Abstract
Institutions in the world today are in the midst of revolution in which the key increment is the control of data and management of information. Information sharing and management has become of paramount importance to many institutions. Knowledge management has also been embraced in training institutions, hospitals, and pharmaceutical department of health care institutions. This means that health care wants to move towards embracing management information system technology for purposes of information sharing keeping proper records and maximizing the goals of health centers. This era of cooperate sustainability, Hospitals and health care centers in both developing and developed world are finding it necessary to embrace the idea of management information system.
This means today’s health care institutions have decided to embrace information technology systems to cope with their highly specialist and structured institutions. In hospitals and other health care organizations, management information system is used in social and financial activities of institutions. A small health care requires a simple information technology system unlike a complex organization, which requires a more complex system for the purposes of analysis and supporting decision making to help in organizational decision solving. To develop this management system has become one of the greatest challenges to all institutions because most systems are not flexible and sufficient space to handle complex medical duties. Therefore hospital managers and other healthy care organizations have resorted to a simple method that assist in solving known problems before entering into medical problem solving. In this case, for a health care organization to be efficient they require an information system that is able to give information to different set of people that is from medical to finance its success. In most countries, especially the developed world health care institutions have adopted management information system in replacement of human capital, which has become very expensive. In cases like the US and Canada, human capital is expensive as compared to Asian countries.
Another problem that is being experienced by medical organizations while trying to adopt management information system is the problem of hierarchy in the hospitals. There tend to be management hierarchy in hospital management and this has contributed to difficulty in adopting management information system. Take for example, the staff members in a national hospital with different duties and demands with regard to collecting data and reporting, it will be very difficult for them to use similar systems. The aim of this dissertation is to study and recommend the use of management information system in organizations that are involved in business of health care. It shall also discuss how managers will enhance the potential of health care organizations in business offering effective, efficient and quality services to their customers using information management system. It shall also look further into process oriented health care organizations with much attention given to the use of integrated information system at the hospital level and medical training institutions. The system study out in this dissertation shall be able to recommend ways in which the hospital will improve in information collecting, storing, dispatching and sharing.
In this case, the data collected and supplied to health care management should be considered in terms of medical outcomes, cost satisfaction. It should also be able to give clear-cut information about the systems of an organization.
Executive Summary
This study was aimed at discovering the key areas that management information system is being used in hospitals and other healthcare institutions. In the study, it found out that hospitals are key institutions to provide relief against sickness, disease and other medical related societal abnorms. Information management systems have become an integral part of management of health care organizations in the development world. This has been attributed to the continual need for efficient and improved operations of organizations. Institutions with less efficient operations tend to loose their clients. This means that the effectiveness of health organizations i.e. hospitals, health care, training institutions depends on its goals and objectives, strategic location soundness of its operation and more importantly the efficiency of its management information system. The management or administration of the institution was found out to be efficient depending on the information and data they were receiving from other departments. The institutions was found out to be ineffective if the information channeled to the management was insufficient for patient care management and patient satisfaction was inadequate.
Hospitals have realized the importance of information technology in improving their financial and quality of care. It has been found out that financial and implementation challenges are the key stumbling block to adopting information technology. Despite this, hospitals are continuing to use information technology for purposes of record keeping. To understand the extent at which health care information technology is used among hospitals in the world and understand the barriers to its continuous adoption, many associations have surveyed hospitals to realize the use of information system. The result that was found is that hospitals are currently using information technology in almost all departments. The department of administration being heavily computerized. Researchers found out that the use of management information systems is being hindered by the types of information technology systems required, financing of the acquisition of the information technology systems, barriers to their use, and the nature of medical information thus confidentiality and the need for the sharing of clinical information.
Research carried out in the United State of America found out that 68% of the hospitals had adopted information management system and were in urban, teaching or large hospitals. They also found out that 37% of community hospitals were using Information Technology. They discovered that the information technology was being used as medication order just as test results, clinical alerts and issue of medicine. They found out that most of hospitals especially the larger ones are having positive view of the use of information technology.
Despite all this, the use of information technology is far from fully implementation in hospitals and it remains a nightmare to developed world health care institutions.
Introduction
This dissertation describes the perceptions & opinions on how information technology is affecting hospitals and other health care institutions. It also looks at factors affecting their tribes and examination.
The potential of empty information technology to growth the lives of patients and increase efficiency have to become integral part of information technology. Many hospitals are being challenged to improve their efficiency and this has been seen as one way of improving efficiency. The journey to adopting information technology in hospitals is very challenging. This is because of financial technical policy barriers and implementation course.
To understand this challenging task facing hospitals health care executives needs to have expertise about information technology systems importance. However, failure to understand this systems, hospitals will always be coupled with medical errors, inconsistence quality services, inefficient delivery of service raising cost due to legal suits, high job turnover due to medical staff satisfaction and other related cost. The system that is information management system will add value to solving the above problems.
Information technology is said to have potential to improve the quality, efficiency, safety and effective of health care. Inclusion of information technology in health care is particularly not taken up in most hospitals but there is survey that shows that most institutions are moving towards its adoption. This is seen by the fact that most institutions most private and government are striving towards their inclusion. There is a great potential in both private sector and public because of the effort they are making towards adoption of information technology.
By providing new methods, hospitals will be able to serve their clients (patients) effectively. A patient will be able to book an appointment with a specific Doctor through internet. This is when all hospitals have embraced the idea of information technology; the administration departments of hospitals will be involved in the key of sharing out information technology with other departments, therefore the presence of management system will integrate all departments. This will mean that the managements of hospitals should take steps towards full implementation of information technology.
Low adoption of management information technology in hospitals and other health care related organizations is related to the complexity of the system and changing of work processes, culture and ensuring that physicians and nurses are comfortable with it. This is to avoid the problem of management of change. Policy makers’ institutions have also contributed failures in adopting information technology.
Background of the study
Management information system provides hope of great improvements in imparting knowledge in healthcare training institutions and administration of hospitals. The idea, of using information technology as a tool for comprehensive reform and increase corporate governance in health care institutions has become very complex to medical practitioners, administrators and policy makers in our country. Hospitals who have implemented Management information system agree that its use in health care facilities is facing many challenges. Management information system is described as timely as hospitals were recording high number of patients and retrieving patients, records had been a nightmare where manual records were in use. The unfortunate thing is that administrators have not accepted the system fully. Some of the administrators concur with some practitioners who describe Management information system as bad and unfit to use in hospitals. These kind of teachers have made the implementation difficult. One Practitioner argued that Management information system is good but unfortunately, healthcare organizations are not adapting it fully.
