Medical IT Systems and Their Effect on Human Resources

Abstract

Initially, substantial information regarding the patient’s condition upon entrance into the hospital or emergency room is needed and has to be recorded in a readily available information source. To be effective, then, accurate information on the patient’s prior treatment and conditions is needed promptly and completely at each phase of the treatment process by the appropriate professional healthcare provider. Subsequently, the professionals treating the patient need to record information at each point in the treatment process in order for each professional to be able to effectively identify the nature of the ailment and to recommend and then perform the appropriate treatment. Problems arise with this process when it is largely paper-based or stored in nonintegrated systems. Medical IT systems, on the other hand, can affect improvement of healthcare services delivery at hospitals, as this chapter will show.