What is Health Information System: Definition, Types & Examples

Priya Naha

Senior Writer

Health Information System: A Complete Guide

Key Takeaways:

  1. Health Information System (HIS) utilizes technology to manage healthcare information and improve patient care.
  2. Different healthcare information systems include Medical Practice Management Systems, EHR, E-Prescribing Software, Remote Patient Monitoring and more.
  3. The study of healthcare software in a medical webinar or training involves focusing on specific applications, demonstrating features through live sessions and providing hands-on training opportunities.

The Word Health Organization promotes the use of technology in revolutionizing healthcare organizations. Not all may realize its importance now, but there has been accelerated development and evidence about the impact of healthcare information technology on patient care and the healthcare industry.

leftarrow imageLooking for Hospital Management Software? Check out SoftwareSuggest’s list of the best Hospital Management Software solutions.

It’s no surprise that more and more healthcare centers are adopting the latest technology and taking steps to transform how they operate.

Health information technology can provide a seamless experience for all patients and practitioners. To help you, we will discuss in depth about healthcare information systems types.

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Pro-tip

Prioritize systems that are easy to use and offer robust data security features, including encryption, access controls, and audit trails, to protect patient confidentiality. Additionally, seek solutions that provide comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities to derive meaningful insights and support informed decision-making.

What is Health Information Technology?

Health Information System, or HIS, refers to a system designed to store, share, and analyze the data collected in any healthcare facility. It could be private and public clinics, hospitals, and doctor’s private chambers. It also contains, organizes, and manages patients’ electronic medical records.

The use of health system solutions can help improve the quality of patient treatment. Different types of health systems take care of administrative aspects and patients’ medical data, amongst many other things.

information systems in healthcare By SoftwareSuggest

A hospital management system has a lot of benefits to offer by increasing the effectiveness of a healthcare organization. For instance, it ensures the accuracy of data collected and thus reduces any chance of medical error.

Not only that, but it saves time and effort, which is spent daily on managerial tasks by streamlining operations. Thus, organizations can focus more on patient treatment and follow-up. Other than that, you get faster prescriptions and reduce paperwork as well.

These were just a few examples of how healthcare information systems transform the patient care industry. Depending on your organization’s model and specific needs, you can choose the type of information technology in healthcare systems.

Let’s discuss them in detail.

8 Types of Healthcare Information Systems

There are multiple types of health information systems available. Let’s take a look at some of them.

1. Medical Practice Management System

The medical practice management system forms an integral part of the healthcare system. It takes care of different administrative and clinical aspects of your practice. 

It is geared towards a facility’s clerical work, such as managing various documents, scheduling appointments, etc. Information systems in healthcare automate and streamline multiple activities, which makes it easy to run the facility smoothly.

Medical Practice Management System By SoftwareSuggest

It is geared towards a facility’s clerical work, such as managing various documents, scheduling appointments, etc. Information systems in healthcare automate and streamline multiple activities, which makes it easy to run the facility smoothly.

Medical practice management software generally doesn’t include patients’ medical data. However, it does take care of insurance claims. It automatically processes claims, handles billing and payments, and generates reports.

Regardless of the size, all healthcare providers — from a single doctor practitioner to a large hospital — can use medical management software.

To list out some of its benefits:

  • Automating routine clerical tasks allows you to concentrate more on the quality of patient care.
  • It gives you easy access to healthcare data. You can view all the documents online.

One example of practice management software is eClinicalWorks.

2. Electronic Health Record Systems (EHR)

Electronic health record systems are another type of hospital management system concerned with the patient’s medical information.

Earlier, doctors or nurses had to document every medical detail of their patients on paper. But now, they can fill out all the information on the EHR system.

Features of Electronic Health Record Systems (EHR) By SoftwareSuggest

The best part is that electronic medical record systems can be accessed instantly using a mobile or computer. It also enables doctors to easily share data across different departments, allowing them to provide quick and accurate treatment.

It deals with electronic health information, which generally contains information on a patient’s medical history, allergies, laboratory charges, and more.

Some of the benefits of implementing EHR include the following:

  • Electronic health records and information technology increase efficiency by eliminating paperwork and giving immediate patient data access.
  • An electronic medical record system improves the quality of patient health care as the same information is shared across all departments, avoiding any medical errors.

Some types of electronic health records are CureMD, Care360, etc.

3. E-Prescribing Software

E-prescribing software is beneficial as it enables doctors to generate prescriptions electronically.

It allows them to directly send prescriptions to the pharmacy in just a few clicks, and when the patient gets there, the store is already ready with their supplements.