A report on the research carried out by American Hospital association, on use of Management information system. The track record of use of this system, and given the undisputed importance of getting hospitals to a good service , one might suppose that America’s leading hospitals would be seen hard at work implementing Management information system, striving to train their staff more about it, and helping new or small healthcare organizations to get started using it. Many of American medical practitioners and healthcare organizations have embraced Management information system while others including leading practitioners ignore Management information system altogether, and smear it by misrepresentation and ridicule when they speak of it at all.
The research further went a head to find out the use of information technology “Among other technologies, the survey asked hospitals about their use of electronic health records, defined as systems that integrate electronically originated and maintained patient-level clinical health information, derived from multiple sources, into one point of access. An electronic health records replaces the paper medical record as the primary source of patient information. Sixty-nine percent of hospitals reported having either fully or partially implemented an electronic health records. Larger hospitals, those in urban areas, and teaching hospitals were more likely to be among the 11 percent with fully implemented electronic health records. Hospitals size bears a systematic relationship to progress on electronic health records implementation; as bed size increases, so does use of electronic health records. While 23 percent of responding hospitals with 500 or more beds have a fully implemented electronic health records — and 92 percent have a fully or partially implemented electronic health records — only 3 percent of hospitals with fewer than 50 beds have fully implemented electronic health records. Among the smallest hospitals, 55 percent have no electronic health records. Given that larger organizations are more likely to have electronic health records, and a larger share of all hospitalizations occur in large hospitals, more than 11 percent of patients with a hospitals stay in 2006 likely had an electronic health records as their primary medical record. For example, in 2005, 23 percent of hospitals admissions occurred in hospitals with 500 or more beds, compared to 4 percent in hospitals with fewer than 50 beds. Electronic health records implementation also varies by hospitals location. Urban hospitals are three times more likely to have a fully implemented electronic health records than their rural counterparts (16 percent versus 5 percent) are. Among rural hospitals, 43 percent have no electronic health records. The advantage held by urban hospitals remains, but is lessened, when partial implementation is also considered (77 percent versus 58 percent)”. This underlying statement from a research institute shows that although the system is working and some good elements in the health care organizations are putting hostility towards its implementation especially the rural people.
The implementation has been bumpy and rough since some Practitioners view developers of Management information system as people who come in when there is a problem, with an aim of ridiculing their profession. There is also a notion that there is no need of Management information system as it is mechanical and cannot work where human body is in danger. The notion creates an attitude that makes its implementation difficult.
Problem Statement
There was need to study the value of information technology in hospitals. Therefore, the dissertation writer undertook upon itself to study the underlying value in the use of the information technology in hospitals especially in the administration. Most hospitals have been coupled with tremendous problems related to medical like raising cost of maintaining the hospital, medical errors, inefficient services, inconsistence quality, high job turnover and declining job satisfaction among the staff. The management of health care organizations has tried to solve this problem without access however; those who have adopted information technology systems have started realizing the benefits. In the US a developed use of information System has become one of the greatest challenges.
Business and health care executives have to realize organizational goals regardless of the challenges. Therefore, the need to seek for management information system to address the complexity and inefficiency of hospital operations especially record keeping and data storage. Many hospitals or health care organizations have large members up to 8.5 million this means they also have large spending, this can be a tedious job without an electronic record. Medical institutions like strategies with members worldwide will not be able to operate without information management system. This has deserted to managers of healthcare organizations to make decisions about the acquisition of information technology systems, which are best in some facts.
The purpose of the study
The main aim of this study is to find out the impact of information technology in the management of a hospital. The study aims at building and maintaining research documentation for a future use by other researchers, hospital managers and other interested parties in the subject. The objective will also look at short term and long-term objectives of information management system. The study will also look at online computerization in various hospitals how to improve accuracy and timeless of patient care, how to keep poor accounting and administration record, how to keep patient records and the best way of producing management report.
For this research, the dissertation must be built on the previous researchers. This will enable hospitals to be able to answer a few questions relating to this study.
The scope of the study
To understand computerization in a hospital, a comprehensive analysis is carried out to ascertain the various needs of computerization in hospitals. The administration department, which is involved in in-patients care areas, should be given priority. The areas covered relating to administration includes:
- Admission of patient’s, fees charged, date of discharge or transfer and amount of debt owing to the organization. Admission discharge, transfers will entail inpatient cases and their discharge. It will also include registration of casualty patients, birth rate and death record, a website for enquiry from the outside world and daily availability of bed facilities.
- Pathology test discerns information for each patient if any carried out. This will entail worksheet printout about the clinical tests for patients that will be used in billing.
- Any external communication.
- Inventory maintenance of all hospital equipments, special test information test at medical training institutions.
Objectives of the Study
Considering these matters in view, my dissertation paper broadly aims to provide a synopsis of the key developments, to reflect on emerging trends, and to address some frequently asked questions about this literature. I attempt to keep the technical aspects of Information System in check, and focus instead on the key implications of this literature for management information architecture in hospital setting. To facilitate achieving the broad objectives as cited above, this study aims to attain following specific operational objectives-
- Clarifying the role of information system for hospital and other health care management in smoothing out variations in operation performances.
- Sharing information and knowledge within the organization.
- Identify how information system for management of hospitals that can be treated as a safeguard against the disadvantages associated with the manual system
- To convey how information system for hospital management facilitates advantageous, quality and efficient service delivery to the patients.
- Ensuring data integrity, and a more efficient method of stock control via the creation of a stock inventory database that will provide for data entry, storage, referencing and production of stock level reports for monitoring.
- Integrating access control to offer security of data.
- To provide a full range of reports that will satisfy informational requirements.
- To find out proper system that will be used by hospitals in keeping a smooth flow of information. Smooth use of human and material resources and utilization of medical and nursing care efficiently.
The focus is on the Management Information System (MIS), which has been used extensively by both empirical and theoretical researchers. The aim is to explain the driving forces for using information system for health care organization management. The dissertation has discussed the major developments with respect to patient requirements, medicine Stock level, shortage or surplus of stock and networked hospital knowledge management system. Reviews some decision systems for information management, and compares traditional hospital management to information system for hospital data. Summarizes the results of the study, and provides an outlook on further research.
Research Question
While carrying out this research, some research questions that are empirical to this study have to be reviewed. This includes:
- How does management information system for hospital administration help in smoothening out variations in operations?
