care of the
patient and also results in better care outcomes. Cultural hindrance in turn is considered to be as
one of the major challenge which has been faced by the health care practitioners such as doctors,
nurses, health professionals, etc. in order to comply and protect wide set of data within the
organizational setting. Moreover, Vroman, Arthanat and Lysack, (2015) argued that, Re-
orienting the care system of the organization is very useful in prevention and integration of the
various ongoing health issues which is considered to be one of the most costly affair and in turn
largely affects the finances of the health care organization.
Subsequently, Wildevuur and Simonse, (2015) sought to determine the fact that, integration
of information communication technology within the health care facility is considered to be one
of the most challenging task in order to effectively address the limitations. The key limitation
associated with the interoperability of the data which in turn is considered to be as one of the
biggest challenge which in turn could influence the working of the health and social care system.
There are various set of health care practitioners which in turn do not want to comply with the
changing environment. Lack of training and education in turn is considered to be as one of the
most challenging issue which largely influence the working of the health care organization.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methods: It is useful in selecting wide set of descriptive range of information. It is
classified into quantitative and qualitative research methods (Quinlan and et.al., 2019).
Qualitative research method is used to evaluate the specific subject by understanding various
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patterns of the study in in – depth. On the other hand, quantitative research method used
numerical information to gain general information. Qualitative research method mainly comprise
of interviews, questionnaire, open- ended questions, content analysis, open ended surveys,
observation, oral history, etc. The researcher of the study will select qualitative research methods
to critically evaluate the importance of Information Communication Technology to improve
patient care within the healthcare system.
Research philosophy: This is the specific phenomenon according to which research project
will be carried out. It is classified into positivism and interpretivism philosophy (Jensen, 2017).
Positivism method is based on real facts. On the other hand, interpretivism philosophy is usually
based on effectively evaluating each variables of the subject matter by involving human
participants in the study. This approach is considered to be very appropriate as it focuses on
indulging human interest into the specific subject matter. The researcher of the study will select
interpretivism philosophy methods in order to investigate how ICT helps in improving the
patient care within the healthcare system.
Research design: It is one of the appropriate framework and theoretical approach which
helps in meeting the research problem. It is classified into exploratory and descriptive research
design. Exploratory design method is usually carried out for exploring the key elements of the
specific research problem. It is useful in providing theoretical idea to the specific research
problem (Almalki, 2016). Descriptive research design helps in exploring various themes to
evaluate various sets of research problem. The researcher of the study will select descriptive
research design in order to demonstrate the various challenges faced by the health care
practitioners while integrating ICT within health care system.
Research approach: It is a systematic plan of structure which include wide set of norms in
specific manner in order to resolve research problem. It is classified into inductive and deductive
approach. Deductive approach is very useful in exploring certain test, theory or phenomenon by
developing hypothesis. On the contrary, inductive approach does not tend to include hypothesis
and it also begins with the observation of proposed theories towards the finish of specific
research process. It is useful in gaining conclusive set of results (Litosseliti, 2018). The
researcher of the study will select inductive approach in order to demonstrate the various
challenges faced by the health care practitioners while integrating ICT within health care system.
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Data collection: Data collection is one of the appropriate procedure which is very useful in
gathering various data sets with one of the key perspective to attain research aim and results. It is
classified into primary and secondary source of data collection. Primary data collection is the
original set of data which can be collected through interviews, survey, questionnaires, polls,
experiments, observation, etc. On the other hand, secondary data is already collected set of data
which is used for future set of investigation. It mainly includes books, scholars, journals, manual,
etc. The researcher of the study will select primary and secondary source of data collection
which is very useful in critically evaluating the importance of Information Communication
Technology to improve patient care within the healthcare system.
Sampling: It is an appropriate procedure which helps in carrying statistical analysis from
various population from the large area (Kumar, 2019). It is classified into probabilistic and non-
probabilistic sampling methods. Random probabilistic sampling method is very useful because it
focuses on selecting random set of people by giving each individual equal opportunity to get
selected within the sample size. On the other hand, non- probabilistic sampling does not give
each people from population equal chance of getting selected within sample size. The researcher
of the study will select random probabilistic sampling methods where 20 managers of the NHS
will be selected to develop understanding on Information Communication Technology within
health care system.
