## Tag: healthcare information systems

## Healthcare Information Systems: Future of Information Technology in the Healthcare Sector

Smita Deshmukh

Over the past few decades, healthcare information systems has been occupying an increasingly vital role in clinical and patient care and hospital operations across the globe. Their essential role includes capturing, storing, managing, or transmitting patient data and information related to the activities of healthcare organizations. The market for healthcare information systems is on the path of rapid evolution, essentially riding on the back of rising adoption of modern healthcare IT technologies.

Various systems and the underlying technologies have gained traction in the health sector with end users aiming to leverage their potential to transform patient care and healthcare practices world over. The ambit of healthcare information systems spans wide and the broad elements comprise operational systems, administrative systems, task-based systems, and financial systems. Some of the key applications of the systems include hospital information systems, pharmacy information systems, revenue cycle management, and medical imaging information system.

**__Trends Underpinning Lucrativeness of Healthcare Information Systems__**

Several factors drive the demand and influence the uptake of healthcare information systems across the globe.

**Marked Impact on Effectiveness of Healthcare**

According to Transparency Market Research, the global market for healthcare information systems is massive and it was worth $227,021.4 Mn in 2017. The market is projected to rise at an impressive CAGR of 9.6 percent from 2018 to 2026.

The application of healthcare information systems assist healthcare providers in improving the quality of patient care and streamline healthcare processes. For instance, the systems may be useful to better medication management, reduce medical errors, optimize healthcare costs, and increase the accuracy of diagnosis. In several developing and developed countries, various hospital information systems have witnessed widespread adoption in the health sector. A few of the key elements of the system are electronic health records (EHRs), patient engagement solutions, pharmacy information systems, and patient engagement solutions.

Robust health information exchange services are becoming crucial to reap the benefits of healthcare information systems. This helps in expanding the access of medical records among doctors and medical technicians and is supported by strategic moves by companies. SacValley MedShare, a nonprofit health information exchange (HIE) based in Northern California, announced in June 2018 that it is merging with another HIE, Connect Healthcare. The combined entity will provide health information exchange services to clinics and hospitals giving them secure access to the medical records of more than 2.6 million patients.

**Technological Advancements open Exciting Paradigms**

The healthcare information systems is reaping tall benefits from the wave of technological advancement. In recent years, the swift pace of digitization of healthcare data has created new paradigms in remote patient care. Furthermore, the application of wearable technologies is positively influencing the demand for healthcare information system. In this regard, the growing application of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) has helped in reducing the burden of lifestyle and chronic diseases world over. The rising deployment of robots in automating routine healthcare operations is also an encouraging development.