Strategic Information Systems & ERP in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, UK

This report critically evaluates the effectiveness of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in the business operations of the healthcare sector, using Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the UK as a case study. It defines key business processes within healthcare, including core, support, and back-office functions, and identifies the hospital's business requirements, such as resource allocation, waste management, and data management. The report determines the system requirements for Queen Elizabeth Hospital, advocating for a web-based ERP system integrating legacy, PACS, and DR systems to improve pharmacy, safeguarding, emergency care, evidence management, patient records, employee performance, and financial performance. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of software and vendor selection, discusses how such technologies can enhance business efficiency, evaluates the efficiency of technology implementation, examines potential security risks and data breaches, and provides guidelines for risk mitigation, highlighting the overall benefits of ERP implementation for strategic improvement.

Strategic information System

Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................3
1. Define business processes.........................................................................................................................3
2. Develop business requirements.................................................................................................................4
3. Determine the systems requirements........................................................................................................6
4. Software and vendor selection..................................................................................................................7
5. Determine at least three (3) ways which companies or organizations utilize such technologies
to improve business efficiency......................................................................................................................7
6. Evaluate the level of efficiency of the technology implementation..........................................................8
7. Examine potential security risks, data breaches........................................................................................9
8. Provide guidelines on how these risks could be mitigated.....................................................................10
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................11
Reference list...............................................................................................................................................12

Introduction
Strategic information system is considered to ensure constant flow of information for increasing
operational efficiency of an organization. Strategic information system needs to be vital
consideration of the organizations for boosting overall performance of the organization towards
creating value for the customers. In order to develop strategic information system of an
organization, the study of this particular assignment sheds light on ERP (Enterprise Resource
Planning) systems for the client. According to Botta-Genoulaz and Millet (2016), ERP is such a
software, which is used to manage business operations in the most integrated way. In addition,
this system is highly useful to automate a number of back office functions regarding human
resources, technology and customer services. ERP systems are used to store and manage various
types of data and information in following different computerized functions. The objective of
ERP systems is to boost the flow of timely information in terms of increasing the efficiency of
internal functions of a company. At the present ERP systems are widely used in order to boost
the information technology in the health care sector. The objective of this assignment is to
critically evaluate the effectiveness of ERP system in the business operation of health care sector.
Thereby, the chosen hospital for this assignment is Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the UK.
1. Define business processes
In general, business process of health care can be divided into three segments in terms of
managing core services, support services and back office functions Soh et al. (2014). The core
services of health care sector includes patient registration, emergency department, operational
department, in-patient department, management of different laboratories or investigations,
pharmaceutical services, OT services, blood bank and electronic medical record management.
On the other hand, support services in the health care sector requires to focus on billing
department, enquiry department, Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD), linen and laundry
department, diet and kitchen department, transportation department, bio-medical waste
department Almajali et al. (2016). In addition, back office functions in the health care sector
encompass human resource management, finance and accounts management, payroll
management, inventory management. The above-mentioned departments are necessary to
consider in terms of running health care organization. Business process of any health care
organization needs to be concerned in order to manage patients’ records, data and information
Stefanou and Revanoglou (2016). On the other hand, in order to provide better health care
service, the organizations requires to consider evidence based management. Hence, the health
care organizations require to initiate a system based approach for keeping all the necessary data

and information constantly regarding the health conditions of the patients. Evidence based
management facilitates the health care organizations to boost the information flow for
developing the performance of internal operation.
ERP based business process is considered as the most effective in terms of boosting the overall
performance of health care organizations. Like the other organizations, the organizations in the
health care sector also aim to maximize profitability. Resource allocation needs to be one of the
most vital considerations in the business process of health care sector. It is because effective
resource allocation is considered as the most reliable in terms of reducing wastes in the
organizational operation. For managing resources, wastes, finance and accounts, patients’
records, evidences and employee performance, the health care organization needs to include
effective ERP software in their business process. It is because ERP software incorporates
different functions into one complete system to streamline processes and information across the
entire organization. In order to develop business operation in the health care organization,
information technology is necessary to take into account. Therefore, the health care providers
show high interest in implementing ERP system to design their business process for creating
value for the service users. The business process of Queen Elizabeth Hospital does not include
effective ERP system, which restricts the organization in linking supply chain management data
to revenue cycle and other financial information. On the other hand, due to lack of effective ERP
system in the business process, Queen Elizabeth Hospital also lacks to provide better health care
service to their patients.
2. Develop business requirements
Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the UK is one of the oldest and traditional hospitals in the UK. The
Hospital is facing a number of major challenges in terms of allocating resources in each
departments of the organization effectively. It restricts the health care organization to focus on
cost effectiveness. In addition, the organization cannot control the waste management within
their overall organizational operation. As a result, the company has to go between financial
stresses (Kim, 2015). On the other hand, the organization is also facing some challenges in terms
managing data, information and evidences regarding case history of the patients. As a result, the
management of the organization faces a number of major challenges in terms of giving the
patients the most reliable service. One of the major objectives of hospital management needs to
be fast in starting the right treatment for the patients. Hence, information plays a major role in the
organizational operation of health care. On the other hospital, management needs to take vital
concern in terms managing risks in organizational operation. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is
facing challenges in most of the cases to identify the risks in their business operation (Currie,

