Date of Award

Fall 8-1-2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS)

First Advisor

Ronghua Shan

Second Advisor

Rick Christoph

Abstract

The Regional Health Authority - Central Inc. provides healthcare services to a population of approximately 98,000 people in a geographically diverse area. The region is looking to understand the current information environment in which it operates in specific regards to Emergency Room visits. This study looks to understand what is currently available, how this existing info-structure can be better utilized, and what the future information systems goals of the region should be. In order to accomplish these goals three sites were chosen as representative of the regions' facilities, Boundary Trails Health Centre, Altona Health Centre and Rock Lake Health District Hospital. The information systems at each of these three sites were evaluated in regards to current practice. The Boundary Trails Health Centre is currently using electronic information systems for data capture, whereas the Altona and Rock Lake facilities are using manual methods. The evaluation of the three information systems processes resulted in several recommendations. The Regional Health Authority- Central Inc. should move towards a standardized method of data collection and submission. The healthcare environment is rich with data, which would provide decision support benefits to the RHA-Central if the data could be compared across facilities, areas and region-wide. Submissions of the patient log and the financial records should be standardized aero s facilities, and purchase of a statistical software package to analyze the data submissions in combination with hiring an individual with the skill set to provide decision support should be a priority in order to provide management with evidence for decision support. The region would benefit by creating a service-based policy in regards to distribution of forms, as currently facilities are being provided with forms regardless of the services they provide. Creating a service-based policy would allow the region to provide the facilities with the forms appropriate to the services offered. This measure may also help to lower costs by reducing the volume of forms needed. Attention should also be devoted to the design of the forms, specifically in regards to the location of the variables. Logical workflow should be taken into consideration in order to encourage data capture and thus improve information accuracy. Opportunities also arise in regards to creating site-specific electronic patient indexes (EPI) in building towards a regional EPI. An electronic system that stores a patient's demographic information would help in both patient and staff satisfaction, while improving data capture and case completeness. Decreasing the administrative overhead associated with a patient visit would in turn allocate greater time to patient care effectively creating efficiency within the system. The future of healthcare information systems looks to the implementation of electronic patient records (EPR). The RHA-Central should consider the implications of such an implementation, networking, data security, hardware, software and user needs. The opportunities to be leaders in this field may be boosted by programs such as the Canada Health lnfoway that enable such developments through funding. The RHA-Central Inc. has a tremendous opportunity to capture the data passing through the information processes electronically. In so doing, the region looks to provide itself with a rich source of data upon which to base decisions and identify both strengths and weaknesses. Leveraging the current information system processes while planning for the future is fundamental to the business processes of the RHA-Central.

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