Discussion Board Week 4
Health informatics is an essential resource used to improve health services, patient safety and
quality, and coordination of care. This profession is for individuals that desire a career in
healthcare but prefer to work the business side of healthcare rather than direct patient care. A
health informatics is responsible for managing databases, computer interface, and applications in
business intelligence, report writings, and analytics which require a special technical skill.
Some required skills are understanding standards and HL-7 programming, being able to extract
data using SQL and develop valid and reliable reports and understanding and translating the
reports into actionable information and knowledge (Shanholtzer & Ozanich, 2018).
To operate effectively in the field of health informatics, continued education is needed.
The lowest level of health informatics is an associate degree that will require one to graduate
from a Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management
Education and is then eligible to take the national exam to become a Registered Health
Information Technician. Those that desire to work at a management level or at a larger facility
will need to hold a baccalaureate degree and take the RHIA exam. This will allow the student to
think and work at a higher level of problem-solving, team building, electronic communications
technology and design, and inferential statistics. A master’s degree in health informatics is
available and will allow the student to work as a Vice President or executive of informatics,
Chief compliance office, or Chief knowledge officer. To advance in this field even more, one can
become certified in health IT that will show proficiency in information technology by passing the
Certified Healthcare Technology exam. Some other certifications are Healthcare Information
Management System Society and the Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and
Management Systems which will require five years’ experience in health IT or
more (Shanholtzer & Ozanich, 2018).
Health informatics is important because it influences how healthcare professionals’ practice with
the goal of improving health and healthcare. Not only is it important for health informaticists to
be competent in technology, health care professionals should be knowledgeable as well. In
hospital settings, health IT are usually the ones that teach healthcare members how to operate the
tools by clicking through an electronic health record but lack in providing the depth of
knowledge needed to optimize the tools to improve complex patient care. Article Fridsma (2018)
gave a perfect example of when an individual does not possess full knowledge of health
informatics and how to use it to its full capability. It discusses an incident that occurred in 2014
during the Ebola outbreak, when an infectious patient was inadvertently discharged from the
facility when important travel information was listed in a section of the electronic record where
the clinician would not normally look. This was the result of the team knowing how to enter data
but not knowing how the data was being used. Health informatics should be a requirement for all
health professions because it allows the professional to gather and analyze data that will be
beneficial to the healthcare industry, and most important, the patient. Health care is an
information-based science that involves gathering and analyzing data, and health informatics’
responsibility is to manage the use of health information to improve care. Health informatics
assist with providing quality care by enhancing patient outcomes, reduce costs, improve retrieval
of patient records, and improves accuracy. The most popular tool that will allow these outcomes
to be achieved is use of an electronic health record. Patient information will be stored in an EHR
and be shared throughout different health care settings (Hersh, 2002). 2 Timothy 3:17 states,
“That the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (ESV). As stated
earlier, one that works the field of health informatics must demonstrate competency to maintain
accuracy and safety within the health system. A man of
God would also seek continued education to stay abreast of what new information is available to
this continuously changing system.
Shared Knowledge
The old saying “knowledge is power” has never been truer than with EHRs and health
informatics. EHRs allow the physicians to share their important patient information, including
illnesses, medications, therapies, diagnosis, tests and any other pertinent information. Being able
to share this medical knowledge saves not just time buy money as well. It also helps physicians
provide better care, quicker care and spend more time with patients. Health informatics allows
important health information to be shared throughout the chain of care, from the patient right to
health administrator and pharmacist.
Better Outcomes Overall
A better overall outcome is probably the most important reason why health informatics is so
important. EHRs help doctors provide safer, cheaper and higher quality care. Because
coordinated care teams all have access to the same information, they’re able to work more
efficiently, make a better diagnosis and fewer errors. It also eliminates a lot of manual jobs,
which saves an additional amount of time in clinics, hospitals and even for the patient. Health
informatics just provides a better overall outcome for everyone involved.
Decrease in Costs
One of the biggest complaints from patients and even healthcare providers is that healthcare is
expensive and even wasteful at times. A lot of money is spent on repeat procedures when
multiple doctors are seeing a patient and are unaware of procedures that have already been done.
Some patients are unaware of what tests they’re receiving or why. They trust their doctor to
make the right choices and do what they’re asked. Lab tests are also done repeatedly by multiple
doctors. With EHRs and a connected infrastructure, medical professionals can access the
patient’s medical records online and become instantly aware of what procedures the patient has
had done as well as any comments or diagnosis that may have been made on the patient. This can
save thousands of dollars for the patient, the insurance company and the healthcare providers.
Health informatics reduces healthcare costs
Healthcare costs continue to rise. However, the ability to gather big data in secure cloud storage
has proven cost-efficient and helpful in lowering costs associated with healthcare. In addition,
health informatics helps decrease fraud, errors, and financial losses, such as no-show
appointments and delayed patient care. Patient no-shows cost the US up to $50 billion annually,
which has a trickle effect on the quality of care.
Health informatics reduces error rates
Health informatics helps streamline administrative tasks that healthcare professionals usually
handle, such as filing paperwork, processing billing codes, and verifying insurance information.
Health informatics also reduces medication errors to ensure patients receive accurate
prescriptions based on the information found in patient records. Having these processes
automated through quality information systems managed by informaticists decreases error,
making care more effective and efficient.
Health informatics improves diagnoses and treatments
Data analytics constitutes the critical core of health informatics. Automated data sorting can help
drive preventive care, enabling clinicians to more readily identify patients with higher risks so
they can provide proper assessment and treatment before a more severe health concern occurs.
Healthcare data analytics offers a trifecta that impacts the quality of care, reduces medical errors,
and streamlines the workflow between healthcare administrators and insurance companies.
Health informatics reduces the length of hospital stays
Having the necessary tools to detect early patient risks can help the clinician provide treatment
without requiring extended hospital stays. Informatics systems maintain data that equip
healthcare providers with access to real-time patient records and medical information, driving
critical decision-making to provide the best patient care.
Health informatics empowers patients
Telehealth services allows patients to hold non-emergency appointments with their primary care
provider or specialist virtually, facilitating easier, more convenient healthcare delivery that
affords service to more patients. Telehealth began to boom during the pandemic as patients
needed access to their clinicians to keep up with their routine appointments. Now established as
effective medical care, this option will continue to benefit patients with limited mobility, limited
access to reliable transportation, or limited access to nearby healthcare facilities.
Thanks to technology, patients also have real-time access to their health information. With
mobile applications available, patients can carry all the information they need in the palm of their
hands, e.g., digital versions of their health insurance card and their latest health data. Some even
allow messaging services directly to their clinician, offering a convenient way to access their
doctor without scheduling an appointment or sitting in a waiting room.
References
Fridsma, D. B. (2018). Health informatics: a required skill for 21st century clinicians. BMJ :
British Medical Journal
(Online), 362http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1136/bmj.k3043
Hersh, W. R. (2002). Medical informatics: Improving health care through information. JAMA :
The Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(16), 1955-
1958. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.288.16.1955
Shanholtzer, M.B. & Ozanich, G. (2016). Health Information Management and Technology (1st
ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill This