- What information architecture is necessary for management of a hospital?
- Can we avoid the ills of the hospital management like; inefficiency, poor medical report, poor quality services, poor records, high staff turnover and staff dissatisfaction of their jobs?
- How information system for hospital administration can be used in safeguarding against loss of patients?
- How management information systems facilitate quality service delivery?
- What is the value of information system in the hospital management?
- What areas of hospital management require information technology equipment?
- What is the attitude of health care and hospital management executive on investment in information technology system?
- What are the cause associated with installation and implementation of information management system?
- Which department require specialized information technology system?
- What is the value of information technology system to health care organizations?
- What information technology framework that encompasses value of creating, storing, dispatching and processing of information?
- What information technology value in terms of financial, clinical and organizational benefits that result from the implementation of information technology?
- Can computerized decision support systems improve hospital productivity, clinical outcomes and revenue collections?
- Can management information system be able to handle the risk associated with the hospital management?
- Is there a way that the management information system devices help in mediating risk, improve outcomes and enhance healthcare organizations systems?
- What is the performance of hospitals with the management information system as compared to this other?
The success of management information system with the administration of health care organization will depend solely on the attitude of the executives and regular staff members. Emphasis will be made on management information system/patient satisfaction, relationship that is an important factor in the running of health care institutions. The employees experience and train on information technology will be among the issues discussed with emphasis on the training regarding management information system. Healthy care organization will be accessed depending on their size, location, and ownership.
Research hypothesis
This research has many hypotheses among them
- On average, the size of a hospital will determine the acquisition of management information system and the sample will be a true representative of all hospitals.
- The implementation of management information system in small and rural hospitals will depend on the perceptions of the executives, which will be positive or negative. This will also depend on the experience and exposure of the executive.
- On average, the executive’s actual experience will be powerful predictor of attitude towards information technology system.
- All hospital executives make information Technology management decisions without interference from outside world.
- On average, all patients will tend to visit hospitals with better equipments.
- It is assumed that patients and Doctors have full knowledge of the system.
Hospitals are key institutions in providing relief against sickness and diseases and the equipments stored in the hospital will determine efficient and effective discharge of quality services. Significant progress made by management executives in adopting information technology are important in prevention and deterring concurrency of things like disappearance of medicine, poor record storage, poor service delivery and many other factors.
Hypothesis assumes that hospitals are expensive to build, operate and manage and all of them have similar perceptions. Administration of the hospital department is assumed to be run by the professionals who their main aim is to reduce cost incurred. If effective computer system is assumed to utilize resources effectively in delivery of quality services.
Limitation of the study
- Few hospital executives will be willing to be interviewed by the researcher for the purpose of this study.
- The researcher will use his own resources in doing this research since the aim of the research is for the purposes of partial completion of a course.
- Time, constrain will be experienced as the researcher will not have time to go out since he has ongoing classes and the subject requires extensive research.
- Most of business executives come from different cultural backgrounds with different motives in managing health care organizations; therefore, they will view the researcher as an investigator leading to fear of being investigated.
- The proponent and opponent of the use of information technology in health care organizations will interfere with the researchers, as they will want each to carry the day.
There are many types of hospitals and health care organizations from public hospitals large and small, private hospitals large and small, other medical providers like strategies and these research will assume both public and private health institutions offer the same services at the same charges.
Delimitation of the Study
- The researcher is a student and he will be carrying out the research with the trust that people will cooperate.
- The researcher will be able to access to information technology departments since he is starting information technology it is easier to convince the colleagues (birds of the same feathers).
- The researcher has all the time in the world to carry out his research since the period given by the attached professor is adequate.
Definition of terms
- Data is the raw information that is put into the system for processing.
- Electronic Health Record was originally envisioned as an electronic file cabinet for patient data from various sources (eventually integrating text, voice, images, handwritten notes, etc.). Now they are generally viewed as part of an automated order-entry and patient-tracking system providing real-time access to patient data, as well as a continuous longitudinal record of their care.
- Computerized provider order entry: in its basic forms is typically a medication ordering and fulfillment system. More advanced computerized provider order entry will also include lab orders, radiology studies procedures, discharges, transfers and referrals.
- Clinical decision support system provides physicians and nurses with real-time diagnosis and treatment recommendations. The term covers a variety of technologies ranging from simple alerts and prescriptions drug interactions warnings o fulfill clinical pathways and protocols. Clinical decision support system may be used as part of computerized provider order entry.
- Bar coding in a health care environment is similar to bar code scanning in other electronically capture information encoded on a product, initially, it will be used for medication but other applications may be pursued such as medical devices, and radiology.
- Radio frequency identification tracks patients throughout the hospitals, and link lab and medication tracking through a wireless communication system. It is neither nature nor widely available, but may be an alternative to bar coding.
- Automated dispensing machines distribute medication doses.
- Electronic materials machines (EMM). Health care organizations use EMM to track and manage inventory of medical supplies, pharmaceuticals and other materials. This technology is similar to enterprise resource planning systems used outside a health care.
- Interoperability. This concept refers to electronic communication among organization so that the data in one information technology system can be incorporated in another it involves messaging with adequate security and private safe guard.
Overview Summary
The dissertation will have five chapters written and each chapter will contain the following:
- Abstract. The final report will begin with an abstract that will summarize the topic, the findings and the importance.
- Executive summary. This will summarize all the chapters and the conclusion reached.
- Chapter I. The chapter will have introduction, which will explain issues surrounding the topic and the importance of the study. Then there will be background information that will cover topic and the area of study, it will also provide with an overview of the study, purpose of the study, research question, research hypothesis, limitation and delimitation, Significant of the study and definition of the terms used.
- Chapters 2. This chapter covers literature relating to the topic under study and in my case, this will cover an introduction, information technology in health care, electronic health records, computerized physician order-entry and quality information.
- Chapters 3. In this chapter the researcher will explain the methodology used that is The Research Approach, The Research Design, The Target Population, Sample Size, Sampling Procedure, Instruments for data and continuous prose collection and data analysis technique
- Chapters 4. This chapter contains presentation data, analysis of data and discussion
- Chapters 5. This will be the last chapter. It will contain summary of the findings recommendations and conclusion
Relevant Literature Review
In general, information technology care providers to collect, retrieve, and transfer information electronically. However, more specific discussions of information technology in health care is challenging due to the lack of precise definitions, the volume of applications, and a rapid pace of change in technology. Similar terms can be used to define different products, and the exact functions of a system will depend on the specifics of its implementation in a given setting. Both the terms and the functions also change over time. For example, computerized provider order entry which can minimize handwriting or other communications errors by having physicians or other providers enter orders into a computer system, can apply only to prescriptions drugs, or may also include additional physicians orders. For electronic health records, also known as electronic medical records, automated medical records, and computer-based patient records, among other names, multiple definitions exist, depending on the constellation of functions that are included (Brailler and Tarasawa 2003) they can be used as a passive tool to store patient information or can include multiple decision support functions, such as individualized patient reminders and prescribing alerts.
