scholarly journals The Clinical Information Systems Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (01) ◽  
pp. 105-125
Author(s):  
J. Jeffery Reeves ◽  
Natalie M. Pageler ◽  
Elizabeth C. Wick ◽  
Genevieve B. Melton ◽  
Yu-Heng Gamaliel Tan ◽  
...  

Summary Objective: The year 2020 was predominated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The objective of this article is to review the areas in which clinical information systems (CIS) can be and have been utilized to support and enhance the response of healthcare systems to pandemics, focusing on COVID-19. Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, the tables of contents of major informatics journals, and the bibliographies of articles were searched for studies pertaining to CIS, pandemics, and COVID-19 through October 2020. The most informative and detailed studies were highlighted, while many others were referenced. Results: CIS were heavily relied upon by health systems and governmental agencies worldwide in response to COVID-19. Technology-based screening tools were developed to assist rapid case identification and appropriate triaging. Clinical care was supported by utilizing the electronic health record (EHR) to onboard frontline providers to new protocols, offer clinical decision support, and improve systems for diagnostic testing. Telehealth became the most rapidly adopted medical trend in recent history and an essential strategy for allowing safe and effective access to medical care. Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms were developed to enhance screening, diagnostic imaging, and predictive analytics - though evidence of improved outcomes remains limited. Geographic information systems and big data enabled real-time dashboards vital for epidemic monitoring, hospital preparedness strategies, and health policy decision making. Digital contact tracing systems were implemented to assist a labor-intensive task with the aim of curbing transmission. Large scale data sharing, effective health information exchange, and interoperability of EHRs remain challenges for the informatics community with immense clinical and academic potential. CIS must be used in combination with engaged stakeholders and operational change management in order to meaningfully improve patient outcomes. Conclusion: Managing a pandemic requires widespread, timely, and effective distribution of reliable information. In the past year, CIS and informaticists made prominent and influential contributions in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (01) ◽  
pp. 104-114
Author(s):  
Ursula H. Hübner ◽  
Nicole Egbert ◽  
Georg Schulte

Objective: The more people there are who use clinical information systems (CIS) beyond their traditional intramural confines, the more promising the benefits are, and the more daunting the risks will be. This review thus explores the areas of ethical debates prompted by CIS conceptualized as smart systems reaching out to patients and citizens. Furthermore, it investigates the ethical competencies and education needed to use these systems appropriately. Methods: A literature review covering ethics topics in combination with clinical and health information systems, clinical decision support, health information exchange, and various mobile devices and media was performed searching the MEDLINE database for articles from 2016 to 2019 with a focus on 2018 and 2019. A second search combined these keywords with education. Results: By far, most of the discourses were dominated by privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent issues. Intertwined with confidentiality and clear boundaries, the provider-patient relationship has gained much attention. The opacity of algorithms and the lack of explicability of the results pose a further challenge. The necessity of sociotechnical ethics education was underpinned in many studies including advocating education for providers and patients alike. However, only a few publications expanded on ethical competencies. In the publications found, empirical research designs were employed to capture the stakeholders’ attitudes, but not to evaluate specific implementations. Conclusion: Despite the broad discourses, ethical values have not yet found their firm place in empirically rigorous health technology evaluation studies. Similarly, sociotechnical ethics competencies obviously need detailed specifications. These two gaps set the stage for further research at the junction of clinical information systems and ethics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (Suppl 2) ◽  
pp. e000565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa Heekes ◽  
Nicki Tiffin ◽  
Pierre Dane ◽  
Themba Mutemaringa ◽  
Mariette Smith ◽  
...  

Information systems designed to support health promotion in pregnancy, such as the MomConnect programme, are potential sources of clinical information which can be used to identify pregnancies prospectively and early on. In this paper we demonstrate the feasibility and value of linking records collected through the MomConnect programme, to an emergent province-wide health information exchange in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, which already enumerates pregnancies from a range of other clinical data sources. MomConnect registrations were linked to pregnant women known to the public health services using the limited identifiers collected by MomConnect. Three-quarters of MomConnect registrations could be linked to existing pregnant women, decreasing over time as recording of the national identifier decreased. The MomConnect records were usually the first evidence of pregnancy in pregnancies which were subsequently confirmed by other sources. Those at lower risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes were more likely to register. In some cases, MomConnect was the only evidence of pregnancy for a patient. In addition, the MomConnect records provided gestational age information and new and more recently updated contact numbers to the existing contact registry. The pilot integration of the data in the Western Cape Province of South Africa demonstrates how a client-facing system can augment clinical information systems, especially in contexts where electronic medical records are not widely available.


Author(s):  
Chris Daniel Riha

This article provides a brief historical look at the genesis and evolution of clinical information systems. Based upon this historical background and the expertise of the authors, which encompasses, clinical, IT/cybersecurity, clinical engineering, as well as quality control expertise the article provides a roadmap for the next generation of clinical information systems. This next generation will not only provide consulting services to physicians via computer clinical decision support systems, but also the ability to perform autonomous and semi-autonomous care at the bedside via interfaces to medical devices (e.g. ventilators and infusion pumps), as well as auto ordering protocols.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Assist. Prof. Dr. Demokaan DEMİREL

The distinctive quality of the new social structure is that information becomes the only factor of production. In today's organizations, public administrators are directly responsible for applying information to administrative processes. In addition to his managerial responsibilities, a knowledge based organization requires every employee to take responsibility for achieving efficiency. This has increased the importance of information systems in the decision-making process. Information systems consist of computer and communication technology, data base management and model management and include activity processing system, management information system, decision support systems, senior management information system, expert systems and office automation systems. Information systems in the health sector aim at the management and provision of preventive and curative health services. The use of information systems in healthcare has the benefits of increasing service quality, shortening treatment processes, maximizing efficiency of the time, labour and medical devices. The use of information systems for clinical decision making and reducing medical errors in the healthcare industry dates back to the 1960s. Clinical information systems involve processing, storing and re-accessing information that supports patient care in a hospital. Clinical information systems are systems that are directly or indirectly related to patient care. These systems include electronic health/patient records, clinical decision support systems, nurse information systems, patient tracking systems, tele-medicine, case mix and smart card applications. Diagnosis-treatment systems are information-based systems used in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. It consists of laboratory information systems, picture archiving and communication system, pharmacy information system, radiology information system, nuclear medicine information system. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of health information system applications in Turkey. The first part of the study focuses on the concept of information systems and the types of information systems in organization structures. In the second part, clinical information systems and applications for diagnosis-treatment systems in Turkey are examined. Finally, the study evaluates applications in the health sector qualitatively from the new organizational structure, which is formed by information systems.


2001 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Staggers ◽  
Cheryl Bagley Thompson ◽  
Rita Snyder-Halpern

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