Health Information Management: Implications of Artificial Intelligence on Healthcare Data and Information Management

This paper explores the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on the management of healthcare data and information and how AI technologies will affect the responsibilities and work of health information management (HIM) professionals.

A literature review was conducted of both peer-reviewed literature and published opinions on current and future use of AI technology to collect, store, and use healthcare data. The authors also sought insights from key HIM leaders via semi-structured interviews conducted both on the phone and by email.

The following HIM practices are impacted by AI technologies: 1) Automated medical coding and capturing AI-based information; 2) Healthcare data management and data governance; 3) Patient privacy and confidentiality; and 4) HIM workforce training and education.

HIM professionals must focus on improving the quality of coded data that is being used to develop AI applications. HIM professional’s ability to identify data patterns will be an important skill as automation advances, though additional skills in data analysis tools and techniques are needed. In addition, HIM professionals should consider how current patient privacy practices apply to AI application, development, and use.

AI technology will continue to evolve as will the role of HIM professionals who are in a unique position to take on emerging roles with their depth of knowledge on the sources and origins of healthcare data. The challenge for HIM professionals is to identify leading practices for the management of healthcare data and information in an AI-enabled world.

The full article can be downloaded below.

U.K. Firm Creates 'Operating System' To Handle Massive Genomic Patient Data Sets

Every aspect of our existence on this planet is being digitized. We’re making work digital on every desktop, we’re empowering digital sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT) on every street corner, we’re building smart digital AI-powered IT systems with machine learning and decision-making abilities to automate our lives… and we’re digitizing ourselves as well.

The full Forbes article can be viewed at this link.  

The Evolution of Elderly Telehealth and Health Informatics

Many elderly individuals experience memory loss and often dementia as they age. This causes problems for the elderly due to diminished skills and increase in medical problems and natural decline. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) introduced a national home telehealth program, Care Coordination/Home Telehealth (CCHT). Its purpose was to coordinate the care of veteran patients with chronic conditions and avoid their unnecessary admission to long-term institutional care. Such programs are cost-effective. Long-term care insurance companies are likely to cover these services. Home care and nursing home corporations are following the VHA’s lead. We have recently witnessed significant advances in technology. Internet and mobile applications have opened a new world, providing information and opportunities for individuals to learn more information about illness and at a much faster rate. Smart home technology has evolved. Elderly patients often encounter difficulties using these technologies. Despite the advances in telehealth and telemedicine and the evolution of the technology, many individuals cannot afford the treatment or the technology. These same individuals and families are part of the digital divide, and they have not embraced the new technology. Federal programs have been developed and implemented to help this portion of the population.

The full chapter can be downloaded below.  

EXPLORING CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN CYBERSECURITY RISK AND THREAT COMMUNICATIONS RELATED TO THE MEDICAL INTERNET OF THINGS (MIOT)

As device interconnectivity and ubiquitous computing continues to proliferate healthcare, the Medical Internet of Things (MIoT), also well known as the, Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) or the Internet of Healthcare Things (IoHT), is certain to play a major role in the health, and well-being of billions of people across the globe. When it comes to issues of cybersecurity risks and threats connected to the IoT in all of its various flavors the emphasis has been on technical challenges and technical solution. However, especially in the area of healthcare, there is another substantial and potentially grave challenge. It is the challenge of thoroughly and accurately communicating the nature and extent of cybersecurity risks and threats to patients who are reliant upon these interconnected healthcare technologies to improve and even preserve their lives. This case study was conducted to assess the scope and depth of cybersecurity risk and threat communications delivered to an extremely vulnerable patient population, semi-structured interviews were held with cardiac medical device specialists across the United States. This research contributes to scientific data in the field of healthcare cybersecurity and assists scholars and practitioners in advancing education and research in the field of MIoT patient communications.

The full article can be downloaded below.  

Drugs And Blockchains

For decades, prescriptions have been written on paper. While this method is certainly easier for doctors, it presents many risks which need to be mitigated. The use of e-prescribing is up 500% in the U.S. since 2015. Though the UK and Europe are lagging in adoption, there is a significant drive to make Electronic Prescribing Systems (EPS) the norm.