When purchasing information technology, providers must consider multiple functions and literally hundreds of applications offered by numerous vendors. In general, the various information technology applications fall into three categories:
- Administrative and financial systems that facilitate billing, accounting, and other administrative tasks.
- Clinical systems that facilitate or provide input into the care process: and
- Infrastructure that supports both the administrative and clinical applications.
The following technologies and terms are often included in discussions of information technology in health care.
Collection of literature and other sources
The researcher has used various literature resources collected from various resources like library, internet, journals, newspapers, some of the work has been adopted. The University library is a key resource that researcher used. The researcher also visited national hospital for the purposes of familiarising himself with the use of information technology in the hospital. Some of the literature used relates to specific hospitals.
The use of information technology for revolutionary purposes
Implementing Information Technology in hospitals has been found to have great changes in the work in hospitals. These helps in storing processing retrieving and dispatching the information for use by Doctors other physicians, nurses and other office staff members. The implementation of management information system is not easy and is successive because of the expense involved. This management information system also requires large-scale cost for acquisition of the equipments and training of the staff members, which is an implemental course. This involves the creation of Information Technology department with full pledged staff members, which means implemental cost with the hospital. For example, the individuals of the information department will assist in connecting other departments with equipments. The hospitals may also prioritize the implementation of management system if actually it is existency will improve service delivery and achievement of the goals. To capture the diversity and nature of Information Technology system it has been found that clinical Information Technology systems are in use in large numbers.
The use of management information system in hospitals has been found majorly applicable into various departments with various data inquisition. The areas where information technology is being used include, medical reports like current medical records, historical medical records, patient flow sheets, patient demography, order entry of laboratory tests, review of laboratory tests, billing, giving of medicine, results review, patient support through home monitoring.
Linkages of healthy care organizations through information technology
Health care organizations that provide services like payment of bills have been linked among themselves with information technology with equipment and systems. These forces hospitals to have information technology systems for easier communication. The providers of health care services such as financing healthy programs have interlinked among themselves for purposes of providing efficient and good services to their customers. Health care organization infrastructure that provide the networks and standards for allowing the sharing of information to stop fraudsters.
“A few systems allow communication among providers today, although some cities are sharing information across emergency departments. Two communities have moved to have a more comprehensive ability to share information. In Indianapolis, an intranet connecting some hospitals to facilitate sharing of clinical information is under development. In California, Santa Barbara Country has a central system collecting radiology, pharmacy, and lab reports that can be accessed by providers, payers, and laboratories (Broder 2004). Some see a health care information infrastructure as a key building block to encourage investment by providers and increase its value. The goal is interoperability- the ability for information to flow among settings of care. The information infrastructure would consist of standards and networks that allow electronic communication among providers. For example, the electronic record created during a hospital stay is accessible to the primary care physician, or even becomes part of the electronic record maintained by the primary care physician interoperability IT and decrease the risk of investing in a system that might quickly become absolute. The health care information infrastructure has been a major focus of the Department of Health and Human Services and a number of private initiatives, such as the health initiative and projects at the Market Foundations. A study released in 2004 suggests that standardized health care information exchange could reduce national health care spending by automating how providers share data (CITL 2004). Currently, telephone, fax and mail are most often used for communication among health care providers. Patients themselves also serve as a conduit of information among providers. Electronic communication could reduce repeat tests and expenses for administrative tasks. However, the low diffusion and risk of investment in information technology suggest that interoperability is many years off. If providers do not have information technology systems in place, an information infrastructure will have limited use. However, having an infrastructure in place may provide an incentive for further adoption.”
Management information system architecture
To be able to deliver quality and efficient services to patients, the management must have process oriented healthcare system that inputs data and delivers timely and clear information. Therefore, this architecture can be grouped into three groups (1) The medical and nursing care (2) patient flows (3) the use of human and material resources. All these three units are connected by the administration department, which helps in the sharing of the information. To be able to satisfy these three units, data must be collected accurately, daily on work routines and inputs to systems controlled by the management where it is converted into information. The information converted becomes useful to health care managers within the organization. This data is then shared out among departments. Data collection should be made at various places where the health care activities take place, and this data collection is entered into the central management controlled information system. For instance, the register of pharmaceuticals will be used by various departments of the administration and the people who make decisions relating to acquisition storage of medicine. Other data collected from other areas like patient record is also controlled from the head office. In this case, application interviews and other applications are used to interact to managers. The application therefore must support health care managers, use of information and supply of information from the central place to appropriate departments. The following is a simple diagram for information management architecture of the organization.
Strategic and Operational Impact
The use of information management system has many strategies. Users have instant access to demographic and insurance information, inpatient orders, medication charting, nursing documentation, personal and family medical history, lab, radiology and pathology report, physician notes, test results and outpatient visit records. Each is available with a click of a mouse from the hospitals database. The benefits that accrue from management information system are:
- Availability of Clinical information: The value of patient information availability – which can determine an individual’s safety, ongoing health and very survival — cannot be overstated. A physician summed up his experience after management information system was implemented this way: “everyone has the perception that people caring for patients know more than what they used to know. It is a completely different world in terms of quality care. Records are accessible electronically to clinicians at all times. Improved record access dramatically improves efficiency in several areas. Before management information system, average turnaround time for laboratory and radiology reports was three days.
- With management information system, test results are available within seconds of being verified. In addition, redundant orders — often triggered by delays in receiving test results will be eliminated. Other tangible operating benefits are shown through the following: – (i) Physician’s search time for medical charts reduced. (ii) Physicians save time in review of resident orders (iii) No patients are seen without a medical record (iv) Reallocation of time away from manual documentation tasks (v) Continuous, substantial improvements in physician satisfaction based on internal user satisfaction surveys
- Improved User Satisfaction: User satisfaction at UIMC has improved many times over. Nearly 90% of doctors believe communication and accessibility have improved since the conversion from solely paper-based processes, according to internal surveys. Both formal user satisfaction surveys and informal testimonials, such as those solicited for this study, point to Gemini’s impact.
