Healthcare Informatics Application Essay

Healthcare Informatics Application Essay
Healthcare Informatics Application Essay

Healthcare institutions and systems are not immune to natural disasters. Despite the mechanical strategies put in place by an organization to protect the information, technological equipment, and systems from data theft, natural disasters may also impact the systems. The fact that we cannot control nature makes it even hard to plan for what may happen to the systems and when. However, it is essential to have put in place a risk management plan that can also be used when something happens to the technological systems due to nature. This discussion explains what my organization would do if a natural disaster affected electrical lines and internet servers, how we could care for patients if we cannot access Electronic Medical records for a week or more, and the recommendations for future improvement.

ORDER A CUSTOM PAPER NOW

If a natural disaster destroyed electrical lines and internet servers, my organization has invested in an uninterruptible power supply from a large-capacity generator that would be used to restore the most critical systems as soon as possible. However, our energy for backup can only go for up to about 48 hours, after which we hope that the electrical lines will have been repaired. Most information systems, such as electronic medical records, heavily depend on internet servers to function; thus, the disruption of internet servers in a disaster would heavily affect them (Sittig et al., 2020). However, the critical information in the system has also been stored in another data center location, which can be accessed easily if the information on the institution is affected. My organization also backs-up data often, so the amount of data lost if servers are affected is minimal. More so, when the servers are back, the first thing that my organization would do is retrieve affected data and restore system information from backup cloud storage.
In the occurrence of a disaster, taking care of our patients is the priority. However, natural disasters affecting electrical lines and servers would negatively affect patient care services. One of the areas that would be most affected is the accessibility of electronic medical records. If my organization cannot access electronic medical records for a week or more, there is no doubt that patient care services will slow down. However, we also have physical storage where essential medical records can be accessed. Haghi et al. (2022) note that retrieving medical records from the physical storage would slow down care services but not stop them completely, thus ensuring patient care services are ongoing despite the inability to access electronic medical records.
The organization’s disaster recovery response plan would help the institution continue offering care services for a while after a natural disaster. However, there is room for future improvement. The first recommendation is investing in a better large-capacity generator that would supply power for more than 48 hours. A solar panel system can also be introduced to improve backup power. The other recommendation is developing a robust cloud storage plan to ensure that essential healthcare data is retrievable, mainly when disasters cause server problems. Sakurai and Chughtai (2020) note that an organization should emphasize using physical and electronic records to ensure that a disaster does not heavily affect patient care services.
Nature is uncontrollable, and natural disasters are unpredictable. Natural disasters may considerably affect the running of a healthcare institution, especially when electronic power and servers are affected. Every organization should include strategies to address electrical power and server issues in the disaster recovery plan.

References
Haghi, M., Benis, A., & Deserno, T. M. (2022). Accident & Emergency Informatics and One Digital Health. Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 31(1), 40–46. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1742506
Sakurai, M., & Chughtai, H. (2020). Resilience against crises: COVID-19 and lessons from natural disasters. European Journal of Information Systems, 29(5), 585-594. https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2020.1814171
Sittig, D. F., Wright, A., Coiera, E., Magrabi, F., Ratwani, R., Bates, D. W., & Singh, H. (2020). Current challenges in health information technology–related patient safety. Health Informatics Journal, 26(1), 181-189. https://doi.org/10.1177/1460458218814893

ORDER A CUSTOM PAPER NOW

Discussion Question:

One thing in life we cannot control is nature. What would your organization do if there was a natural disaster that destroyed electrical lines and internet servers? How would you take care of your patients if you could not access the EMR for a week or more? What recommendations can you make for improvement?