EHR SYSTEM

Health Care Data

Situation: A healthcare institution that makes use of an enterprise EHR system having multiple interfaces to other health information platforms.

Part 1: The kinds of data that would be kept in each system

There are various forms or types of data that would in this case be kept in each system. This would include patient management data, clinical data, laboratory data, billing data, etc. In essence, patient management data has got to do with not only the registration as well as admission of patients, but also the relevant discharge or transfer reports/statements and statistics. On the other hand, when it comes the clinical data, of essence would be data relating to clinical decision support. Next, laboratory data would be inclusive of feedback from lab machines. It is important to note that in this case, lab machines could be integrated with orders and billing to further promote and enhance utility. Lastly, we have billing data. In basic terms, billing data would be inclusive of all the charges captured in the course of treatment. It is important to note that it is from the said charges that claims are generated for submission to the relevant parties, i.e. insurance companies.

Part 2: The steps that would be required to allow for analytics to be conducted across multiple platforms

In this case, three key steps would be of essence. The first step would involve the assurance of data quality. Next, the second step would involve the provisioning of data. In this case, the relevance of proper, meaningful and deliberate evaluation of visualization tools cannot be overstated. Lastly, we have the actual data analysis which would basically involve the interpretation, mining, as well as evaluation of data. It is important to note that as Sheikh, Bates, Wright, and Cresswell (2017) point out, predictive analytics founded on EHR data could come in handy in not only the reduction of healthcare costs, but also the provision of diagnoses that are more accurate.

References

Sheikh, A., Bates, D.W., Wright, A. & Cresswell, K. (2017). Key Advances in Clinical Informatics: Transforming Health Care through Health Information Technology. New York, NY: Elsevier Science.