ABSTRACT
The vital application of managed-care information systems is in contract management. Ten products now on the market have the potential to streamline this function. These contract-management systems range from standalone workstations to new modules built into the hospital information systems. CIH Contributing Editor Walter Wieners gives their advantages and disadvantages, and tells the best way to decide which system is right for your organization.
Subject(s)
Managed Care Programs/organization & administration , Management Information Systems/standards , Software , Catalogs, Commercial as Topic , Consultants , Contract Services/organization & administration , Decision Making , Financial Management, Hospital/methods , United StatesABSTRACT
Powerful and versatile, UNIX makes open systems affordable in today's complex healthcare marketplace. As more emphasis is placed on combining the best systems for the least money, UNIX plays an important role. How many hospitals are using it already?
Subject(s)
Computer Communication Networks/instrumentation , Hospital Information Systems/instrumentation , Commerce/statistics & numerical data , Computers , Data Collection , Data Display , Software , United States , User-Computer InterfaceABSTRACT
A recent telephone survey of more than 1,200 hospital QA directors found that about two in every five have some form of automation, but that no clear market leader has yet emerged among commercial vendors.
Subject(s)
Health Facility Administrators , Hospital Administrators , Hospital Information Systems/supply & distribution , Quality Assurance, Health Care/organization & administration , Surveys and Questionnaires , United StatesABSTRACT
Systems integrators have overlooked the potential for corrupting the medical-record database through the creation of multiple (split) records for the individual patient. This article introduces a computer software technology that has been used at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center to identify split patient records.
Subject(s)
Hospital Information Systems , Medical Record Linkage , Medical Records , California , Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over , SoftwareABSTRACT
A new market for software systems has emerged as vendors seek to improve clinical information systems and offer methods for measuring healthcare quality. This article discusses the most significant external pressures on hospitals, and emphasizes the importance of a system evaluation, beginning with hospital needs assessment, before evaluating specific vendors.
