Health Information Technology Problems

The healthcare system is currently facing significant challenges in improving service delivery by implementing realistic IT solutions. The primary technical issues presently confronting the healthcare system are discussed below.

Data is becoming more abundant.

Daily, the use of healthcare data grows. Electronic medical records, digital imaging technologies, and resource-intensive applications strain existing data infrastructures (Saslow, 2016).
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) Regulations. According to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), medical providers must keep patients’ confidential medical information secure. In emergencies and crises, federal law mandates a competitive backup data system with specific data recovery mechanisms (Saslow, 2016). The government imposed even more limitations. Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), which strengthened HIPAA and increased penalties. It further states that mandatory notifications be made when data is breached.

Insufficient Data Storage Capacity.

Regulations require that patient information be stored indefinitely. The healthcare industry, therefore, requires more storage with double figures being attained every 18 months (Saslow, 2016). To counter this, the system needs more efficient software solutions to manage the untenable influx of data.

Poor Communication in Healthcare Systems.

The majority of the systems do not allow for smooth networking between all medical providers. The lack of ability to interface hinders the potentiality automate processes, and to collect use data efficiently. This, in turn, decreases motivation invest in medical technology.

High Costs of IT Projects in Healthcare.

Due to government regulations, the need to efficiently coordinate the new Affordable Care Act, and the growing energy needs, most healthcare organizations are dealing with increased IT costs. This has put pressure on medical providers to change their infrastructure management including cloud services virtualization models (Saslow, 2016).
Interoperability is the ability of computerized systems to connect and communicate with one another regardless of the manufacturer. Currently, the primary challenge lies in lack of specificity of healthcare standards and information sharing protocols (Someshwar, 2013). Also, the majority of healthcare facilities have local (home-grown) applications that are efficient in offering the various services required in the industry. Additionally, there are still many healthcare providers who prefer the traditional paper-based systems to electronic systems (Someshwar, 2013). It suffices to say that a lot of effort is required to achieve interoperability in the health industry.

References

Saslow, S. (2016). 5 Information Technology Challenges Faced by Healthcare Organizations.
Retrieved from https://www.itgct.com/5-information-technology-challenges-faced-by-healthcare-organizations/
Someshwar, P. (2013). Interoperability: Not a Non-issue. Retrieved from
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/blog/interoperability-not-non-issue