The Health Management Information System Essay Example

Information will always be a crucial element, a resource that is necessary for decision making and the health sector is no exception to that. In fact, the health care sector is intensive considering the amount of information being generated via various health related entities therefore, needing an effective and efficient management of health information management. The information gathered is then processed and organized in a way that it can be readily available for use. Health management information systems are crucial for evidence-based policy-making, informed decision-making during planning, implementation and evaluation of health programs; and for appropriate use of resources at all levels of the health system (Nyamtema, 2010). This information system aims to collect, store, analyze and evaluate health-related data from a health facility, bridging the gap and creating an efficient communication within the administration even on a national level. One of its advantages is that professionals working within a  healthcare organization will be able to analyze data and evaluate it to come to a conclusion when making policies, planning and implementing health care practices. Professionals within the organization such as physicians and nurses will be able to easily access and review a patient’s health record. This will not only be beneficial for the health care workers but for the clients themselves as with the use of HIS, geographical barriers may be bridged and their health information may be accessed from any hospital or clinic provided they are connected to the central database. Another advantage would be accuracy as HIS have the ability to detect results or drug combinations that may be life threatening. Health care professionals will be able to provide more accurate care and decrease their chances of medication errors and in turn the patients will also have a decreased risk for health care errors.  However, human errors when inputting data will become a big challenge to its accuracy. Aside from that, the integration of HIS may not be implemented by all health care organizations for the reason that setting it up may be too expensive considering that it needs to be customized and maintained. Along with its pricey implementation, digital divide is a concern that should not be overlooked. There are communities who have limited access to these technological resources and older consumers are less likely to use it due to unfamiliarity. Digital divide is also a possibility for older health care workers as they are more used to the traditional way of recording information. Since these collected information are in internet databases, we should still consider its vulnerability. Although sources claimed that HMIS can improve the security and privacy of the information collected in their system, I deem it necessary to consider the threats of cyber hacking that even in some cases, these hackers are skilled enough to even hack government websites and accounts. Since it uses electronics, it may also be vulnerable to other threats such as viruses.

To sum things up, Health management information system is used to collect, organize, analyze, and evaluate information that may be used by both health care professionals and patients to access medical information with ease. This information may also be used for decision and evidenced based policy making to be able to bring quality care to the patient. The health information system is efficient, easily accessible and decreases the chances of medical errors. Despite technological advancements, human errors still play a vital role to the system’s accuracy. Digital divide should be addressed accordingly to decrease poor health outcomes to those who have limited access to HMIS’ and tackle the challenges faced by older health care team members who may be unfamiliar with technology and prefer traditional ways of collecting and obtaining information. Since HMIS is still a system using technology, it may still be open to threats such as cyber hacking and viruses.