The Healthcare Business

Question: Describe some processes at which we can progresses the healthcare business effectiveness using IT. Answer: Introduction In today's date computer and Information Technology (IT) are an essential part of every business. In this competitive market, every business needs to invest more in IT. Information technology benefits the business world by allowing organizations to work more efficiently to increase productivity. Information Technology drastically changed the lives of different organizations and their owners. People prefer online shopping than outdoor shopping, digital marketing than door to door marketing, digital communication than letter conversation, etc. , and they are more active in social media. Everything is happening only because of the new advanced technology brought by IT, and all the aspects of a business is successfully handled by IT sector. With the usage of IT in healthcare field quality of services have increased many folds. So for healthcare business planning, patient care, clinical analysis, effective marketing, sales, systematic management, monitoring, instant customer support and l ong-term business growth can't be achieved without IT. Resource The success of every business depends on certain factors. Some of which are an accurate analysis of the product, choosing the right technology the future vision. IT is the smartest and valuable technology through which we can analyze specific data thoroughly and plan the business journey in that way. For example in healthcare analytics tool can be one of the most useful tools to keep track of patient records, trends, health information, quality service, etc. Describing some processes at which we can progresses the healthcare business effectiveness using IT. Process Models : First of all, we have to prepare a process model which represents various steps through which all the tasks should be executed. The main goal to prepare these models is to achieve the required goal within a short period. These models can show all the process healthcare business is going through and satisfy all the customer requirements. Use Cases Use Stories : It shows the sequence of events and process to achieve the goal. In this section we have to consider different criteria, cases, and scenario. Meaningful data analysis can be done to arrive at use cases and design best practices for healthcare. Designing : Design different models of different departments. Then combine all these and prepare a process model of the business taking into account all the aspects. Data Analysis : Different data analytics and reporting methods can be used to monitor patient health trend, quality of care, medicine inventory, performance metrics, etc. Research and Development : Analyzing the clinical data, diagnosis, sharing of information over internet, storage of information over cloud and ease of availability of data anytime anywhere helps the research and development department in many ways. Testing : The testing process is very much required to cross check all the process are running as intended and test the overall productivity. Benefit Advantage There are lots of advantages that IT can provide to healthcare businesses. For example: Efficiency : IT allows different types of tools and software or different applications which allow the organization to work effectively and systematically. There are certain things which can be tracked in a proper way for successful growth e.g. research data, analytical reports, product documentation, scheduled work and deadlines. The database of a company shows how big it is and how successfully they imply their ideas in society. All these work can be done by better time management , lesser human error, improved performance easily overcoming any risk. Cost-Effectiveness : As we have all the things at our door step and handle it in an effective way so now we can easily control our life. If company totally upgrades and automates its organization through software implementation, then it will require less employee to run business. There are so many instruments and applications available which automate the process and reduces most of the manual work. Take an example customers can log in to healthcare portals, book appointments, view medical reports, talk to doctors by themselves and it doesn't need a representative at each step to help the customer. Overall it simplifies the work in most cost effective way for any healthcare organization. Speed : At a time computer can do lots of work like analyzing clinical records, collecting different information of customers, their health reports and progress, feedback about the services, etc. It can speed up the organization work in a sustainable way. Computers do allow companies to operate much faster. It produces better quality of products, and operation is more simple and reliable. Through the internet service now computer can do lots of work quickly from anyplace where internet service is available. Research and Development : Before going through any product manufacturing or process, implementation companies must have to do internal research and plan their requirement. Research can be done over the internet using different software products, mobile applications. Product pictures can be virtually created, and we can edit any details of it (Elliot,1999). Product cost and requirement also can be easily evaluated and edited if required. We can create an actual physical model by using a 3d printer, even there are cases where artificial limbs have been manufactured by using 3d printer technology. Sales : Software system also helps to sale your healthcare products online via different mobile applications or company websites. Most of the business now operate online which helps in gathering more customers. Through website, people around the world can purchase their product. IT breaks the time zone as well as geographical borders. Risk Factor brought by IT If any business is operated through IT, then there are certain range of risk factors which a users should be aware of. These are of 3 types. General IT Threats : General IT system failure - As computers are working through electric power, so there is a chance of failure of system hardware or software. Malware - There are many malicious software which can disrupt the normal computer operation (Daintith,2009). Viruses - Sometimes some disrupting computer codes damage the system which copies the code itself and spread it from one computer to another. Spam, Scams Phishing - These are some unsolicited email which can fool people into revealing their personal details or buying fraudulent products (Grembergen,2009). Human Error - Sometimes some problems arise due to careless data disposal or incorrect data processing or infected email attachments. Criminal IT Threat Hackers - People using some software knowledge illegally damage the computer system (Haes,2009), may even steal valuable and confidential data. Fraud - Sometimes the private details of the customer can be used for some other activity or attack for monetary benefits in unauthorized ways. Security Breakdown - It includes a private data breakdown as well as a monetary transaction breakdown. Staff Dishonesty - It shows the misuse of sensitive customer information. Natural Disaster IT System Fire, cyclone, floods is the biggest risk of IT system. It can damage both computer hardware and software. Manage the Risk Factor We can manage all the risk by taking some care and identifying the risk in advance. For all this we need to follow some process. These are Before installing any software first identify the risk carefully. Evaluate all the risk sequentially Prepare the solution of all the risk. Develop the plan for the response to all risk. Finally, review the management procedures in a certain interval. Conclusion IT system is the most innovative and advanced system and has made a tremendous contribution towards medicinal research, healthcare product development, and social wellness. It is always reliable and provides the smartest way to carry out different aspects of healthcare business process. Organizations have to spend some reasonable cost to implement IT in their business, but the results are far rewarding and get success in the right way. With the help of IT, today's healthcare system not only has access to most advanced technologies but also made huge progress in research and social innovation. The future of healthcare looks more IT oriented and more technically advanced. Glossary Term Definition 3D printer 3 Dimensional Printer BPM Business Process Management BRM Business Reference Model Phishing An attempt to acquire sensitive information for malicious reasons PLC Programmable Logic Controller IT IT: Information Technology References Daintith, John, D( 2009), IT A Dictionary of Physics: Oxford University Press. Elliot, D., Swartz, E., Herbane, B., D(1999), Just waiting for the next big bang: business continuity planning in the UK finance sector. Journal of Applied Management Studies, Vol. 8, pp. 43-60. Grembergen, Van, Haes, De, Steven Wim, D(2009), Enterprise Governance of IT: Achieving Strategic Alignment and Value, Springer. Haes, De Van, Wim Grembergen, D(2009), Exploring the relationship between IT governance practices and business/IT alignment through extreme case analysis in Belgian mid-to-large size financial enterprises, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 22, No. 5, pp. 615-637.