 E-Prescribing Software By SoftwareSuggest

In addition, the system eliminates the need to create handwritten notes, which are generally hard to decipher, and instead generates a legible online prescription.

Plus, there is no prescription mix-up — the pharmacist ensures patient safety by giving them the correct one. It also eliminates the chances of misplacing a prescription.

The advantages of using e-prescribing software are:

  • It allows healthcare providers to send prescriptions directly to pharmacies without the risk of getting misplaced.
  • It gives quick and easy access to a patient’s medication history with the help of a pharmacy’s database.

One of the best examples of e-prescribing software is DrFirst.

4. Remote Patient Monitoring

Healthcare organizations consider new technologies like AR to make the process more visually apparent. AR has firmly created an area for itself as an outstanding market within the working world and is already transforming the work methodology forever.
Remote Patient Monitoring System By SoftwareSuggest

It allows the professionals to strengthen the tactics they work on daily, with many of the newest choices being supplemental to the workplace.

Over time, it’s been discovered that interest in augmented reality is increasing as innovators explore its business relevance and how AR will play a role in consumer experience and workforce enablement, including healthcare organizations.

This rising technology holds tremendous potential for changing how the healthcare industry operates.

Let’s look at the benefits of using remote patient monitoring:

  • It reduces the cost of chronic disease and assists in post-discharge care.
  • It can help monitor a patient’s glucose level or blood pressure from anywhere worldwide. Thus, it results in improved patient care.

One such example of a remote patient monitoring system is Medtronic.

5. Master Patient Index (MPI)

The Master patient index is a crucial part of the hospital management system as it connects patient records from more than one database.
health information technology report By SoftwareSuggest

It is generally used by hospitals or large clinics whereby they enter data regarding their patients. Once stored, hospitals can use it for future references by any institute sharing the database. This MPI creates an index of all medical records for a specific patient, which is easily accessible by all departments.

The primary purpose of MPI is to reduce duplication of patient population health and avoid inaccuracy of information that can result in unfair treatment.

6. Patient Portal

Another essential type of hospital management system is the patient portal. It is one of the best examples of health information systems.

Patient portals provide a platform to access health-related data using any device. It includes all the information stored in an EHR, such as the patient’s medical history, treatments, and previous medications.

Patient Portal By SoftwareSuggest

Not only that, but patient portals also allow users to schedule appointments, view bills, and make payments online. They can access their devices, including smartphones, tablets, or computers.

Some of the patient portals even facilitate patients to have a conversation with healthcare professionals. So, instead of waiting hours to schedule an appointment, patients can now log in, check their doctor’s availability, and look at their lab reports.

One good example is MedFusion.

7. Urgent Care Applications

Urgent care application is a type of health management information system that keeps track of patients that might require immediate attention.
Urgent Care Apps Market Size By SoftwareSuggest

It enables patients to skip the waiting room and get care instantly. Besides, it provides patients with knowledge about health-related queries and informative health articles and even lets them track their medical care status.

Some of the benefits of implementing urgent care applications are:

  • It increases patients’ satisfaction rate as the urgent care app provides quick service.
  • Urgent care apps provide medical help 24/7, hours a day.

One good example of an urgent care app is HealthTap.

8. Medical Billing Software

The most integral type of health management system is the medical billing solution.
 Medical Billing Software Features By SoftwareSuggest

It is one of the most time-consuming processes and yet one of the critical ones. Healthcare facilities are always busy and have little time to spare for managerial tasks. Billing software makes it easy by automatically generating medical bills and handling the entire workflow.

Besides patient billing, the software covers insurance claims and verification, payment tracking, and processing. In addition, it sends out alerts for late payments or if there is any pending bill from the hospital’s end.

What Are The Key Components Of Health Information System Management in The Medical Industry?

Health information system has several specialized subsystems that function together to manage different tasks in healthcare organizations. The following are some key components of healthcare information systems.

1. Financial Software Component

 Chief Financial Officers, CFOs, and other revenue cycle managers use HIS software to carry out management procedures and strategic planning. Financial management services have a strong foundation because of the widespread integration of financial management and SaaS accounting plug-ins. 

The efficient tracking of healthcare revenue cycles can maximize available resources and generate avenues for funding the purchase of essential operational software and instruments.

2. Asset Tracking

Asset tracking or medical inventory management systems improve the supervision of healthcare administrative inventory management from the point of purchase to the point of payment. Inventory that is about to expire can be replaced and replenished with the help of accessible tracking, which guarantees that best practices for inventory maintenance are followed.

3. Administration Management 

Computer systems intended for health information system infrastructure, whether standalone or cloud-based, can serve as the main administrative system in healthcare organizations. This system is essential for documenting and coordinating the daily activities of every department in a healthcare system.