Information Technology and hospital culture
Organization culture is on of the best method that is used when implementing any hardware or system in an organization. Organization culture can be defined as a set of ideas and rules that is, which are shared in the organization and they may also be systems of concepts and rules that govern human conduct within an organization. Keesin (1981), argues that culture is human knowledge and is not what is meant. While Reeves and Baden (2000) argues that culture is a distinctive pattern of ideas, beliefs, norms which characterize the way of life and relations of a society or a group within a society. This shows that culture will affect the implementation of Information Technology in any health care organization. Culture will determine whether there is resistance in the implementations of the project of management information system in a health care organization.
Management Information system infrastructure and organization culture
Implementing the information system in an organization requires a careful and well-managed process that is likely to change the organization culture within the organization. This will be due to the change of ways health care organization operates. Human capital in the organisation will also have to change their ways‘even if a perfectly relevant, well-organized and technologically sound routine management information system is readily available, it could not be easy to introduce it to the organization. The main issue will be that information system are managed and used by people who have some believes, attitudes, cultures, practices and other social culture that governs them. Therefore you need to convince them to change it and it will take time (Lippeveld, 2001)’.
A health care organisation culture refers to shared beliefs, values and perceptions of organisation members about a systems practices and procedures,( Schneider, 1975). Organisation culture governs the conduct of people and how the organisation operates, for example, in terms of language of communication, work efficiency meaning of authority, hierarchy and managerial power, strategic change, creation and utilization of knowledge. Organizational culture has been found to play a significant role in information technology management processes such a technology-driven change(Cabrera et al.,2001), groupware development and development(Kng,1996), and management of new systems development(Newman and Sabherwal, 1996).
Organizations adapt to their external environments by developing responsive structures and systems, adopting relevant technologies, and harvesting appropriate skills and qualities. Though constrained by its environments, an organisation makes a number of choices, which collectively define its culture over time. These choices are influenced by the philosophy of the organization and ultimately the choices will also define the success or failure of information systems development and implementation in a particular organization (Balthazard and cooke, 2004).
An organisation culture can be viewed as an information infrastructure, with key characteristics described as shared –a foundation underlying and supporting other activities in a community, evolving- its use areas growing, i.e. more components are added and more users are adapting to and changing the organization culture, open-without borders regarding the number of actors that may be included; standardized- having a minimum set of functionalities that allows different solutions to work at different levels, heterogeneous- including components of different kinds, i.e. technological and non-technological; and having an installed base- each new version of a component replacing an existing one has to fit with the infrastructure as it is at that moment( Hanseth and Monteiro, 1997). For a health care organisation to continue innovating its activities there is a need to consider the already existing organisation culture during the innovation process.
Research Methodology
The main objective of this dissertation is to identify how the chosen research methodology will match the main objective of the dissertation question and how it will be achieved. Essentially, there are two types of research methodology; they are qualitative and quantitative research. While the quantitative research is carried out through obtaining primary data such as questionnaire, qualitative research is a research that is conducted through interviews, laboratory tests and observations. Therefore, the method enables a researcher to explore the details of individual perceptions over phenomena.
Research Approach
The research approach that develops the methodology explained below is based on descriptive research theory and inductive reasoning. This is important to develop the foundation by which the research will be designed, conducted and consequently analyzed.
Firstly, it is important to establish the research approach in order to create a significant qualitative methodology. The research approach undertakes a specific design that is “the overall strategy chosen to obtain the information required answering the research question” (Ghauri and Gronhaug 2002). The research approach will review the types of research design and data collection methods. The research approach is built on logical relations and not just beliefs.
Descriptive research is used when the research question is understood (Ghauri and Gronhaug 2002). In the research approach, the data measurements are dependent on the obtainment of required information and the quality of the information. The outcome of the research, therefore, is dependent on the measurement procedures used in the collection of the data, and this in turn is dependent on the types of data collection (Ghauri and Gronhaug 2002).
This is an important concept of qualitative research, where the description is either inductive or deductive. Inductive research begins with a question and seeks to describe it, and deductive research begins with the problem by working backwards to the answers. Therefore, this research uses the inductive approach to build the theory from the data gathered to explore possible conclusions towards Information Systems in health care organizations.
The study was performed in an environment where there were 30 clinics with one thousand two hundred workers. The clinics have adopted total quality management and plan do check circle, which is the current concept in the management.
Research Design
The hospitals should be able to develop an information system for their management and administration department that enables the sharing of information. For this purpose, this dissertation will discuss various parts of the subject.
Research Methods
A qualitative research method has been adopted where data has been collected. Qualitative research involves a number of disciplines, which consist of interpretive practices. This research strategy uses data collection and analysis and does not have theories (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). Various methods were used in this case study. Among them case studies data collection, data collection networks, which includes feedback groups, focus group observation, diary method, interviewing and archive data.
Case setting
This study has been carried out in a hospital in the United States. This is because this hospital is one of the largest in the world and expected information from the hospital can easily be found in the internet. This hospital boasts to have the best facilities in the world. John Hopkins hospital was as a result of John Hopkins who died and left a large will for the construction of the hospital.
The purpose of the hospital is to enable patients access medical facilities at a less costly figure. The scope of the process varies invalidly.
John Hopkins hospital is one of the largest hospital with an ultra modern equipments and high-powered management information systems. The hospital information system is complex and has different types of information systems that are used in the hospital’s facilities. Towards the beginning of the 21st century, the hospital needs to coordinate the hospital facilities with other facilities, which are associated with it. These facilities include one of the largest universities in th U.S, John Hopkins University, different health care organizations and various projects sponsored by the university and the hospital.
Data collection
The collection of data was conducted through the search of documents, archives, internet interviews, website browsing, checking web diaries, discussing with peer groups, relying on feedback loops and focus groups.
- Search of documents. Dissertation has used document search as one way of collecting information. This has been done through the website, library services, journals, and other archive related information. Without forgetting, the importance played by annual reports of health care organizations, government healthcare organizations bills, and the internet Wikendia.
- Interview –this technique did not have great value in this dissertation although the researcher attempted to interview a few friends relating to this dissertation.
- Diaries- This method uses connections among individuals and organizations. Diary for time management is checked. This is similar to where when somebody enters to work place signs a diary and when he lives he signs a diary. Diary contains the time one enters in the hospital or work place, the activity carried out and where it was carried out, the names of the people he worked with and the comments about the work. In this dissertation, these are not widely used since it based on literature from different sources.