W.L. and Seltsikas, P., 2017). Therefore, the hospital management lacks to show efficiency in
mitigating risks in their business operation. On the other hand, due to the lack of efficiency in
managing data and information, the organization lacks to control the overall performance of the
organization.
The hospital management cannot align the performance of the employees with the organizational
goals and objectives in the most effective way. As a result, the organization cannot reduce waste
in their business operation; the organization cannot win complete satisfaction of the service
users. As a result, the organization cannot win the competition advantage in the market.
According to Duan et al. (2016), in order to develop business in the health care sector, the most
important requirement is data and information. On contrary to this, Chiasson and Davidson
(2017) said that in order to develop health care system, the most important requirement is to
manage the storage of evidence regarding the case history of patients. Evidence based hospital
management is considered the most effective in providing the most authentic service to the
patients. As opined by Anyinam (2016), Evidence based management is considered the scientific
approach to develop the overall business process of an organization. Queen Elizabeth Hospital
requires to consider evidence based management, which will help them to boost their overall
workforce. Evidence based management is highly required in terms of increasing the
performance of decision-making management. Queen Elizabeth Hospital requires to initiate a
system based approach in terms of implement evidence based management within their
organization. According to Botta-Genoulaz and Millet (2016), it has been brought to notice that
the health care organization is facing some issues in managing medicine department and
safeguarding concerns.
It has further been noticed that evidence would not be recorded consistently in the emergency
department due to the combined use of paper and electronic system. In addition, the
organizational lacks an effective system to file patient records and assessments consistently. As a
result, the hospital does not also have any system to update the changes in patient’s condition
within medicine. Due to lack of effective ERP system, the hospital cannot manage the clinical
outcome information. Hence, the outcomes of patients cannot be reviewed properly within their
health care service (Cqc.org.uk, 2018). The organization also lacks to manage employee details
to some extent. As a result, the organization faces some issues in providing various
compensation and benefits to the employees. Another important concern of hospital management
needs to focus on collecting feedback from the health care users. It will help the organization to
evaluate their performance on constant basis. In order to keep the record of customer feedback
also the organization needs to consider an effective ERP system. The key development areas of
Queen Elizabeth Hospital are s follows:

 Management of medicines
 Management of safeguarding
 Management of emergency department
 Evidence management
 Patients’ records and assessment management
 Performance management of the employees
 Financial management
3. Determine the systems requirements
From the above discussion, it can be identified that the Queen Elizabeth Hospital requires a web
based ERP system in terms of developing pharmacy, safeguarding, emergency care unit,
evidence management, patients’ records and assessment management, employee performance
and financial performance. Hence, it has been brought to notice that hospital requires a
completely integrated healthcare ERP solution. According to Almajali et al. (2016), in order to
develop the business process of the hospital, the web based ERP system needs to include legacy
system, PACS system and D R system. PACS system refers to a picture archiving and
communication system and D R system refers to Digital Radiography. A picture archiving and
communication system is considered as a medical imaging technology, which facilitates the
health care organizations economical storage and reliable access to images from multiple
modalities. The PACS system is highly considered for keeping electronic data and information.
Therefore, with the help of PACs system, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital does not have any need
to keep file manually. It has been brought to notice through inspection that emergency
department of the hospital would use paper and electronic system in the combined way for
keeping data for keeping patients records. Hence, it has been seen that the hospital would lose a
number of important data, information and records regarding the case history of patients.
On the other hand, DR System is highly regarded in order to develop information management
systems for the hospitals. In addition, this system is also reliable in terms integrating health care
supply chain networks and diagnostic imaging centers. This system is highly reliable to develop
a radiology information system; a cardiology information system; the system of digital dictation,
medical transcription, voice recognition, management reporting, advanced image processing,
regulatory compliance reporting, and result distribution system. Hence, it is argued by (Kim,
2015) that DR system is highly reliable and reasonable in order to mitigate the particular
challenges, which is faced by Queen Elizabeth Hospital. On the other hand, legacy system will
help the hospital to promote their culture and organizational policies more. Legacy system will
help the organization to keep control on the employee performance. Hence, it has been seen that

