MEDT 04 – HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE (LABORATORY)

LESSON 1: OVERVIEW OF HEALTH INFORMATICS

Learning Objectives:  

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to: 

Define health information technology 

Discuss health care software systems and health information ecosystem 

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of health informatics in the cloud; and 
Describe the status of health informatics in the Philippines  

Health Information Technology 

The dawn of the information age has resulted in the generation of huge amounts of routine data,
particularly in health care, which can become perplexing to process and analyze. This is the challenge
for health informatics- to make sense of large amounts of data while ensuring that the process is
validated secure. 

The transition from a manual to a more advanced health information system is an overarching issue
for providers of health care, managers, policymakers, researchers, and patients alike. While there are
benefits, there are also undeniable disadvantages. One innovation that manages health information for
better service delivery is health information technology. 

Rouse (2016) defines health information technology (HIT) as “the area of IT involving the
design development, creation, use, and maintenance of information systems for the health care
industry. Automated and interoperable health care information systems are expected to improve
medical care, lower cost, increase efficiency, reduce error, and improve patient satisfaction while also
optimizing reimbursement for ambulatory and in-patient health care providers”. 

Figure 1: Health Information Technology

TTV 2021-2022
 MEDT 04 – HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE (LABORATORY)

Health Care Software System  

Rouse (2016) enumerates the following types of health information technology: 

An electronic health record (EHR) is also called an electronic medical record (EMR). It is one of
the fundamental components of health information technology infrastructure. HER is the patient’s
official health record in digital form and this information is shared across multiple health care providers
and agencies. The other key elements are the personal health record (PHR) and the health information
exchange (HIE). A PHR is a person’s self-maintained health record while the HIE is the health data
clearinghouse which is comprised of health care organizations with interoperability pact to share data
among their health information technology systems. 

In the United States, since the inception of the HITECH Act 2009, the use and implementation of
EHR systems have increased dramatically. Hospitals and physicians using the government-certified HER
systems meet the meaningful use criteria and are qualified to receive incentives. The said criteria are
regulated under the office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for health IT which certifies approved IT
technology use under the federal reimbursement program and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMMS). However, meaningful use is changing due to the Medicare Access and Children’s
Health Insurance Plan Reauthorization Act (MACRA) which is a law on value-based reimbursement
system passed by the US Congress in 2015. 

There are two widely used types of health information technology, the picture archiving
and communication systems (PACS) and vendor neutral archives (VNA). These two help manage and
store the patient’s medical images. 

PACS and VNAs integrate radiology into the main hospital workflow. Radiology used to be the
primary repository for medical images. Presently, other specialties such as cardiology and neurology are
also among the large-scale producers of clinical images. VNAs can also be installed for the purpose of
merging stored imaging data from various departments into a multi-facility heath care system.  

Health Information Ecosystem 

The healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (2017) defines a health
interoperability ecosystem as a composition of individuals, systems, and processes that share,
exchange, and access all forms of health information, including discrete, narrative, and multimedia.
Individuals, patients, providers, hospital/health systems, researchers, payers, suppliers, and systems are
potential stakeholders within such an ecosystem. Each is involved in the creation, exchange, and use of
health information and/or data. 

An efficient health interoperability ecosystem provides an information infrastructure that uses technical

TTV 2021-2022
 MEDT 04 – HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE (LABORATORY)

Health Informatics in the Cloud  

The role of cloud technology is undeniably significant in our everyday lives. Currently, 83 percent of
health care organizations are making use of cloud-based applications, and it is changing the landscape  of
the health care system and informatics. However, both benefits and threats exist (University of Illinois,
2014). 

Advantages of Cloud Technology  

1. Integrated and efficient Patient Care 

Cloud technology offers a single access point for patient information which allows multiple doctors to
review laboratory results or notes on patients. Physicians can spend more time deciding and performing
patient treatment instead of waiting for information from different departments.

 2. Better Management of Data 

The accumulation of electronic health records will allow more meaningful mining that can better assess
the health of the general public. More data can mean more opportunities to identify trends in disease
and crises  

Disadvantages of Cloud Technology  

1. Potential Risks to Personal Information  

The strength of cloud technology is also the very same characteristics that makes it vulnerable  to data
breaches, the information contained within medical records may be subjected to theft or other
violations of privacy and confidentiality. Fortunately, safeguards may be put in place to minimize such
threats such encryption, proper data disposal, and other security features.  

2. Cloud Setup Seems Cumbersome  

The transition from a traditional to an automated system might be difficult for some members  of health
care organizations that may not be familiar with cloud technology. This technology, however will be
adopted by more institutions in the future. With proper education and illustration of its function,
hesitant practitioners may be able to see its advantages. 

Health Informatics in the Philippines  

Health informatics is the application of both technology and systems in a health care setting. It has  been
loosely practiced in the Philippines since 1980s. Practitioners who had access to IBM
(International Business Machines Corporation) compatible machines used word processors to store
patient information.  Since then, significant milestones in health informatics have occurred over the
years, one of which is the Community Health Information Tracking System (CHITS), Linux, Apache,
MySQL, PHP-based system released under the general public license (GPL). CHITS was named finalist at
the Stockholm Challenge 2006 and one of the three e-government projects in the Philippines by the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC).

TTV 2021-2022
 MEDT 04 – HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE (LABORATORY)

CHITS is an electronic medical record (EMR) developed through the collaboration of the information
and Communication Technology community and health workers, primarily designed for use in the
Philippine health centers in disadvantages areas. It is currently utilized in 111 government health
facilities. What used to be manually done. E.g., looking up a patient’s record for 4-5 minutes, can now be
executed within a couple of seconds. The implementation of CHITS has indeed resulted in higher
efficiency rate among health workers since more time can be spent in providing patient care (Philippine
Council Health Research and Development, 2012) 

Despite the development, health informatics in the Philippines still suffers from various issues
that hamper progress, one of these is the lack of interest in the field. Health informatics is seen more as
novelty rather than as a profession. When profession and economic constraints come into play,
priorities shift towards clinical responsibilities at the expense of health informatics as a discipline. 

Another issue is that many decision-makers do not use the benefits of information technology in
the health sector. The large initial expenditure for a health information system remains another barrier
to the integration of IT in the Philippines health care system (Marcelo, 2012) 

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER: 

✔ Health Information Technology (HIT) as “the area of IT involving the design, development, creation,
use, and maintenance of information systems for the healthcare industry.  

✔ The electronic health record (EHR) is the central component of the health IT infrastructure. ✔ Picture
archiving and communication systems (PACS) and vendor neutral archives (VNAs) are two widely used
types of health IT that help healthcare professionals store and manage patients' medical images. 

✔ An efficient health interoperability ecosystem provides an information infrastructure that

✔ The advantages of Health Informatics in the cloud are Integrated and Efficient Patient Care  and better
management of data. 

✔ Despite the developments in health informatics in the Philippines, the nation still suffers from  various
issues that hamper its progress, one of which is the lack of human resource interest in the field. Another
issue is that benefits of information technology do not seem apparent to many decision-makers in the
healthcare sector. 

Reference:  

Nuevo, Jose Jerel M. et al. (2019). Health Information System for Medical Laboratory Science. C &   E
Publishing, Inc.

TTV 2021-2022
 MEDT 04 – HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE (LABORATORY)

TTV 2021-2022