Electronic Medical Records Solutions Offered by Leading Vendors

Information systems provide organizations the means to manage data. This data in return provide the basis for making accurate decisions which boosts the probability of success. Three major functions are often affiliated with these systems; collection, storage and processing, actions that necessitate a lot of resources. As a solution, the digital world provides cloud-based solutions which provide these services through the internet at minimal costs. Therefore, IT facilities such as networking, computing, and storage facilities are leased from third party members, commonly known as vendors or service providers. The project at hand also hopes to use the same resources to meet its functional objectives. Essentially, after setting up the information system, this resource will be hosted online to increase its availability and accessibility. As such, this report discusses cloud solutions with relation to information systems.

Across the world, physicians continue to complain about the features of electronic health records (EHR). At the helm of the problem is the vendors’ desires to satisfy international system standards without the need for a higher usability. Therefore despite the research poured into medical IS they remain to be inefficient in the workplace environment, an outcome that necessitates an analysis of the desirable features (Medical Economics, 2014).

Cerner – facilitated by its leading information systems Cerner EMR, this vendor offers a collection of unified electronic records that are designed to streamline medical services. It also provides both on-site and off-site services based on cloud resources.

• Dynamic documentation tools – a wide range of resources are readily available to the user from spreadsheets to notepads. These tools also adapt to the immediate needs of the system.
• Auto-texting – automated messages are sent across the system to remind and manage resources such as the update of security protocols.
• Patient portal – although it is a common feature with most medical IS, Cerner develops customized portals for all patients to improve their usability.
• Powerful integration – the applications developed seamlessly integrate with other systems from OS to other medical software.
• Education resource – to answer any questions concerning the system, an education center is fitted with each program.
• Scheduled dashboard – another component that boosts the automation of the systems based on the needs of the user (Cerner, 2018).

MEDITECH – through its different versions of MEDITECH expanse, this vendor aims to bridge the gap between healthcare and patients by surpassing the walls of medical facilities. Furthermore, its service extends to cloud services where MaaS (MEDITECH as a service) is provided (MEDITECH, 2018).

• Information consolidation – the EMR software developed are designed with a collaborative objective and are thus accessible to all practitioners with the right authorization.
• Reporting capabilities – robust reporting tools are provided by each system having a variety of options such as graphs and pictures.
• Security – access to applications is based on an efficient model that uses the roles and responsibilities of the users. Therefore, access can be restricted in a number of ways including location and confidential status.
• Advanced platform – an ever-changing platform is adopted on all applications with the recent system functioning under the 6.0 environment.
• Live updates – a preference feature that allows the programs to update their tools and functions to improve the overall usability.
• Private portals – unique operation environments having customizable accounts are given to each user to enhance system practicality and functions (Becca, 2012).

MEDHOST – providing an intuitive EMR solution, MEDHOST provides systems that fit the entire emergency department workflow. This structure improves adoption rates while reducing errors in all medical departments (MEDHOST, 2018).

• Patient tracking – a resource that operates with the GPS (Global Positioning System) technology having attached radio frequency readers on institution’s clothing.
• Nurse charting – records and information collected by practitioners more so, nurses are presented in visual records such as graphs and spreadsheets.
• Physician documentation – the final analysis given by the doctors is stored in this section for future use which also includes departmental collaborations.
• Administration utility – known as OpCenter, this tools enables the management of the entire system from a centralized point, from user accounts to security.
• Data repositories – designed for remote locations, these data sources provide ambulatory departments the means to access health records.
• Primary system – a general program that is accessed by all parties including those lacking personalized accounts (MEDHOST, 2018).

Any virtualized services that are offered through the internet is in a way a cloud solution. Basically, the idea is to distribute IT resources over the digital medium while using a third party member’s infrastructure. The best example is illustrated by E-mails which facilitate users in their daily communication activities as information is stored on remote servers. While the end users conduct their activities using front-end services of browsers, companies like Google support these resources in their different infrastructure around the globe. Now, the concept of cloud computing extends beyond this basic function of transferring mail to include networking equipment and mass storage as seen in many hosting services seen today (El-Gazzar, 2014). It thus, through this technology that this project aims to extend its services by hosting the backend resources on a remote location as provided by a cloud systems’ vendor. As such, this section highlights the attributes of this technology

1. Distribution and availability – unlike on-premise equipment that requires a direct connection, the resources hosted in the cloud are easily provided so long as the users have an internet connection.
2. Cost saving – the host organization does not implement the physical solutions, in fact, the set-up, management, and maintenance are done by the service provider only to be charged based on a usage model.
3. Storage – in line with the needs of the health system, the industry can lease as much storage facilities as it needs because the vendor has countless resources in the form of databases (warehouses) (Sether, 2016).
4. Redundancy and backup – service providers will have multiple resource centers which are used to duplicate the subscribers’ functions in case of failure. Furthermore, in case of losses, the vendor is responsible for the recovery procedures.

1. Loss of control – the project will have to release its administrative rights to the service provider in the form of data and management. This action will minimize its overall control of the system to facilitate the role of the vendor thus outlining the control limits.
2. Security and privacy – while guarantees may be made by the service provider on the integrity of their facilities, the fact that data is stored in a foreign land create the vulnerability of it being lost or breached.
3. Outages – similar to the limitations experienced with internet connections, cloud services on occasion will have technical faults resulting in downtime (Seshachala, 2015).