in considering a complete integrated healthcare ERP solution, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is
able to implement evidence-based management in the most possible way. With the help of web
based ERP software, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital can ensure the use of same database within
their all the functional units. Hence, the adoption of effective ERP system will lead the Queen
Elizabeth Hospital to give the service users an integrated view of core business operations such
as cash flow, order and purchasing, production capacity and payroll.
The ERP system is reliable to collect data from the several departments to boost constant flow of
information for increasing operation efficiency of an organization. On the other hand, with the
help of ERP software the Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be able to eliminate data silos in their
financial field, healthcare organizations can make a comprehensive picture about their revenue
cycle. Hence, the ERP system is not only reliable in terms of boosting the information flow for
creating value for their customers, but also reliable in order to take the competitive advantage.
4. Software and vendor selection
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital requires to make the most authentic decision in terms of selecting
the most reliable and trusted vendor for purchasing an effective ERP software. According to
Currie and Seltsikas (2017), Oracle belongs to the top ten ERP software providers. In addition,
the Oracle offers cloud based ERP software, which is highly reliable in terms of boosting
business intelligence. It is necessary to note hereby that Oracle offers which ERP system, can
enable to integrate major organizational functions such as patients’ data analysis, finance and
accounting, management accounting, revenue recognition, financial governance risk
management, procurement, tax reporting, project planning etc. On the other hand, Oracle’s ERP
system is highly able to store a vast amount of electronic data and information as the Oracle’s
ERP is cloud based ERP. With the help of cloud based ERP, it is highly reliable to manage
health care supple chain network. It is because, through cloud based ERP, data and information
can be accessed only to use internet connection. Hence, the transmission of data and information
can be managed through mobile computing also. Hence, data and information can be controlled
in sitting any part of the world. On the other hand, with the help of cloud based ERP, it is
possible to boost information flow with the organization in the most possible way. In purchasing
ERP product from Oracle, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital can be able to take all the facilities and
amenities of cloud technology. Therefore, for purchasing ERP software, choosing Oracle will be
the best.

5. Determine at least three (3) ways which companies or organizations utilize such
technologies to improve business efficiency
Aracia Lodge Care Home is a top five star nursing home in the Manchester, UK. This health
organization has also used customized ERP software in terms of managing quality in overall
organizational performance. With the help of WERTP software, the organization has become
able to develop their financial accounting and management accounting. Hence, the organization
has become able to align their overall organizational performance with the budget. Hence, the
organization is able to increase the efficiency of resource allocation, waste management, cost
management, performance management.
Brookdale view care Home –HC-One is also a top five star nursing home in the Manchester, UK.
The health care organization uses the ERP software to manage performance of the employees in
terms of creating value for the customers. In addition, with the help of this software the
organization can record all the information and evidences, which are considered as the most
reliable to provide fast and authentic health care service.
St Mary’s nursing Home is a three star health care organization the Manchester, UK. This
organization uses the ERP software in terms of implementing evidence-based management and
winning competition advantage in the market.
6. Evaluate the level of efficiency of the technology implementation
In the current period, manual data tracking process in hospital service is often not effective due
to inefficient equipments, error prone operation and labor-intensive factors. Assets as well as
finance management are the primary field, where Queen Elizabeth hospital has to ensure
advanced management technologies in the hospital setting. It will create dramatically
improvement on resource utilization rates, where staff can get a positive working environment.
Among the widely used ERP system, Oracle ERP is effective to foster proper enterprise solution
as per healthcare industry requirement. It is also supportive for the organization to comply with
new regulations and patient transaction management. As per the viewpoint of Kilic et al. (2015)
this system is also includes contextualize data as well as leverage mobile technologies. In fact,
certain technological implementation in healthcare can create a portfolio of Adventist health and
major healthcare clients. Therefore, through adoption of specific ERP system, Queen Elizabeth
hospital can maintain proper accuracy on entire data tracking process.

