Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems

Health care in America is undergoing a period of profound and unprecedented change. The shapes, forms, and functions of our nation's health care organizations are being redefined. As a consequence, the old mainframe-based information systems that have been the administrative backbone of health care management are being rendered obsolete. Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems is a complete, thoroughly up-to-date guide for strategically rethinking and reengineering information management systems so organizations can meet the demands and challenges of today's turbulent, reform-minded health care marketplace.

In the past decade, the health care industry has witnessed a dramatic shift from the traditional stand-alone hospital to a new generation of smaller, affiliated facilities. The emergence of organizations such as outpatient clinics, imaging centers, physician networks, home health care agencies, and nursing homes has had a profound impact on information systems. This climate of change is forcing health care executives and professionals to reassess their approach and develop new information infrastructures that will be responsive to the system's changing requirements.

Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems offers practical advice on how health care organizations can apply new IT and IS strategies. The book thoroughly examines how IT and IS technology can help organizations achieve their business goals, and it explores the technology's long-term management. It discusses the emerging standards and offers numerous models that illustrate IT architecture, information flows, and organizational structures. Information Technology also enables health care executives to assess their strengths and anticipate future trends. It explores the human dimension of planning and implementation—including constructing the optimal IT organizational model—and helps organizations deploy this new technology. Here is an invaluable guide that:

• Includes an overview of the many historic changes that are occurring in the industry and explores the impact of new government mandates
• Offers proven techniques for using information systems to increase effectiveness and productivity
• Provides a complete framework for developing the business systems needed to meet changing organiza-tional needs
• Supplies clear guidelines for planning and managing the information-gathering process

As health care organizations undergo profound change, the mainframe-based information systems that have long been the administrative backbone of health care management must adapt to the demands of a new era. Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems is an indispensable tool for professionals navigating the previously uncharted waters of the information management revolution.

Written by two of the most respected specialists in the field, Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems:

• Illustrates how health care organizations can effectively use IS to create a more efficient and productive environment
• Provides the necessary instruments to measure and evaluate the organization's current IS position, readiness for and ability to change
• Offers a framework for low-cost, rapidly developed, adaptable, and effective business systems to meet complex and changing organizational needs
• Includes proven implementation techniques for planning and managing information-gathering processes

Information Technology for Integrated Health Systems can help health care executives and planners develop and implement new IT and IS strategies. It covers standards, contains numerous models, and explores the human dimension of planning and implementation. This clear, concise guide shows how IT and IS technology can help health care organizations achieve their business goals.

ERNST & YOUNG LLP's Health Care Performance Improvement and Information Systems Consulting Group is a division of the Ernst & Young Center for Information Technology and Strategy.

ERNST & YOUNG LLP is an international leader in business and financial consulting, providing accounting, tax, and other professional services to thousands of individuals as well as businesses of all sizes.

KERRY KISSINGER is the Partner and Area Director of Health Care Information Technology for the East/Great Lakes region.

SANDRA BORCHARDT is Senior Manager at the Ernst & Young Center for Information Technology and Strategy in Boston, Massachusetts.