Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE B.1
Producers and consumers of data.
are many similarities between the world of commercial information processing and that of healthcare
information processing.
Separate systems
Doctor's offices, clinics, and hospitals constitute the basic units of collection of information and
initial data management in healthcare. Healthcare providers can take many forms. The hospital net-
work may contain many hospitals banded together to process their information in a common fashion.
Or a hospital may be as small as an outpatient clinic. In any case, there are many hospitals, clinics,
and other providers of care in many configurations. And each of those institutions generates its own
information.
Other sources of important healthcare information include ancillary sources such as laboratories,
radiology, and pharmacies.
Figure B.1
represents the hospitals, clinics, ancillary, and other healthcare
providers of the world.
Some of the hospitals in the world operate in a standalone manner. Other hospitals are banded
with other hospitals and healthcare providers for jointly collecting and processing data. Some hospi-
tals are part of a large network. Some hospitals are large. Other hospitals are small. There are many
different configurations of hospitals, clinics, and healthcare providers.
Like hospitals, there are different structures under which ancillary healthcare providers operate.
Some pharmacies operate as a large conglomerate. Other pharmacies are independent. There is a wide
variety of operating structures for ancillary healthcare providers.
It is at the provider level that many acts of basic information gathering occur that relate to health-
care. Procedures are done. Checkups are made. Patients are given medication, and so forth. And as
each of these activities occur, basic information about healthcare is generated.
A common patient identifier
The first challenge in managing information in this environment is that of creating a common patient
identification number for those circumstances where violation of privacy is not an issue. There is a
very basic piece of information that must be addressed when violation of patient identity is not an
issue. That information is: How does an information analyst identify who is receiving healthcare?
