APPLICATION OF ICT IN HEALTH CARE SERVICES
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) has been recognised to have the transformational ability that
would drive the country from P-economy to K-economy. With this transformation,
the labour market for skilled workers and professionals in the ICT sector is
very demanding. Based on MSC Malaysia Phase 2 Report, with the current trend of
ICT sector in Malaysia, the industry is estimated to provide 110,000 in total
for jobs and RM5.5b investments by 2015.
Definition of ICT
There are varieties of way to define
ICT as the concepts, methods and applications involved in ICT are rapidly
evolving. For the purpose of this analysis, ICT is defined as a diverse set of
technological tools used to create, store, retrieve, manipulate, disseminate,
receive and manage information in digital form.
ICT is defined as a set of tool used
to create, store, retrieve, manipulate, disseminate, receive and manage
information in digital form. This analysis includes Creative Multimedia, System
Architecture, Analysis and Design, Solution Development, Information Security
and Service Management and Delivery.
In conducting this analysis,
information on the ICT industry was gathered through literature search,
interviews and discussions with the industry experts and players. Visits to
establishments and related public departments were also carried out. Workshops
were held in an attempt to get better understanding on the sub sector
structure, job titles and hierarchy, as well as the activities of the sub
sector.
As a result, the team are able to
identify25job areas under 5sub sectors, whichcover 78job titles. The hierarchy
of each job titleand their definition is well identified and defined by the
panels.
CHAPTER
TWO
INFORMATION
AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) HELPS IMPROVE HEALTH CARE
Information and
communication technology is a very broad terms. It refers to various gadgets
that aid in communication such as mobile phones, radios and satellite
communication. The term is also used to refer to various means of direct
communication such as video conferencing. In short, information and
communication technology, better known in its abbreviated form as ICT, is a
tool that helps in improving communication among businesses and commerce
activities in different parts of the world. In fact, ICT is so commonly used in
commerce field to communicate various financial matters such as acceptance of
money, producing receipts and transferring funds that ICT and ecommerce have
become almost synonymous terms. ICT creates inroads for better accessibility of
all sorts of information for people from all over the world.
However, the scope of
ICT extends much beyond commerce transactions. It is widely used in education
and medical arenas as well. Advanced medical care techniques, various
researches being carried out in medical field in different parts of the world
and training are just some of the fields in the medical arena that have largely
benefited from the growth of information and communication technology. ICT
makes sharing data concerning medical research easy, in addition to myriad
other benefits as elucidated in the paragraphs below.
ICT help in improving medical science
and health care
It is an established fact that information and communication technologies are the backbone of the current information system. Their scope is also extremely vast. Health care facilities have been largely benefited by the evolvement of ICT. Owing to information and communication technologies, the entire world has become a small global village with regard to medical and health care. Further, even within a particular state or country, data can easily be transmitted from one place to another within no time at all. This technology helps doctors, hospitals, the general public and all other medical care providers.
It is an established fact that information and communication technologies are the backbone of the current information system. Their scope is also extremely vast. Health care facilities have been largely benefited by the evolvement of ICT. Owing to information and communication technologies, the entire world has become a small global village with regard to medical and health care. Further, even within a particular state or country, data can easily be transmitted from one place to another within no time at all. This technology helps doctors, hospitals, the general public and all other medical care providers.
Pharmaceutical industry
is the industry that enjoys the biggest benefits of ICT. All the medical data
available helps in assessing the medicine requirements, makes them aware of
similar research being carried out in different parts of the world and in
letting the world know about their developments. To put it in a nutshell,
information and communication technology has contributed to a large extent in
improving the quality of health care, as a whole, all over the world.
ICT has made e-health
possible. This is the concept in which doctors get better access to patient
information even if they live states apart. They also get a faster access to
medical records, case studies and laboratory results. The technology also helps
in better communication between doctors and pharmacists. Patients can also be
largely benefited as in becoming more self reliant and responsible for their
health. Patients who suffer with chronic and serious ailments such as heart
conditions can regularly monitor their health parameters and convey the results
to doctors on a regular basis so that the doctor is never out of touch with
such patients. In other words, ICT lets patients and doctors get on with their
lives without the patient having to visit the doctor often but still keeping
track of the latest developments in patients’ health.
Information and
communication technology has brought a major paradigm shift in the health care
scenario of the entire world, and the countries belonging to the European Union
are no exception. The system has simplified access to provision of medical
care, irrespective of the physical location of the place.
