HISTORY OF HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HISTORY OF HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS - Essay Example Health informatics is defined as â€Å"a combination of computer science, information science and health science designed to assist in the management and processing of data, information and knowledge to support healthcare and healthcare delivery† (Conrick, 2006, p. 4). Meanwhile, the health information system (HIS) is a subsystem of a health care organization (e.g. hospital, healthcare network) that is responsible in the processing and storing of information (Winter, 2011, p. 1). Healthcare system and health informatics are influenced by several factors. Three of the most influential factors are ongoing cost control pressure, more data on patients and treatments, and new information technologies. The ongoing cost control pressure involves cost containment and is driven primarily by concerns about escalating costs spent on information processing. In 2006, the annual budget healthcare institutions spend on information and communication technology ranges between 2.5% to 3.3%, dep ending on the number of beds (Winter, 2011, p. 5). In comparison with the non-computer-based institution, hospitals with computer-based system have to invest a large portion of their budget for maintenance of the system.