International evidence shows that EPS may improve the safety of inpatient medicines management processes, reduce medication errors and, to a lesser extent, reduce adverse drug events. However, unintended consequences, including new errors, may occur. Evidence on the effects of EPS on workflow is limited and in my experience, e-prescribing can add significant time and administrative burden for busy doctors.

The full Forbes article can be viewed at this link.  

The Futures of eHealth: Social, Ethical, and Legal Challenges

Looking into the futures of eHealth? The title of this publication might seem quite presumptuous at first. Its objective, however, is to serve a much more modest purpose, in that it strives to take a look at potential, likely, desired, anticipated or feared futures of digital health technologies and practices. When analysing the opportunities and risks associated with them as well as the social, legal and ethical challenges they might pose, what we also see in the process are the expectations and promises projected onto them.

eHealth or “digital health”, according to the World Health Organization’s European Office, “involves a broad group of activities that use electronic means to deliver health-related information, resources and services: it is the use of information and communication technologies for health” (World Health Organization 2017). As far as current developments and technological solutions are concerned, the WHO has further identified the following areas:

• Electronic health records and interoperability of data;
• Mobile health or mHealth;
• Telehealth, where a patient can consult with a healthcare worker using Skype or even a regular telephone;
• Wearable technologies (fitness trackers, medical devices, etc.) and
• Technologies to support integrated care (WHO 2017).

Looking into the futures of anything always involves creating narratives. Rather unsurprisingly, the WHO’s definition characterises the role of technology use as entailing “strengthening health systems and health information systems” (World Health Organization 2017), a narrative of opportunity. These promises of eHealth are embedded in and reflective of much larger discourses that are often associated with (digital) technologies, which are mainly seen as a remedy to existing social problems. These discourses often centre around terms such as “empowerment”, “democratic potential”, “unifying cross-border force”, “special care for vulnerable groups” or “bridging distances”. And, indeed, there is an abundance of opportunities in digital health solutions that are directly associated with these technologies and practices.

The full paper can be downloaded below.  

The Critical Role of Hospital Information Systems in Digital Health Innovation Projects

Societal demand and political support still drive researchers and practitioners to work in numerous initiatives to create Digital Innovations (DI) in healthcare. Despite all support, the problem of unsuccessful or not-satisfying translation of project outputs into the healthcare reality remains. One critical aspect is the integration of a DI into evolved Hospital Information Systems (HIS). As DI projects often are conducted in practice research consortia, such projects can provide close insights into real-world settings. Therefore, a rigor analysis is necessary, which we perform using the Action Design Research approach that helps to analyze the role of HIS in DI projects for healthcare. The main contribution of this paper is the detailed description of a context-specific framework for the formalization of learning plus a systematic presentation of enablers and barriers of DI projects in healthcare. The framework matches both a project management perspective by considering different stages of a DI project and an interoperability perspective as an overall key factor for successful implementation.

The full article can be downloaded below.  

Here's What It Takes to Build the Nation's Most Trusted & Capable Health Information Network: Best Practices

Through a single connection to the Surescripts network, participants in the Surescripts Network Alliance are able to exchange actionable patient intelligence far more extensively, efficiently and effectively than they could if they had to rely on individual connections to all other organizations. Meanwhile, all Surescripts solutions—and all those who use them—benefit from the industry-leading reliability, security and scalability of the Surescripts network.

Best Practices

• The Trust Fabric - Essential to any two-sided network, the trust fabric creates confidence in participants, the integrity of the system, and how shared data can and cannot be used.
• The Transport Layer​ - The transport layer makes it technologically possible to exchange electronic health information across multiple domains.
• The Usability Layer - The usability layer enables delivery of actionable patient intelligence to the point of care within existing  clinical workflows.
• The Optimization Layer - Touching every transaction Surescripts handles, the optimization layer helps continuously improve network performance in order to deliver actionable patient intelligence as quickly and accurately as possible.

The full Surescripts article can be viewed at this link.