Mobility Express Edition Software and Health Information Technology - Case Study Example

Health Information System Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Introduction Allina hospitals and clinics is a group of hospitals offering medical services to many clients in various locations of the United States areas of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The hospital is a nonprofit system of hospitals, clinics and other health care services. It is reported that Allina owns and operates at least 11 hospitals and more than 90 clinics. Some of the other health care services provided by the group of hospitals include home care, hospice and palliative care, oxygen and medical equipment. Other services include pharmacies and emergency medical transportation. The nature of the distribution of the hospitals necessitates a secure communication channel amongst the stakeholders. Doctors and nurses need to communicate with each other at all times. Patient files and data need to be shared for effective treatment and service delivery. The chosen technology for discussion in this paper is the Allina medical system Virtual private network. Virtual private network is a type of communication that allows easy communication amongst users. The communication in itself is secure and free of any risk of interference. It allows the utilization of a public network like the internet in its communication. Even though the public network is used in this case, a dedicated path is reserved for communication between clients who share the same network. This type of communication is good in that it allows secure communication between users who are in many different fields. Reasons why the chosen system information system is worth evaluating This technology is worth evaluating due the merits that the technology introduces in the health care sector. With the improved communication between different users of Allina, it is possible to easily share files and confidential patient’s data in a more secure manner. Information sharing is key in delivering the best services to clients. However, if the same services cannot be delivered well due to the communication problems or confidential issues, the integrity of the health sector is put in question. It is necessary therefore to analyze this technology to understand well the effect and the influence the same poses in the health care sector as a whole. The key to appreciating the use of technology in a health care set up is to understand the merits of the same. How technology influence the delivery of service can be understood and controlled only if the same use of technology is understood well. It is for this reason that it is found interesting and more reasonable to evaluate the same technology that has been implemented in the health care systems (Pam, 2011). In the delivery of service and in the biomedical and health sector point of view, availability of data and confidentiality of patients’ data is essential in the delivery of proper health services driven to meet the patients’ needs. Technical design, functional features and intended benefits of the health information technology The virtual private network implemented by the Allina Group of hospitals is based on Mobility XE kind of software. The software is offered by NetMotion Wireless which develops a wide range of products used in the mobile work force industry. The technology implemented allows mobile workers to work wherever they are without affecting the service delivery. Connections are maintained and optimized such that change of locations would not influence the data transmission. The system is designed in a way that allows the user to communicate without any impediment (Pam 2011). The main advantage it offers is that delivery of service is not hampered in any way possible. Ambulances can relay information faster and much more efficient. The extension of the mobile ability and the use of virtual private network medical response team in the field has been greatly influenced and improved. Advantages of the implemented system Since the implementation of the information system, there has been some considerable benefit would go as high as 90 in a month. Initially, the problems were encountered frequently and the tickets for problems were many. After the system was implemented, there was an increase in nurse productivity by an index of 50%. Also noted above, there was an increase in patient enrolment in the hospital by an index of 50%. This is one of the major advantages that were realized as a result of the system. It is for this reason that efficiency is recognized as one of the most important aspects of an information system that is used in a hospital. One of the important factors that all medical systems should ensure its availability is the access to health care medical records of all patients at all times irrespective of location or type of system user. One of the main reasons for bringing in information systems is that efficiency is achieved with the use of these systems. In Allina, nurses visiting patient’s homes need to review patient history enter new diagnoses and update care plans for each patient. This task was previously hard and difficult to achieve effectively and with great satisfaction due to the many problems that were experienced. All the nurses visiting patient’s homes experienced connection issues and pertinent loss of data as a result of roaming from one network to another. Accessing electronic medical records was a problem. Virtual private network implemented in Allina has solved this problem greatly leading to a more effective system. The issue of loss of connection is no longer experienced as VPN offer a dedicated path for use by users of common purpose. Data need not to roam to other networks due to the fact that the dedicated path would direct data to the desired destination. The reliability of the VPN connection ensures that there is consistent network connection. Such problems as connection problems have therefore been eliminated considerably Case Studies, 2011). Maximum worker productivity is needed at all times. Allina hospital and clinics strived as much as possible to ensure such productivity of its staff. Achievement of this goal however has been hampered by many hurdles and problems. One of the leading challenges in the hospital is that of technology. There was the need to reduce information processing cycle and thus reduce the time taken to retrieve some information from the network . This was not the case however. Maximum productivity could not be realized unless the stakeholders came up with a plan to ensure availability of data and information through the Electronic Medical records system. Mobility XE allowed the realization of this dream of maximum productivity as staffs are not challenged by any limitation in their place of work. In general selecting NetMotion Wireless products for securing and optimizing wireless network was a very important step as it helped solve the communication and information processing within the hospital. Emergency response teams of the hospital have made maximum use f the technology. The hospital recognized the value of extending mobility XE to the Electronic Medical Records system that is used in the emergency medical division. This was important in order to ensure that medical information relayed by the ambulances do not get lost when ambulances cross cellular networks. This development allows the medical professionals to prepare adequately for treatment of the patient before the arrival of the patients, therefore translating to better outcome (HiMSS 2011). Different views concerning the use of Mobility XE. Since the implementation of the system, there has been different view expressed by different people professionals in the Allina Health hospitals and clinics. Most of the views expressed are positive and in praise of the system. Nurses and ambulance attendants are in the fore front expressing their positive views concerning the use of the system. According to Allina Hospital and Clinics (2011), many nurses are reporting ease of