- Observation: – This involves gathering of data through impressions of a person. This method is actually natural and the outcome will depend on the perception of the observer. The researcher observes and interacts with health care organizations while he is carrying out the observation. This may also involve interviewing. This dissertation does not involve this method. However, it is the best if actual field that was taken.
- Feedback loops:-Feedback loops allow the preparation reports after evaluating data collection for purpose of feedback. A number of reports can be prepared. In the dissertation case, seminars, workshops are ideal for this kind of feedback. This will enable the medical health care giver to have an opportunity to discuss and criticize the question of the dissertation.
Analysis
The dissertation does not have any specific means or theory that governs how materials collected should be analyzed. Therefore, the dissertation has taken steps of analyzing health care into hospitals, clinics, finances of health facility and other related caregivers. The executives of health care organizations, messages have been interpreted into various functions such as expected benefits and risks of management information system, the functions of the system, administration and the omission statement and objectives of the health care giver. The dissertation has also analyzed the work into main activities using work procedures. The dissertation has identified various categories to be compared while carrying out the analysis.
Modeling
For one to carry out final analysis, theories of modeling of management information system have been used. “Various possible approaches include data modeling (Connolly, Begg & Strachan, 1996), function modeling and object oriented modeling (Booch, Rumbaugh & Jacobson, 1999).
Results and Analysis
Data was collected based on qualitative technique of research strategy, the researcher used case study for collecting data from various organizations.
Representation of information
Results are presented into three categories. At first the results looks at the requirements of healthcare organizations for management information system. The other category entails interpretation of organizational and work processes in relation to the management information system. The category focuses on the designing of a management information system model for process oriented healthcare.
The requirements of healthcare organization for management information system
Most Hospital management expressed its intention to use management information system to empower patients while maintaining control of resource utilization. Thus, management information system was expected to the services provided by various units of the hospitals. The biggest risk noted was that of a mismatch between the system and the existing organizational culture, in which it was easy to identify and reward employees who handled management information systems in process-oriented healthcare organizations emergencies. As result, some of the staff appeared to resist new transmitting information throughout the various levels of the organization.
The goals of the functional units focused on patients and the introduction of leadership based on co-determination, while management accepted patient’s empowerment and cost effectiveness as their main objectives, they thought it was important that employees be allowed to make their own organizational decisions. Management wanted to see a new approach to measure the activities of their organizational unit. In order to achieve these goals, they sought a way to define the data that is essential to making a reliable estimate.
In managing the healthcare process, the objectives of a management information system centered developing and maintaining specific clinical competence by enhancing support for decision-making and cooperation on the part of care providers. While all the process managers agreed that sharing information and knowledge was important to improving the decision making process, they were unaware of resource competition issues. However, the withholding of information was not always intentional. Due to limited resources and full schedules, process managers were often unable to share their knowledge with other employees.
Interpretation of organizational and work processes in relation to management
Information system Work activities included (1) Co-ordination of information exchange management, (2) Care including documentation of the care provided and the practice that had evolved at the clinic, (3) Supply, including patient assistance and Psychosocial support. The work procedures of the various activities were often related to and dependent on each other.
Co-ordination activities were oriented towards management of the wards and the clinic. The activities focused on co-ordination various types of information in order to support the care effort. External co-ordination is related to the exchange of information between the pediatrics clinic and other care units. This co-ordination continued after the patients had been discharged from the clinic. Thus, the coordination of external resources and inter-organisational collaborated was important to the management of the clinic. Patient co-ordination started before the patient was admitted to institutional care. There were two management information systems in process healthcare Organizations. Reasons for such approaches. First, the amount of time that patients stayed at the wards proved expensive for the healthcare organization. Thus, such approaches saved money. Second, these approaches enhanced the relationship between care providers and caretakers, assuming that patients and their families were kept well informed. Internal co-ordination was related to management and planning activities at the clinic and the wards. Such activities were linked to external and patient co-ordination, given that providers needed to cooperate with other units and patients in order to manage ward care.
Care activities were underpinned by what had been agreed upon during the Co-ordination of work activities and the information that was to be used by various co-ordination procedures. Care provision involved medical and nursing care performed by physicians, nurses and pediatric nurses. Care activities were broken down among the various professions. But care was regarded as teamwork from the point of view of the patients. Thus, the work tasks of the various professionals cumulatively became what are referred to as the outcome of care provision. Practice development took in both medical and nursing care issues. The knowledge and information cultivated was incorporated into the ordinary work routines of the pediatric clinic.
Care documentation activities were linked to care work and development efforts. Documentation provides protection for both care providers and patients. Care documentation served as a means of communication among care providers. Supply activities were indirectly related to care activities. Among employees who performed supply activities were nurse, pediatric nurses, kitchen staff, cleaning staff, play therapists and teachers. Material provision furnished care activities pharmaceuticals, equipments and materials. Based on the resources that material provision furnished to care activities on a daily bases, estimates were prepared concerning the resources the activities would require over time. Bandages, diapers, syringes, etc were also a part of material provision. Material provision also included equipment and supplies for play and school activities, such as games, videotapes and textbooks, as well as kitchen and cleaning supplies. Psychosocial support activities called for an information system that could offer emotional support, such as administrative tasks with permitting patients to have their own personal phones. Thus, psychosocial support depended on the ability of patient co-ordination efforts to proceed smoothly, assuming that both patients and their families could be kept well.
Management information systems in process oriented healthcare organization informed. The main purpose of patient assistance, which included both material provision and psychosocial activities, was to assist care activities. Such activities were related to supporting the physical and mental well-being of patients while undergoing medical and nursing care.
A management information system model for process-oriented healthcare
The county council formally required that hospital management monitor and report on service production with regard to quality and cost. As a result, hospital management needed data about resources utilization and healthcare quality from the hospital organization along with information system that could support methods such as Total Quality management and balanced scorecard. To monitor costs and quality, hospital management needed data from the functional units after determining what needed to be collected.
