Communication and Information Technology
Kakiea Brooks
HCS 320
May 28, 2012
Rhoda Banks

Communication and Information Technology
For years health care facilities keep patients records using a paper-based method. Gradually this system of record keeping will be in the past. There are many hospitals that have different information systems, but few of them can communicate with each other. As the health care industry grows physicians, nurses, and other health care members will need to access and share information in a smooth and quick fashion. Electronic medical record system (EMR) lies at the center of the health care industry. According to Hartwood, M., Rouncefield, M., and Slack, R. (2003), EMR is said to be, “the solution for the need of suitable and location-independent access to comprehensive patient data needs be integrated with respect of both clinicians’ notes, medical imaging, charts, and to time a patient-centered record of each interaction between health care service providers (para. 3) With the growing demand in the health care industry, the EMR can attribute to the coordination and cooperation between different health care services driving the power to implement the EMR system. In a Family practice setting the EMR system can attribute to a cancer patient by allowing the cancer specialist access remotely to the patients file in he or she office. In a hospital setting, a patient who is air lifted to another hospital for emergency purposes can have his or her file accessible before he or she even arrives.
Advantages and Disadvantages of EMS According to Open Clinical (2003), a benefit of possessing an EMS system would replace the paper-based medical records that at times have been found incomplete, fragmented, hard to read, and hard to find. The EMS provides single, shareable, and up-to-date information of a patient that can be accurate, rapidly retrievable almost anywhere at any time. The EMS is also economic friendly by providing a way to save paper and requires less space, physical storage, and administrative resources. The platform of the EMS is for automating, structuring, and streamlining a patient’s preventive health screenings and clinical workflow. EMS provides an integrated support system for doctors, including, “decision support, monitoring, electronic prescribing, electronic referrals, and laboratory ordering and results” (para. 8). With the systems core feature, maintaining data and information can be freely accessible by medical auditors. According to Microsoft (2012), the EMR system delivers a higher quality of care with real-time information and collaboration between clinicians. They perceive that this system will reduce readmission rates and improve chronic care management and patient satisfaction. The system will also save money by organizing a widely used commercial off the shelf (COTS) platforms and solution that will offer a shorter learning curve for the IT department and users (Microsoft Health, 2012).
According to Open Clinical (2003), a “widespread implementation of EMRs has been hampered by many perceived barriers including: * Technical matters (uncertain quality, functionality, ease of use, lack of integration with other applications, * Financial matters - particularly applicable to non-publicly funded health service systems (initial costs for hardware and software, maintenance, upgrades, replacement, ROI ...) * Resources issues, training and re-training; resistance by potential users; implied changes in working practices. * Certification, security, ethical matters; privacy and confidentiality issues * Doubts on clinical usefulness * Incompatibility between systems (user interface, system architecture and functionality can vary significantly between suppliers' products”) (para. 9).
Other issues that prevail with the EMS are the integrated systems require consistency in the medical terminology filed. With information sharing across wide network