Figure 1: Integrated Healthcare ERP system
(Source: Shen et al., 2016)
The health care industry is focused on the quality improvement and operational efficiency
through reducing cost and optimization of back-end operations. As per the viewpoint of Efe
(2016) for maximizing the profit and reducing cost, initiative on inventory management, supply
chain management, human resources, patient relationship management and financing parameter.
Various organizations have improved their function through the support of human capital
management (HCM). From the above diagram, implication of HCM can be properly understood
(Chang et al., 2014). Maximum value realization in the healthcare related ERP, project coupled
with the value of departmental improvement. Therefore, through adoption of technology, Queen
Elizabeth hospital can get easiest service in following dimension.
 Better patient care
 Reducing operational cost
 Best practice
On the other hand, ERP is wide web based platform, where hospital workers can easily share the
data with the higher authority and other authorized vendors. Such technological implementation
is effective to maintain real time connectivity with web portals. In addition, Queen Elizabeth
workers can create an integration of multiple units of the hospital. In addition, such technological

implementation will get support on following field, which will be supportive to maintain higher
service standards.
 Payroll management
 Doctors and Nursing Workbench
 Medicine Management
 Financial accounting
 User Security management
Therefore, efficiency level of technological implementation is high and standard to foster
efficient service at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
7. Examine potential security risks, data breaches
In the functional area, ERP system can be supportive to maintain operational efficiency.
However, in the current period, ERP system has also created adverse impact on service approach.
In the real time web connectivity platform, organization will share there information with the
authorized partners. In this case, third party authorities can use the entire data in unethical way.
As a result, there could be risk of loss in data confidentiality as well as privacy. In addition to
this issue, lack of employee effort could create drawbacks in data management (Jenatabadi and
Noudoostbeni, 2014). In this case, software-programming issue could be occurred due to
following potential impact, which is derivative of security risks.
Failure to redesign overall healthcare setting through advanced software
In Queen Elizabeth, hospital strong desire to fit Oracle ERP system has been visualized.
However, it is not an easy process to redesign over all service frameworks with this new ERP
software program. This fitting would be time consumable and any error in implementation could
be major risk in future in the terms of data protection.
Insufficient training
Various hospital organizations have understood that training and re-skilling the staffs are
required as primary priority. In many cases, ERP system is incorporated within shorter time
limitation, where professionals cannot get enough time to train their workers (Tenhiälä and
Helkiö, 2015). As a result, during functional process wide set of data could be lost due to shorter
level of negligence. In this case, security management is on high risk.
Lack of proper integration
After implementation of ERP system, professionals have to supervise the various departmental
healthcare settings, which are related to requirements, feasibility, functional implementation and
prototyping. In this case, old metrics of technical management can create issue to operate new

system. Therefore, such integration issue could hamper the software programming and its storage
capacity (Wei and Ma, 2014).
Due to such lack of management, organization will not handle the data with sincere focus.
Therefore, it will be risk of security as well as data breach in ERP platform.
8. Provide guidelines on how these risks could be mitigated
Implementation of Big Data management
As mentioned earlier that, ERP system has higher security risk due to different dimension of
organizational, operational and technological barrier. In this landscape, big data management
will be highly effective to maintain data privacy as well as confidentiality (Deulkar et al., 2018).
Through big data management with ERP system, hospital authorities can handle the complex
data set and its security. In addition, it is also a cost saving method, where less amount of
maintenance is required. This process can properly supervise the significant data in ERP
software program.
Training of health care staffs
Proper staff training is required to enhance the worker skill about certain technological
advancement. IT professionals have to provide this training to health care staffs about each
component and handling process of ERP system. Through proper knowledge, staffs can operate
this technical system with more efficiency.
Implication of insurance policy to hedge against ERP failure
Organizational change management can be applied as insurance, where for ERP project Queen
Elizabeth hospital has to focus on change management. Through this process, professionals can
measure the dramatically increase in odd-implementation (Shatat, 2015). Through this insurance
process, healthcare organization can minimizing the risk of operational disruption and enhances
post implementation benefits.
Conclusion
Thus, it concludes that in terms of boosting overall organisational performance in the healthcare
organisation, the most important concern is to ensure constant flow of information regarding
patients, employees and the market. The adoption of web based ERP software leads the health
care service providers to boost information flow for increasing the performance of operational
department. It is further concluded that the ERP software is highly reliable for implementing
evidence-based management. On the hand, the ERP software also leads the health care
organisations to focus on cost effectiveness. The ERP software is highly reliable in terms of

improving the overall performance of the health care organisations in terms of creating value for
the customers.

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