Can information systems help prevent a public health crisis?

1] Describe And Diagram The Exiting Process For Reporting And Identifying Major Public Health Problems, Such As A Flu Pandemic.

Ans. The existing or traditional approach to reporting potential public health problems is a manual process reliant on individuals within individual hospitals/medical facilities to identify such potential threats or issues. Physicians or laboratories within the hospital identify any potential health risks and then compile a report on the issue. The identification of the issue/risk is reliant on individual hospitals tracking the volume numbers of patients with similar symptoms. This report is than faxed or posted to the local public health authority. The public health authority, on receipt of the report, will phone the hospital in question for any additional information it requires before it is in a position to make any decisions or taken any relevant preventative measures.

Hospitals, Physicians, and laboratories would mail or fax paper reports to public health agencies, who would then call health care providers for more detailed information. This slow chain of person-to-person communication is not well suitable for a major public health emergency.

2] How Does Biosense Improve This Process? Diagram The Process For Reporting And Identifying Public Health Problems Using Biosense.

Ans. BioSense is a management information system (M.I.S.), which gathers the relevant data from individual hospital patient information systems in real time. By analysing this data and also passing it onto the Centre for Disease Control’s (CDC) M.I.S., it removes the potential for the long delays associated with the existing manual reporting process and the reliance on human intervention to identify potential health risks. BioSense allows for an organised coordinated and focused approach to managing health information spanning all geographic areas in the U.S. making it possible to manage information which in turn creates better decision making and execution of remedial actions. It also allows for the sharing of information among registered users, which are geographically relevant to each other, so they may identify potential risks or threats to their.
BioSense sits atop a hospital’s existing information systems, continually gathering and analyzing their data in real time. Custom software developed by CDC monitors the facility’s network traffic and captures relevant patient records, diagnoses, and prescription information.

3] Discuss The Pros And Cons Of Adopting Biosense For Public Health Surveillance. Should All Hospitals And Public Health Agencies Switch To Biosense? Why or Why Not?

Ans. Decreases the time to identify causes, risk factors, and appropriate interventions; and decreases the time needed to implement countermeasures and health guidance.Cons: Many hospitals have not been anxious to jump on the bandwagon because the transition would be burdensome and time-consuming to translate its data codes into the standards used by CDC’s.

4] Put Yourself In The Role Of Hospital Director At A Large Urban Hospital. Would You Support Joining Up With The Biosense System? Why or Why Not? What Factors Would You Want To Take Into Account Before Joining?

Ans. I would support joining up with the BioSense system. First priority of the hospital business is not only to make profits but also to save human’s life. In order to save human’s life, information sharing services and integrated IT are a necessity.