The focus of process management was developed and maintaining a high level of quality in the medical and nursing care processes. The process unit was responsible for documentation and quality control operations. Process management needed directives from the functional management unit about data collection, templates and quality for medical and nursing care. Process management generated information about medical and nursing quality data for functional unit management. Best practice guidelines and decision support protocols for clinical practitioners were involved in the clinical process. The HIS application required by process management was a service quality control system that could extract data from and support decision making for medical and nursing care. Functional unit management comprised managers at both the clinic and ward levels. Clinic management organized the monitoring of the clinic’s resources, while the ward managers’ co-ordinate the exchange of information at the wards. Functional unit management and templates requested information about resource allocation specifications and templates foe expenditure reports, as well as for patient satisfaction and staff work satisfaction data, from hospital management and staff with regard to the services provided by the unit management was also looking for a way to relate its expenditures to resources utilized. In other words, its primary needs were in the areas of data collection, storage and access tools.
Thus, functional unit management required data from clinical activities, but not at an individual or contextual level. The systems it was seeking were to supply data for use at a composite level, including the volume of financial and human resources that specified care activities necessitated.
The monitor service delivery, management units in process-oriented healthcare organizations need data in three distinct areas.(1) medical and nursing care (2) patient flows and (3) the utilization of human and material resources. Although the management units may have access to a common data warehouse, requirements for data analysis and presentation vary considerably. Similarly, data collected from the health care organization during daily work routines can be shared, but the primary data must be converted into a format that is usable by healthcare managers. the data that is collected should ideally be located where it can be made available to ordinary healthcare activities. For, instance, networked devices can be used to monitor pharmaceutical use. Intelligent devices can also be connected to equipment in order to truck their use, and material storage and use can be traced by bar-code systems.
Model system of management system proposed
The following will carried out:
- Configuration Management: – Configuration management deals with “the development and use of standards and procedures for managing an evolving software system” Sommerville (2004). Requirement changes may take place during the development and operation of the system. Therefore, it is important to originate a consistent plan for the inclusion of such new requirements into the new system versions. There are certain specific items that will be managed for the development of the management information system database, GUI and peer-to-peer network, which are as follows: Risk Plan, Project Budget, Feasibility Report, Requirements Specification Document, Logical Systems Design Specification, Test Plan Implementation Plan, User Documentation and Backup Plan
- Risk Management and Plan: To define Risk Management, Sommerville (2004) said “the process of identifying risks, assessing their severity, planning measures to put in place if the risks arise and monitoring the software and the software process for risks”. In this sense, risk must be identified, analyzed and dealt with by putting in place counter measures to deal with any potential threat to the project objectives. This fact of risk management is an essential matter for all projects as they can be vulnerable to potential risks. So I have tried to identify all the possible threat and plan contingency to avoid and deal with possible risk factors. A risk plan is needed to be formulated to assist in such management of risks.
The table below is an illustration of the risk plan that was used for the project. As seen, it clearly shows the type, nature, probability and impact of some potential risks together with strategies to deal with all identified threats.
Figure: Risk Plan
3. Implementation Plan: A parallel implementation strategy is to be used with single cutover. According to Adams, Powers and Owles (1985), “both systems are operated concurrently for some period of time.” Parallel implementation will be used, as both current and new systems will be operated concurrently. This will be done to allow all users already trained in the manual system to continue using the current system until the new system has proved itself.
4. Technical Issues: Technical issues would deal with the necessary elements to be considered in order to develop the proposed systems. Furthermore, technical issues are broken down in hardware and software issues.
- Hardware Issues: The following is a list of important hardware to be considered while developing the physical proposed system: HP Dell Dimension desktop computers, HP DeskJet Printers, Crimping tool kit, Category 5 Cable and Pack of RJ45 connectors
- Software Issues: The following is list of important software components that were used in the system: Microsoft Access 2003 and Microsoft Windows XP Professional
5. Requirements Specification: This stage deals with the production of a summary of the proposed system. The purpose of the design and implementation of a MIS inventory database, graphical user interface and peer to peer network, was to improve efficiency and increase productivity while managing healthcare institution.
For this purpose, a graphical user interface will be developed in order to assist employees in supervising the new system, thus creating a user-friendly environment to validate the effectiveness of the system. Moreover, a peer-to-peer network will be developed to permit two users to access the database, share data and print reports and other documents.
6. Design: The design of a new system was segmented into following areas:
- Logical Systems Specification: The logical systems specification will deal with the identification of three (3) hardware and software combinations, comparison of the three and the selection of the most suitable option
- Logical Design: The logical design will deal with providing textual descriptions followed by a high-level functional design and Graphical User Interface Design. Furthermore, such a GUI design will include logical design for screens, forms, and reports.
- Physical Design: The physical design will show the design of screens and reports for specific pages. Furthermore, it would also show how normalization of data for the stock inventory database would be done.
7. Development: This section is concerned with the actual formation (development) of the Stock Inventory Database, Graphical User Interface and Peer-to-Peer network. Additionally, development would rely on the requirements in terms of feasibility, analysis, and design. It is important to note that implementation of the system would focus on the actual setup, installation and configuration of the network.
8. Testing and Implementation: In this stage, we need to test the new system and after that, we will go for implementing it. The implementation plan consist the following tasks:
- Site preparation: Check power outlets availability and Layout office furniture
- Installation of Hardware: Crimping of cables, Running of cables, Placement of computers and printer and Connecting crossover cables to PCs
- Installation of Software: Ensure that Microsoft Access was installed and Copy the Stock Inventory Database to the computer
- Testing of Hardware: Test network compatibility using database, Test network connections and Printer Connection
- Training: Role and Purpose of new system, Rules and Regulations of system, Questions and Answers, System Demonstration, User/System interaction, User comments and evaluation, Distribution of User Guide and Conclusion of Training Sessions
- Cut over- Covert to new system: Data entry – old data copied to system and Removal of parallel system
Discussion
The aim of this thesis was to develop a management information system model for process-oriented healthcare organizations. The research effort employed qualitative methods such as archival data analysis, interviews, observations, diary analysis and focus group analysis. Constant feedback loops among the participants in an idiographic cases study helped establish a balanced interpretation. Meanwhile categorizing and modeling formed the pattern interpretation for the management information system model.
The main findings of the study are that an HIS in a process-oriented organization must support the medical work, integrate clinical and administrative tools and furnish information that allows for the measurements of organizational inputs and outcomes. As a result, it is important to identify the multiple roles that information plays in a process-oriented healthcare currently takes advantage of, such as re-engineering and quality management include process has seldom been analyzed. Several recent organizational methods, such as balanced scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1996) address the problem of relating costs to resources.