TeleMedicine is
an upcoming field, which owes its origin to ICT. This is a branch of medical
care in which, doctors and patients can interact with each other over video
conferences and doctors can gauge the condition of the patient in a much better
manner than just consulting on a telephone. This innovative technology allows
specialists from different parts of the world to look at patients who live
across the ocean. ICT also provides a better platform for policy makers,
members of the government, medical care providers and public authorities to
interact with each other and improve medical care in the country. The barriers
between the different countries in the European Union are diminished owing to
the development of ICT. The system has proved to be very beneficial to
providers of medical equipments since they can assess the demand based on the
records and develop suitable instruments. ICT has enhanced the medical market
in Europe to a great extent. Further, ICT also allows European health care
providers and tools and drug manufacturers to expand their business globally.
eHealth policy of
Europe
In May 2010, European
Commission adopted the eHealth policy. The features of the policy were a par
tof Digital Agenda for Europe. The Directive of the European Parliament and the
Council, on matters regarding application of the right of patients for over the
border or international medical care. The information and communication
technology that has been a branch that deals with social challenges and is
called ICT for Social Challenges. Under the Pillar 7 of this branch, emphasis
is laid on using ICT to reduce consumption of energy and provide better health
care and support to aging citizens. Under the same pillar, it focuses on the
fact that ICT is used to bring a paradigm shift in the general health care
methods, in addition to providing excellent basic health care to every patient.
The digital agenda of
the European Union is set to undergo a major change. Along with different
things that are being lined up for digitization, health care is also included
in it. Furthermore, European Union countries can employ the concept of ICT to
merge their medical facilities to provide a better health care regime. However,
people need to be made aware of the system of ICT so that a larger percentage
of population can use the system for their benefit. Electronic health or
ehealth as it is known is created so that several factors such as internal and
external health care market, employment, innovation and research can be
identified and treated properly.
IMPORTANCE
OF ICT IN HEALTHCARE
Healthcare Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) is the use of information technology to
improve the process of healthcare delivery and is concerned primarily in
streamlining administration and putting information into the hands of
point-of-care professionals. This was revealed during the weekly Continuous
Professional Education held at the Riley Mother and Baby Conference Hall on
August 2, 2011 facilitated by the Department of ICT led by Andrew Bartien,
Rose Keino and Elvis Tarus.
Its use is wide now and
plays an important role in the delivery of better and efficient healthcare
services. ICT in healthcare is able to increase quality and safety of patient
care. It is part of healthcare structure in any organizations to support the
processes and consequently to deliver better outcome to organization and
particularly to the patient.
Information technology
has the potential to improve the following in health care:-
v Quality
v · Safety
of documents and files
v · Efficiency
However, this has been
hindered by barriers like cost and expenditure on the required equipment
as well as their maintenance and the complexity involved in IT
implementation.
IT applications fall
into several categories:-
Administrative and
financial systems that facilitate billing,
accounting, and other administrative tasks.
v Clinical
systems that facilitate or provide input into the care
process like Automated Medical Records System (AMRS) like the one in the
Hospital.
v Infrastructure that
supports both the administrative and clinical applications.
–
Administrative billing and financial
general ledger.
–
Cost accounting systems.
–
Patient registration.
–
Personnel and payroll.
–
Electronic materials management.
–
Clinical.
–
Computerized provider order entry for
drugs, lab tests, procedure.
–
Picture archiving and communication
systems for filmless imaging.
–
Results reporting of laboratory and
other tests.
–
Clinical
decision support systems.
v ICT provide opportunities for individuals, medical
professionals and healthcare providers to:-
–
obtain
information,
–
communicate
with professionals,
–
deliver
first-line support especially where distance is a critical factor and
–
promote
preventive medicine programmes.
v Its
application in health include more effective planning, decision-making process and
monitoring, improved shared service operations, greater access to more reliable health
and population data, and more effective resource management.
The ICT Department also
runs and maintains the Hospital website which offers detailed information
on the Hospital’s clinical and administrative services offered.
Is it safe to have an
X-ray during pregnancy?
ICT helps during the
X-ray process having an X-ray during pregnancy is generally considered safe.
It's highly unlikely that a diagnostic X-ray during pregnancy will harm a
developing baby.
Most X-ray exams —
including those of the arms, legs, head, teeth or chest — won't expose your
reproductive organs to radiation, and a leaded apron and collar can be worn to
block any scattered radiation.
The exception is
abdominal X-rays, which expose your abdomen — and your baby — to radiation.
High doses of radiation can cause changes in a baby's rapidly growing cells. In
turn, it's possible that these changes could slightly increase a baby's risk of
birth defects or certain cancers, such as leukemia, later in life. Remember,
however, that the typical dose of radiation associated with a diagnostic X-ray
— even one of the abdomen or pelvis — doesn't pose this risk.
Before having an X-ray,
tell your health care provider if you are or might be pregnant. Depending on
the circumstances, it might be possible to do an imaging study that doesn't
involve radiation. In addition, if you have a child who needs an X-ray, don't
hold your child during the exam if you are or might be pregnant.
If you had a diagnostic
X-ray before you knew you were pregnant, remember that any potential risk is
exceedingly remote. Share any concerns about radiation exposure with your
health care provider. He or she might consult a medical radiation physicist to
calculate your baby's radiation exposure.
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