What Are The Benefits of Health Information Systems?

There are multiple benefits of health information systems. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of health information systems. 

1. Better Patient Safety

By storing and sharing information across multiple databases, using health information systems makes it easier to retrieve patient data and improves patient safety. The system additionally permits timely alert alerts for any health-related concerns.  By being proactive, you can help avoid major mistakes that arise from making decisions based on incomplete knowledge.

2. Seamless Performance Analysis

By utilizing HIS’s data analysis, you can keep an eye on the performance of your employees, evaluate patient care, and evaluate the reliability and efficacy of your organization. By digitizing all records, HIS reduces paperwork and enables you to make well-informed staff decisions based on competencies and prior performance. 

3. Organized Team Process 

Patients can benefit from seamless and well-coordinated treatment from healthcare providers with the HIS system, especially if their illnesses call for considerable medical information management and collaboration across specialties. The most significant benefit of implementing a health information system is that it improves patient outcomes and service delivery.

How To Include The Study Of Healthcare Software In A Medical Webinar Or Training?

The use of technology has allowed medicine to take a huge step forward. However, using these various software programs is certainly challenging for everyone. Therefore, it is necessary to find ways and means to enable the medical sector to master these new technologies :

For those still in training, creating a particular module dedicated to information technology and healthcare software systems will be necessary. 

By learning about these different software systems, practitioners who wish to work independently or in remote areas will already be able to find solutions to the problems associated with performing their duties in these conditions.

For example, the practitioner can use the medical practice management system in case of limited staffing due to a lack of financial means. This system will take care of scheduling appointments and managing billing and payments, among other things.

It is also advisable to organize master classes where professionals in the field of the invited students will present the different software and the added value they can bring to the practice. 

For example, in a face anatomy masterclass, or an anatomy master class, the professional will present to the students the different software that can facilitate their work in the field. Thus, students will see the value of mastering and using these new technologies.

For Practicing Practitioners:

For example, hospitals would organize a medical webinar or a presentation of the different healthcare software systems. Software systems that may interest practitioners invited to the webinar will be presented at the outset.

Another way to equip healthcare professionals with knowledge about healthcare software systems is through conferences. This is the ideal platform for experts and practitioners to use these new technologies.

After having given students and practitioners all the necessary knowledge about information technology and healthcare software systems, it is essential to confront them with practice. 

Indeed, for perfect mastery and optimal use of these products, it is necessary to implement these technologies in hospital establishments so that everyone can get used to their use.

However, trainers should expect reluctance from some practitioners, especially older ones. Being used to traditional care and operating techniques, the latter are generally more relaxed with these new work tools. However, with patience and clear explanations, it is possible to gain their trust.

Conclusion

The healthcare information system is the future of healthcare centers. Yet, despite that, many hospitals are skeptical about adopting this new technology. This is because of its high cost and the implementation process. 

There is no doubt that the healthcare software market is in full bloom. The digitalization of healthcare has many benefits – improved efficiency, cost savings, and better control of finances and patient data. 

As medical services around the world become increasingly digital, as well as the use of health-tracking apps online increases, there is a strong likelihood the industry will grow in the future. 

Once you decide to implement, an institute may undergo a drastic change. The initial process may seem complicated, but we guarantee the outcomes will be worth every effort. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Health information technology, or HIT, refers to a system designed to store, share, and analyze data collected in any healthcare facility. Among other components, the system includes electronic health records (EHRs), personal health records (PHRs), and electronic prescribing (E-prescribing).

There are multiple types of Healthcare Information Systems (HIS), including the Medical Practice Management System, Electronic Health Records (EHR), E-Prescribing Software, Remote Patient Monitoring, Master Patient Index (MPI), Patient Portal, Urgent Care Applications, and Medical Billing Software.

The Healthcare Information System (HIS) provides lots of advantages to healthcare facilities. For example, it makes essential data easily accessible to relevant departments or individuals, streamlines and automates the processes, increases security and scalability, and improves patient care.

Halemind, Comarch, WebPT, AdvancedMD, Kareo, SimplePractice, SoftClinic, and emr4MD are some of the best Hospital Information Systems (HIS). However, keep in mind that you should select the one that best meets your requirements and aligns with your business objectives.

Priya Naha

Priya is a seasoned writer with expertise in the SaaS industry. With over five years of experience in the field, she deeply understands the requirement of this specific industry, its techniques, and tools. Her articles, whitepapers, and blog posts are known for their clarity, practicality, and actionable insights. Priya also possesses in-depth knowledge of SEO and content marketing, which enables her to develop effective strategies to increase website traffic and improve brand visibility.

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