Q.1.

List any three important advantages that will accrue to the hospital
through automation. Briefly explain how these advantages accrue.
Todays healthcare is very important part of our society & for a healthcare provider to do their job in
effective and efficient manner is very challenging. In multi-specialty hospitals, lots of patients enter or
exit in a day, its really challenging to maintain records of all patients manually. To reduce their burden
or to manage hospital administration, financial or clinical aspects hospitals these days are implementing
automations in their day to day processes.

Below are the advantages accruing to the hospitals by implementing automation:

1. Financial benefits:
When automation implemented well it cuts out on a lot of manual work that are essentially performed in
hospitals, especially the ones where documentation and record keeping is required. It helps in cutting
down manpower because a lot of work gets automated and does not require manual intervention to store
or analyze the information. It also saves much on storage and the related costs. It also provides better
financial control and reports.

2. Operational efficiencies:
Processes automated using software would mean that the processes will be taken care of
mechanically without any human intervention and this will instantly ensure improved efficiency.
The software will not face human problems like fatigue, miscommunication or lack of focus; it
will perform every task assigned to it with the same accuracy day in and day out. It also provides
the below benefits:
Improved turn-around time
Reduced waiting time for patients
Improved management of supplies
Improved data capture at source

3. Access to reports:
A well-implemented automated system means readily available patient data to the care
providers. It is only a matter of few clicks and all the requisite information about a patient, from
various departments in the hospital, can be available on the screen. If the treating doctor needs
to re-check the test reports of a patient, he/she need not go looking for the IPD file; logging into
the system will give instant access to those reports and timely treatment decisions ensue.
Improved access to patient data and improved work efficiency means better and faster clinical
decisions. In this age of evidence based medicine, the faster the clinician gets the diagnostic
reports and the quicker her orders are implemented the faster is the patient recovery and the
better it is on the patient care index. With automation, all departments in the hospitals are
inter-connected and the faster information access further improves the quality of patient care
and the resultant bed turnover in the hospital.

1
Q.2. Prepare a list of major items that will need to be procured. Categories them
under the heads of Hardware, Software and Networking. Give a very short
explanation of functions of each of the items you listed.
Following list should be considered for procurement during implementation of Hospital Information
system.

2
Q.3. what do you understand by HIS? Do you think an HIS will be useful for the
hospital? Briefly explain your answer.
Hospital information system (HIS) is a computer system that can manage all the information to allow
health care providers to do their jobs effectively. These systems have been around since they were first
introduced in the 1960s and have evolved with time and the modernization of healthcare facilities. The
computers were not as fast in those days and they were not able to provide information in real time as
they do today. The staff used them primarily for managing billing and hospital inventory. All this has
changed now, and today hospital information systems include the integration of all clinical, financial and
administrative applications. We can define it as a comprehensive, integrated information system
designed to manage all the aspects of a hospital operation, such as medical, administrative, financial,
and legal & the corresponding service processing.

Uses of an HIS:
The HIS is basically the core transactional system of the hospital. It is often the:

Main point of data entry for almost all hospital transactions, including patient registration,
admissions, and order charges.
Main database and storage facility for all transactions
Main source of census and reports for hospital management, including patient counts,
admission numbers and financial reports.
The most commonly-available modules in an HIS give a hint of the wide coverage of transactions
handled by the system. These includes the below (but not limited to):
Patient Registration
Admissions, Discharges and Transfers (ADT Module)
Patient Billing
Claims Submissions and Processing
Order Capture and Management
Pharmacy Management and Dispensing
Supply and Inventory Management
General Ledger and Financial Reporting
Purchasing and Accounts Payable
Its obvious that the origins of hospital IT systems encompass patient demographics and financial
transactions.
Benefits of having an HIS:
There are several benefits of using an IT system to streamline hospital operations.
Data is entered at the source. No more paper slips passed around and handed to an encoder.
Quick access and retrieval to patient information and hospital transactions.
Easy monitoring of supplies, inventory and medicines.
Reduces documentation needs and minimizes use of paper.
Improves turn-around time for hospital procedures dependent on paper-based slips and
logbooks.
Better audit controls and policy compliance.

3
Q.4. List the threats that you consider most important to the security of patient
data once automation is carried out. What steps will you take to protect the
data?
Healthcare information security is a major concern for healthcare providers as well as governments
across the world. With patient health records being digitized, there is the danger of health information
becoming compromised or stolen outright. Cyber security is a top priority for health systems managers
everywhere. But there are problems that go beyond the typical cyber threats that can cause serious
security breaches. These serious threats include the following:

1. Mobile devices:
With so many health and wellness programs and procedures becoming available on mobile devices,
hospitals and clinical practices must be aware of the threat of security breaches and hacking of health
data. Doctors, nurses, and hospital staff are using tablets and mobile devices, and so are patients and
visitors. This means a potential for security breaches on both sides of patient care
Network access control (NAC) solutions can be a smart move in order to keep health data as secure as
possible. NAC identifies each type of user and device and then has the ability to scan for threats or out-
of-date spyware protection. NAC solutions can also keep other devices and equipment secure where so
many devices are inter-connected.
2. Insider Misuse:
This term refers to instances in which employees of an organization steal property or data or commit
other crimes. Surprisingly, the reason insider misuse stands out in the healthcare industry is because of
the amount of people who get jobs in the industry for the sole purpose of infiltrating the system and
gaining access to patient health information. They typically steal this information to gain access to
money or in order to commit tax fraud.
To prevent insider misuse, organizations will audit all devices used by staff members. Healthcare
providers need to be vigilant in their efforts to monitor access to patient information, and audits can be
a reliable way to see who has accessed what information. Data loss prevention products can be used to
show data exfiltration when patient data is transferred outside the organization.
3. Unintentional Actions:
Its not always unscrupulous people out to do harmful things that compromise healthcare security.
These mistakes can be as simple as misplacing a patients chart, or a security system underperforming.
They also happen when old computers are discarded without patient information being removed.
While mistakes will always happen, quality control measures and protocol can lessen the negative
impact of unintentional mistakes or actions.
Graduates of health informatics programs can take these matters into their own hands once they begin
their career. Healthcare security will only grow more important in the coming years and graduate classes
can teach you the newest ways to defend against security breaches.
4. Supply Chains
Threats to the supply chain of hospitals can also be overlooked. But each vendor a hospital interacts
with presents a potential for a data breach. From transactions with vendors to pharmaceutical
shipments, supply chains must be security checked at every step.
In the last two years, legislation has been passed that will have a major impact on supply chain security
in the future, including the FDA Safety and Innovation Act (2012), Unique Device Identification (UDI)
(2013) rules and the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (2013).