Predictive and Adaptive System Development Life Cycle Approaches

A systemic procedure that is used to implement information system projects having outlined the user requirements. System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) in particular represents a conceptual method of designing and developing an application through pre-determined steps. SDLC was originally developed to deal with the complexity of digital systems as their general demands started to increase beyond the rudimentary processes of deploying applications. The original techniques performed their activities using holistic methodologies as their capabilities and needs were limited. Today’s customer’s demands exemplify the use of SDLC as complex yet versatile systems are developed every day (Martínez et al., 2012). As such, it is understandable to find that multiple SDLC approaches are used in system development. In this case, this report analyses two of such methods; predictive and adaptive SDLC.

A basic approach that follows a sequential model in the implementation of systems starting with the planning and identification of requirements and ending with maintenance. At the same time, this method independently executes each phase without any form of overlap, an outcome that is guaranteed by its pre-determined requirements. Finally, it is characterized by a strict documentation process that outlines all the components of the application from resources to deployment personnel (Okoli & Carillo, 2012). This function enhances the stability of the final results as it is often predicted before occurring.

1. Its clear guideline guarantees result based on the predetermined objectives.
2. A predictable approach that produces stable results.
3. Furthermore, it is easy to understand even for the end users who have limited technical capabilities.
4. Finally, the developing teams can easily transfer roles through the clear guidelines given.

1. Lack of flexibility thus any changes introduced causes a restart of all the procedures (phases).
2. It is time-consuming as all the phases are executed sequentially without overlap.
3. Also, its application is limited to simple projects having predetermined requirements (Melonfire, 2006).

A modern approach that basis its functionalities on adaptability and flexibility. Essentially, the goal of this technique is to accommodate any changes introduced into a system during the design process. Therefore, unlike the previous model, a sequential process is not followed but a logical outline having several iteration cycles is used. In each cycle, all the stages of development (planning, coding, and testing etc.) are executed to improve the final result. Furthermore, different teams can work on the various phases of implementation and later on be combined to produce the final product (Kannan, Jhajharia & Verma, 2014). In all, a dynamic and versatile solution is developed while prioritizing the system’s functionality.

1. Responds easily to changes, thus is convenient for modern applications.
2. It is a time-efficient approach as all implementation phases are executed together.
3. User needs and functionality are prioritized over any other requirements.
4. Limitations and risks are managed adequately based on its flexible model.

1. A complex model that is not easily understood.
2. This complexity raises its overall cost as a lot of expertise is needed.
3. Finally, a single model cannot be re-used as it is usually highly customized (Barrett, 2012).

An adaptive approach is the best model for this project on accounts of its complexity and requirements. In the first variable, the system is a long-term project meant to serve millions of people over an extended period of time. It is difficult if not impossible to predict all the user’s requirements. Furthermore, the project is not a one-time application and thus will require regular updates and revisions. Finally, its integration with the cloud-based solutions requires a dynamic approach that can match the attributes of a virtual landscape. All these elements cannot be met by a predictive approach as it will often require the developers to start a new implementation procedure.

Conclusion

Modern information systems are designed to offer three main data functions, collection, storage, and processing. Furthermore, because of the availability of data they are supposed to artificially analyze results to produce quality conclusions. The integration of these systems with cloud solutions offers a means to meet these demands together with those of the end users. Through cloud computing the accessibility and availability of IS, is guaranteed, objectives that are held by this project.

References

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Cerner. (2018). Cerner EMR Review. Medical Practice Management Software. Retrieved 22 May, 2018, from: https://reviews.financesonline.com/p/cerner-emr/#features

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Martínez, L., Mora, M., Álvarez, F., Garza, L., Durán, H & Muñoz, J. (2012). Review of Relevant System Development Life Cycles (SDLCs) in Service-Oriented Software Engineering (SoSE). Technological Institute of Aguascalientes, 10(1). Retrieved 22 May, 2018, from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6458/631c8748594d15b70a9e54f2903d0b0e22ac.pdf.

MEDHOST. (2018). A Complete EHR for the ED. Advanced Clinical Solutions. Retrieved 22 May, 2018, from: https://www.medhost.com/what-we-do/optimize-healthcare-delivery/advanced-clinical-solutions/enterprise-ehr-from-medhost/

Medical Economics. (2014). 4 ways EHR vendors are building better systems. Modern Medicine Network. Retrieved 22 May, 2018, from: https://www.medicaleconomics.com/health-care-information-technology/4-ways-ehr-vendors-are-building-better-systems

MEDITECH. (2018). Introducing MEDITECH Expanse. EHR Solutions. Retrieved 22 May, 2018, from: https://ehr.meditech.com/

Melonfire, C. (2006). Understanding the pros and cons of the Waterfall Model of software development. Tech Republic. Retrieved 22 May, 2018, from: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/understanding-the-pros-and-cons-of-the-waterfall-model-of-software-development/

Okoli, C & Carillo, K. (2012). The best of adaptive and predictive methodologies: Open source software development, a balance between agility and discipline. International Journal of Information Technology and Management, 11(1), pp. 153-166. Retrieved 22 May, 2018, from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220490309_The_best_of_adaptive_and_predictive_methodologies_Open_source_software_development_a_balance_between_agility_and_discipline

Seshachala, S. (2015). Disadvantages of Cloud Computing. Amazon Web Services. Retrieved 22 May, 2018, from: https://cloudacademy.com/blog/disadvantages-of-cloud-computing/

Sether, A. (2016). Cloud Computing Benefits. SSRN. Retrieved 22 May, 2018, from: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2781593