Health Informatic Essay

The advances in Health informatics have affected the health care world positively. Tests results are available faster, healthcare providers have updated patient information, prescriptions can be ordered online and as a result patient care is delivered successfully. The Clinical Laboratory department is not an exception. Electronic healthcare records and the ability to share the same laboratory result among the physicians that are taking care of a patient are two of many examples on how health informatics have contribute to the functionality of the clinical laboratory.
Hospitals decide what system works better with their IT platform. After the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is installed, the specimens are processed faster. The amount of specimens analyzed has increased without affecting the analysis quality. This fact has reduced the time to determine patient
These results must be compared constantly to evaluate the patient condition and to prescribe medications and provide treatment. Blood chemistry tests: to monitor the patient before, during and after treatment; cancer gene mutation testing: to assess for cancer risk; complete blood count (CBC): used particularly in leukemia, and after treatment; cytogenetic analysis: measure patient’s white blood cells to determine treatment; immunophenotyping: determine disease staging; sputum cytology: to diagnose lung cancer; and tumor marker test: to assess response to treatment and monitoring recurrence.
The advances in health informatics make possible that all the tests for a cancer patient get compiled and a report can be done comparing the results for previous year, months, etc. Sometimes the test results are unclear or inconclusive. The physician can ask the patient to repeat a specific test and do the comparison again. The physician can order, modify or suspend doses for radiation or chemotherapy treatment