Figure 1: Electronic Medical Systems Architecture

Source: (Cahn, 2001)

The core building blocks of this framework include the presentation and client layers, where web-based applications aligned with the needs of clinicians, specialist MDs and patients. The need for synchronization across Platform, Storage and Infrastructure and Integration areas of this framework dictate the speed and accuracy of responses to all users of the system. Thinking of this framework as the foundation that the specific processes that clinics, practices and hospitals rely on to complete daily tasks to accomplish their goals and objectives while at the same time ensuring a high level of security across each component. The integration and security requirements are critical for HIPAA compliance.

Another approach to viewing the framework that is emerging from it providers addressing the unmet needs of a medical practice area is shown in Figure 2. This is a framework that has foundational elements focused on Security and Audit Control to protect the privacy of clinicians, MDs, and patients, in addition to making Records Management, Business Process Management, and a Portal Framework available as a system-wide resource for the specific collaboration, content management, search and retrieval implementation plans to act as a unifying it strategy across the diverse patient records in all the systems in a clinic, practice or hospital. Note that this framework also includes support for Expert Network and Learning Management applications to also increase medical professionals' productivity as well.

Figure 2: Electronic Medical Record Systems Hierarchy Source: (Wheatley, 2005)

Conclusion

At the intersection of unmet needs in the healthcare community and the advances being made in enterprise content management, digital asset management, security, collaboration technologies including portals is the emergence of it strategies to fulfill the requirements of HIPAA compliance. There are literally dozens of unmet needs in each discipline of the medical profession, yet for purposes of this paper the top five most prevalent ones are cited. These unmet needs in fact form the foundation of frameworks the it industry is defining strategies to addressing the needs of patient confidentiality and adherence to the standards of the HIPAA standards...

The focus on making more of a pervasive, integrated platform of information that delivers a 360 degree view of the patient, also allowing the patient to comment on their experiences and their satisfaction, is what will become commonplace in the next five years. The integrative role of search technologies as an it approach to unifying all forms of content has also already arrived, and the largest clinics are acting as early adopters, showing the Return on Investment (ROI) of this strategy. All of these developments will be possible based on the advances made in system and process integration due to the widespread adoption of the HIPAA standard.