Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems: Positioning for the Future

by Ernst & Young

Health care in America is undergoing a period of profound and unprecedented change. The shapes, forms, and functions of our nation's health care organizations are being redefined. As a consequence, the old mainframe-based information systems that have been the administrative backbone of health care management are being rendered obsolete. Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems is a complete, thoroughly up-to-date guide for strategically rethinking and reengineering information management systems so organizations can meet the demands and challenges of today's turbulent, reform-minded health care marketplace. In the past decade, the health care industry has witnessed a dramatic shift from the traditional stand-alone hospital to a new generation of smaller, affiliated facilities. The emergence of organizations such as outpatient clinics, imaging centers, physician networks, home health care agencies, and nursing homes has had a profound impact on information systems. This climate of change is forcing health care executives and professionals to reassess their approach and develop new information infrastructures that will be responsive to the system's changing requirements. Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems offers practical advice on how health care organizations can apply new IT and IS strategies. The book thoroughly examines how IT and IS technology can help organizations achieve their business goals, and it explores the technology's long-term management. It discusses the emerging standards and offers numerous models that illustrate IT architecture, information flows, and organizational structures. Information Technology also enables health care executives to assess their strengths and anticipate future trends. It explores the human dimension of planning and implementation—including constructing the optimal IT organizational model—and helps organizations deploy this new technology. Here is an invaluable guide As health care organizations undergo profound change, the mainframe-based information systems that have long been the administrative backbone of health care management must adapt to the demands of a new era. Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems is an indispensable tool for professionals navigating the previously uncharted waters of the information management revolution. Written by two of the most respected specialists in the field, Information Technology for Integrated Health Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems can help health care executives and planners develop and implement new IT and IS strategies. It covers standards, contains numerous models, and explores the human dimension of planning and implementation. This clear, concise guide shows how IT and IS technology can help health care organizations achieve their business goals.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 1995