The area in which information systems are expected to enhance care delivery range from access to medical knowledge bases, patient and clinician communication, and the minimization of medical errors. Nevertheless, littler attention has been paid to know integrated administrative, financial and clinical systems should be configured in order to support process-oriented healthcare organizations I an optimal manner. Internal co-ordination is informed and dependent on documentation of care activities, particularly by monitoring the way in which human resources are harnessed to take care of patients.
Furthermore, such co-ordination relies on information about the utilization of material resources, i.e. durable equipment and disposable. Thus, internal co-ordination must obtain information from care activities in order to synchronize the work of the clinic, as well as the track costs associated with care and supply activities. The various processes monitor costs and allocate resources, relating them to the kind of care activities that have been provided.
The third sub-analysis discovered that the various management levels in process-oriented healthcare organizations need the same type of primary data, though in differing formats. An HIS for healthcare management in a process-oriented healthcare setting can adhere to its structure and practice activities. Moreover, CPRs and other tools can be used to directly collect management data where and when the activities take place. However, the data is useful only if healthcare management has the opportunity to examine it with its own analysis tools. For instance, while computerized ordering systems are regarded as important, the fit between organizational and informational systems models is not identified as a success factor.
Clearly, there is a need for systems that optimize clinical workflow, as well as those that support the maintenance of equipment and supplies. However, systems provide, optimal organizational value only if they support an integrated organizational model and business plan.
Model of a Management Information System (MIS) for process-oriented:
- health care organizations;
- displayed by data collection, the data ware
- house applications interface and applications.( adapted)
Management information system architecture
To control service delivery, the management units in the process-oriented health care organizations need data from three areas: (1) the medical and nursing care of patients,(2) patient flows and (3) the use of human and material resources. Even though the management units can share access to a common data ware house, the requirements on data analysis and presentation are considerably different.
Correspondingly. Data collected in daily work routines from the health care organization can be shared, but primary data must be converted into information that is useful for health care managers.
Data collection should preferably be located in places where data are available in ordinary health care activities (figure 2). For instance, networked devices can also be connected to equipment to keep track of their use, and materials storage and use (i.e., diapers, sheets, e.t.c.) can be traced, for instance, with bar-code systems. Further more, patients and health care staff can be registered by using smart cards when they arrive and leave the health care setting. However, for data collection from the clinical setting, the computerized patient record (CPR) is the natural central resource. Data that are documented in the records can be used to monitor the clinical actions that have been performed. The CPR can also provide data about work activities that have accrued at the health care organizations. Such data from a single patient is of little interest. Instead it is useful to analyze generalized data, for example, the number of radiology investigations that have been conducted on Leukemia patients. The purpose of the data warehouse is to maintain the data that have been collected from the different data sources. The application interface and the applications are those parts of the MIS that health care managers interact with and are those parts that users think of as the MIS. The applications therefore must support health care managers’ use of information and must supply the right information from the databases to the appropriate health care managers. Also, the applications must be able to support the specific analysis methods, tools and data formats required by the actual organization analysis procedures, such as the Balance Score card or quality assurance methods.( Adapted from Anderson A. Hallberg N. Eriksson H., Timpka T.: 2004)
Recommendations
Identifying the multiple roles played by information in a process-oriented healthcare setting requires additional research about the process of designing an HIS in the complex environment that healthcare organizations represent, various practitioners are required to pinpoint data sources and information requirements, as well as to advocate for the process of change in the organizational and information structure. Healthcare managers have differing preferences when it comes to information requirements. Organizational processes and work activities. Thus, the development process relies on tools that can incorporate those divergent needs into system thinking. As a result, primary data is refined into information differently at the various levels of a process-oriented healthcare organization
Most research is required concerning information system models and their notation. Though various (systems, analysts, designers, programmers and healthcare managers) can employ models and modeling activities during a development process, their objectives differ. Healthcare managers need to visualize their work environment and organizational process, system analysts are interested in developing information systems in collaboration with designers, and programmers are looking for coding specifications. They may share a vision in terms of designing a healthcare information systems, but their perspectives vary, thus, the modeling efforts should be based on at least two dimensions (1) furnishing models with notations and objectives-oriented towards specific groups; (2) ensuring that the models visualize the same system but address varying interpretations.
Arguments based on the cognitive and practice perspective have identified prototyping as a fruitful approach to the development process (Houde & Hill, 1997). Prototyping is often used when the design calls for a high degree of involvement on the part of practitioners and end –users.(Bodker & Crombak 1991) modeling on the other hand, is linked to an organizational perspective and is frequently employed by system methods. Thus, there is an opportunity to combine these two perspectives during the development process. Modeling is useful as part of s design theory with a high degree of practitioner involvement alongside of system analysts, designers and programmers. The process can subsequently be analyzed based on the representations in the models that emerge from the requirements of the various groups. Additional research should examine what the groups need when it comes to the substance of the models, how the models are to be visualized and the ways in which they can interact with the differing requirements of the groups in order to ensure a fruitful development process.
- The database can be upgraded to allow for pop alerts for the reorder list and more features to be added as any drawbacks occur
- Microsoft Access 2003 or later can be used to allow for more restrictions on the database to deal with incorrect entries
- The network can be upgraded via the installation of a hub or a switch to allow for future network expansion.
- The database can be upgraded in order to allow for the inclusion of all transmission parts for stock inventory.
Conclusion
This thesis points out that healthcare managers at different levels in an organizational all need the same primary data. The differences among the various management levels all concern the ways in which they compile the data that they need for their work. One problem when developing management information systems for healthcare organizational has been a lack of interest in integrating administrative, financial and clinical systems. In process-oriented healthcare organizations, integration is essential to obtaining the full benefits of such a structure. Systems thinking must also pervade the development of healthcare management information systems. As a result, the multiple roles played by information in process-oriented healthcare organizations must be identified.
Information technology systems permeate organizations, supporting almost everything–apart from managing information technology items themselves. Although software-configuration-management systems can provide some management assistance, they are not designed to handle the totality of a distributed enterprise or to act as a management information resource. Software sources constitute major organization assets, but they cannot be treated as such until they are inventoried. Software inventorying is one of a set of integrated technologies developed to address problems of managing constantly changing technological and business processes. Those technologies are aspects of an evolving business paradigm called the paradigm of change. Creating an enterprise information technology inventory is a complex task requiring large amounts of information, but such an investment can produce considerable payoff.
The importance and effect of the Information System (IS) in day-to-day operations management, especially in Inventory Management has widen and explored the present dynamic and heterogeneous business environment. However, these are yet to implement, operate and exploit it fully in a formal and professional manner to enable them to derive maximum business gains out of it.
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