Informatics is the design, creation, and use of IT technologies in the healthcare industry. It is used for managerial and strategic planning in all phases of data collection. The data gathered can be for an individual, a corporation, or an entire population. Informatics also applies to biomedical information and can be used for storing data on viruses, diseases, and molecular structures. In either case, it is optimally used to assist in health information technologies. This data is generally stored in the cloud. Managed service providers, like TOSS C3, have the experience to protect, store, and backup data at these extreme levels.

Clinical Informatics

Clinical informatics is used at the clinic level of the healthcare industry. In today’s world this can be applied to eHealth or telehealth within the clinic. The main purpose is to create a solid patient-clinic relationship through the cloud, or through other communication venues. This can apply to:

• Video conferencing – Connecting the patient to the clinic via video. This is useful for follow-ups, prescription refills, and all other types of treatment that would not require the patient to be physically present. This helps to reduce patient commutes and increases the number of patients a clinic can see in a day.
• Population outcomes – Informatics can help record information about specific illnesses across a small or large population. This form of data retrieval is useful when determining if a specific element in the environment is causing health issues to the population.
• Establishing needs for patients and clinics alike. By tracking key points through a patient-clinic experience, new strategies can evolve.

There are many uses for informatics at all levels of the healthcare industry. the above shows a few examples of the wide variety of issues that pertain to clinics. Find out more about informatics and its uses – subscribe to the TOSS C3 blog.

The Big Picture

Informatics has evolved to include computational reasoning, translational, and pathology informatics. Anywhere in the healthcare industry where data can be collected, it is. Larger projects like the Human Genome Project, direct-to-consumer (DTC) DNA testing, and translational bioinformatics are all parts of the informatics group. Some of the more practical applications include:

• Identifying chronic diseases
• Identifying populations that may be at risk from environmental health issues
• Identifying trends in populations
• Tracking individuals with hypertension to help maintain a healthy lifestyle
• Maintaining internal management and quality assurance standards within your clinic

One of the barriers is the lack of communication between institutions. Data collected in New York may not count as a valid resource in Los Angeles simply because the data is probably collected by two different entities and they may not be willing to share their data. This means that each institution collecting information has to perform their own quality control tests in every area they wish to apply their data to.

Informatics in healthcare is a huge source of collected data, collected data that must be stored and protected. The data being stolen is not a real issue, but the data being altered is a huge problem. If the data collected becomes tampered with then, depending on the project, the data may have to be re-examined and re-collected. Find out what TOSS C3 can do for you: Get a free assessment