work and less complication with the use of the system. Many of them are now in a position to complete their tasks within the scheduled time and thus saving a lot of time which previously was wasted due to technical problems (Pam 2011). Many nurses, as many as 300, have used the Mobile XE system. there is general appreciation of the use o the system. The reliability introduced by the technology has allowed for a more convenient form of data transmission. Problems related to network loss connection and unavailability of services is a thing of the past. This was previously caused due to the crossing of different cellular cells by nurses in their work. Nurses now have the capacity to deliver better than before. Ambulance attendants and nurses have been relieved of the trouble going through the data twice, while in the field and when they reach the hospital. With the Mobility XE, they also are saying that they are in a position to express their opinion and relay information to doctors without worry of data loss in the process of communication. Doctors also have the same views as the nurses. According to a report by the hospital website, it is indicated that doctors previously faced the challenges of forming an opinion about the patients’ condition due to the scanty data available. In some cases patients could be given the wrong diagnosis due to the loss of data in transmission or due to late arrival of data. Doctors are expressing their satisfaction with the system and are reporting increase in productivity and efficiency (Allina Hospital and Clinics, 2011). Although the system will need an addition of IT professionals who will be tasked of managing and maintaining the system, the benefits surpasses this. Allina Hospital recognized the importance of the system saying that having the patients data transmitted within time and effectively, is a life saver (Allina Hospital and Clinics, 2011). Staff have been trained on how to use policy management framework to improve network management operations. These increased duties have added the task to already available to the staff n the IT department. Though that is the case, Daisley is quick to point out that the IT staff are flexible and as such are able to handle such issues with no difficulty (Case Studies 2011). Evaluation of Mobile XE For us to come up with a good evaluation of the system, there is a need to look at the role that the system has played in other places. Puget Sound Blood Centre (Seattle) the main use of Mobile XE in this hospital is to assist the nurses and medical staff who collect blood donations from one place to another. The work of this organization is to collect blood donation from one place to another. There is therefore a need to ensure that the various staff in the field are able to be connected to the main office for coordination purposes. There is also a need to send blood data and information about the donors in a secure and continuous way. This technology has helped in the realization of this. Lee Memorial Health System (Cape Coral, Florida) The main role of the system is to improve the service quality of health employee who feels like working from home. There is therefore a need to have a secure access to information. there is a need to make sure that the technicians and staff who are working from home can get the information for patients in a secure way and be able to send sensitive information to this people. The use of Mobile XE has been instrumental in the realization of this remote access and secure information access from wherever place someone is located. With the use of Mobile XE, there was an increase in productivity of the technicians and also increase in efficiency of the whole process. The case of this system is similar to that of Worker’s Compensation Board whereby their main objective was to enhance the efficiency and the productivity of the workers. They therefore resorted to wireless connection which later became inefficient as the computers crashed and applications had to be restarted. They therefore resorted to implement Mobile XE which solved the problems that they were experiencing in the beginning. Visiting Nurse Service of New York and Manhattan This health organization is tasked with providing health care services to New York city. The main goal of this organization is to enhance the way patients communicate with the physicians attending to them and also to increase the efficiency of the process. The organization has initially installed the use of tablet PC so that nurses can access patient information easily. At first, it was a working idea and the nurses could gain access to information from any place but the limitation came when the data had to be transmitted. It was hard to transmit data to remote places. This was because the access to the server became difficult and therefore required that the nurses would be in the vicinity of the hospital in order to send information. after a lot of weighing and analysis, they opted to use Mobility XE as it provided the nurses the chance and opportunity to work on information and data without the need to worry on the technical issue behind this data. Recommendation and conclusions The there are some recommendations that need to be taken into consideration for the system to be more effective. Chee and Rist (2005) states that there is need to extent the policy management module so that it entails and integrates security of the system as it is based in Cisco’s security control technology. Another issue for this system is that it is restricted on only Windows platform. Although there is no issue on the server side of the system, there is need to change the client side of the system so that it supports more platforms. Mobility XE is software that is flexible and can be implemented in many different organizations irrespective of their size. Mobility XE as earlier indicated is a product of NetMotion Wireless Which develops productivity and management solutions for organizations with mobile workforces to secure and optimize their investment in wireless data networking (Case Studies 2011). This technology can be applied in health sector anywhere in the world. This is due to the reason that in most cases health care professionals move from one place to another in the cause of carrying out their duties. Not only can the technology be applied in the health industry can an also be applied in other sectors like insurance, marketing among others. According to the NetMotion Wireless company website, the developers of the system recognize the fact that the use of the system in other industries as well is possible (Case Studies 2011). The strongest point given by the system is its ability to allow effective data transmission. It is in this view therefore that Mobility XE is seen as a reliable form of data transmission system that allows the realization of Virtual Private networks in many set ups. The economic and social benefits of the systems can be seen by the efficiency it introduces in the work force industry. Patients and other clients in the health sector can be served well with no delays (Robson & Baek 2009). Misleading information can be dealt away with and therefore the social, psychological and general human defining factors of satisfaction are met. References Allina Hospital and Clinics. (2011). Allina Hospitals and Clinics. Retrieved October 25, 2011, from Allina Hospital and Clinics: http://www.allina.com/ahs/home.nsf Case Studies. (2011). Retrieved October 21st , 2011, from NetmotionWireless: http://www.netmotionwireless.com Chee, B., & Rist, O. (2005). Connectivity challenge. Computer World , 23. HiMSS. (2011). Retrieved OCTOBER 21, 2011, from HiMSS: http://www.himss.org/ Pam, C. (2011, February 15). NetMotion Wireless Deployed by Allina Health, a HIMSS Analytics Stage 6 Provider. Retrieved October 21st, 2011, from FierceHealthcare: http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/ Robson, B., & Baek, O. K. (2009). The engines of Hippocrates: From the Dawn of Medicine to Medical and Pharmaceutical Informatics. . New York: John Wiley & Sons. Read More