Information Management

Index - Major Sections
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Index - Same Level Subject

Management
Client Access
Quality Health Care
Health Care Structure
Health Organization Structure
Information Management
Public Health
Research
Political Processes

Index - Child Subjects

Concurrency of Information

Information is not received in time for managers to take action.

It is often the case that clients may visit more than one health care organizational unit in a neighborhood. Multi drugs are prescribed and multi laboratory tests may be performed. This increases both the cost to the client and may decrease the health of the client rather than improve their health

Dissemination of Data

Changes are occurring rapidly. By the time that research is performed, data collected, and published…the information is outdated. By the time that the information is used, it may be too late to save lives. By not disseminating data as rapidly as possible, money may be spent on inefficient and ineffective processes.

It is next to impossible for meaningful comparisons to be made between units of operations, states, or countries. Where good processes are being created and used in one organizational unit, that information is unavailable to others because it is not “observed.” Best Practices are hidden in the “summary” information that is made available to higher levels management today…they do not show the good and bad but only present averages.

Data Quality

As information systems has grown, so too have concerns about the quality of the data on which the information is based. It shown that returns that should have shown similar results actually varied widely. It is estimated that even in developed countries data collection errors are frequent.

… one-third of trusts were mis-coding more than 5 per cent of the data they produced …The reviews of clinical… data have found a worrying number of examples of incomplete and inaccurate coding, missing data sets, double entry of data and a lack of awareness of information among senior staff.” (England, Data Remember, Audit commission)

Data quality is influenced by the hierarchical summary reporting system. Lower level units seldom report the “bad”. By the time that information reaches top level management, it may be completely distorted.

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