Аustrаliа's hеаlth infоrmаtiоn systеm

Australia’s Health Information System
Name:
Institution
Introduction
A health information system can be termed as a combination of more than one resource to support and complement service delivery in the health sector. These resources may include, computer based devices, knowledge of using these devices and their application in medicine and biomedical applications. A health information system is used to increase accountability of resource allocation when it comes to service delivery and its application provides the most efficient way of measuring the health outcome of patients by implementing quality healthcare provision (AbouZahr, 2013). In a deeper analysis, it entails use of the information by the medical sector stakeholders in optimizing data acquisition, storage, editing, and referral of the said individuals.


Figure 1: Components of a Health information System
The Australian health information system also use others fields and professions in supporting the health care system. These fields include the computer science sector, information technology sector and other industry players in trying to ensure that patients have quality, efficient and relevant services offered to them by these institutions (Whittaker & Buttsworth, 2012). Therefore, this report shall take an analytical view of the current status of the Australian healthcare information system, the challenges facing it and the areas of improvement that are aimed at ensuring its main objectives and goals are adhered to.
Current Status of Australian Health information System
Data sharing
Data sharing is critical at this time and age and this should apply to the Australian Health Information System. However, the due to many underlying factors, the practice has not been integrated into the culture of the AHIS (Blobel, 2002). The stakeholders are not conversant with the benefits of sharing such information that include addition of significant value without any extra costs being inquired. The major problem is the independence that exists between public health institutions and private ones. It becomes difficult and tricky to have data sharing in such scenarios since most of the time private hospitals are not obliged to report to the Health ministry (He, 2012). It is even worse for information sharing in public-to-public facilities since this practice does not exist and the blame can be placed on poor and weak regulatory policies that should address such issues.
Privacy in AHIS
The other issue that derails implementation of data sharing is the concern by both citizens and various agencies on privacy (Yang, 2009). Most stakeholders are of the belief that if such information is shared, personal data on persons may be accessed by individuals for mischievous reasons like spying on social security numbers and tax returns of an individual. There have been reports of such confidential reports being at the hand of third parties, which does not play ...