Data Analysis: This is the appropriate methodology which is very appropriate in cleansing
and transforming various set of data which has been gathered to carry out decision. It is
classified into SPSS analysis and thematic analysis (Johnson and Christensen, 2019). SPSS
analysis is very useful in evaluating complex large set of data sets. On the other hand, thematic
analysis is very appropriate in evaluating various themes and elements of the study. This way it
is very useful in gaining wider set of understanding on the specific subject matter. The researcher
of the study will select thematic analysis in order to demonstrate the various challenges faced by
the health care practitioners while integrating ICT within health care system and also provide
appropriate recommendations to integrate ICT within health care system effectively.
Ethical consideration: The researcher of the study will gather data sets ethically from
appropriate journal sources by reviewing each articles in an appropriate manner. The researcher
will carry out study by taking full consent from the respondents. All the information of the
participants will be kept private within confidential software (Basias and Pollalis, 2018). The
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researcher of the particular field of study will not harm any animals and respondents while
carrying the research study. The researcher will also effectively use all the resources and will
comply with necessary laws and legislations in order to carry out the research study.
TIMELINE
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Selection of
topic
Formulation of
aim and
objectives
Literature
Review
Research
methodology
Data analysis
Recommendatio
n
Conclusion
Taking feedback
from the tutor
Final
submission
CONCLUSION
From the above conducted study it has summarized that, Information communication technology
such as electronic health record, virtual reality, telecare, tele- monitoring, etc. are considered to
be one of the specific technique which is very useful in storing, receiving, converting and
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transmitting various set of electronic information on real time basis. It has been concluded that,
in order to critically evaluate the importance of Information Communication Technology to
improve patient care within the healthcare system the researcher has used qualitative research
methods. Cultural hindrance is considered to be as one of the major challenge which has been
faced by the health care practitioners.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chen, Y.R.R. and Schulz, P.J., 2016. The effect of information communication technology
interventions on reducing social isolation in the elderly: a systematic review. Journal of medical
Internet research, 18(1), p.e18.
Wildevuur, S.E. and Simonse, L.W., 2015. Information and communication technology–enabled
person-centered care for the “big five” chronic conditions: scoping review. Journal of medical
Internet research, 17(3), p.e77.
Sittig, D.F. and Singh, H., 2015. A new socio-technical model for studying health information
technology in complex adaptive healthcare systems. In Cognitive informatics for
biomedicine (pp. 59-80). Springer, Cham.
Adibi, S. ed., 2015. Mobile health: a technology road map (Vol. 5). Springer.
Gope, P. and Hwang, T., 2015. BSN-Care: A secure IoT-based modern healthcare system using
body sensor network. IEEE sensors journal, 16(5), pp.1368-1376.
Vroman, K.G., Arthanat, S. and Lysack, C., 2015. “Who over 65 is online?” Older adults’
dispositions toward information communication technology. Computers in Human Behavior, 43,
pp.156-166.
Quinlan, C and et.al., 2019. Business research methods. South Western Cengage.
Jensen, M.F., 2017. Reconciling Anti-essentialism and Quantitative Methodology. Kvinder, Køn
& Forskning, (1), pp.8-17.
Litosseliti, L. ed., 2018. Research methods in linguistics. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Almalki, S., 2016. Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Data in Mixed Methods Research--
Challenges and Benefits. Journal of Education and Learning.5(3). pp.288-296.
Kumar, R., 2019. Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage Publications
Limited.
Johnson, R.B. and Christensen, L., 2019. Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and
mixed approaches. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.
Basias, N. and Pollalis, Y., 2018. Quantitative and qualitative research in business & technology:
Justifying a suitable research methodology. Review of Integrative Business and Economics
Research. 7. pp.91-105.
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Creswell, J.W. and Creswell, J.D., 2017. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed
methods approaches. Sage publications.
Mettler, M., 2016, September. Blockchain technology in healthcare: The revolution starts here.
In 2016 IEEE 18th international conference on e-health networking, applications and services
(Healthcom) (pp. 1-3). IEEE.
Online
The Challenge of Integrated ICT in Healthcare .2020. [ONLINE]. Available through<
https://vitaenterprisesolutions.com.au/new-ideas/articles/challenge-integrated-ict-healthcare>
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