Role of Healthcare Information System in Quality Service Provision Essay

Role of Healthcare Information System in Quality Service Provision - Essay Example Quality assurance makes reference to the act of putting in place in all necessary measures to ensure the end product of service successfully achieves its intended purpose. Basically, both the IT and healthcare sectors have set of measures in place to ensure quality standards are observed. Unlike the IT industry though, the presentation and behavior of staff directly represents the quality of service within a healthcare setting. On the contrary, quality assurance in IT is primarily pegged on products usability as well as service provision. Additionally, in healthcare settings, quality is a measure of service while in IT industry it is a measure of product efficiency (Joshi 460). Both however offer products/quality which directly impacts on health and any in appropriate measures could cost human life, or amount to medical malpractice. All players strive to ensure that they not only meet the minimum quality service thresholds or even surpass the same. Both healthcare and IT sectors have an ethical obligation to ensure that quality services/products are availed to patients and clients respectively. However, approach to quality assurance as well as assessable quality dimensions largely differ. While in the health sector quality is defined with regard of care standards and procedures including the technical standard of providers and patients expectation, IT industry defines quality with respect to ability of the product to make healthcare provision much easier and readily available. In essence it focuses on minimizing constraints to healthcare access. It is important to note that these definitions give a shallow but broad illustration of the variations in quality perception between the two sectors. What is however evident is the fact that both sectors view quality assurance as a standard ethical procedure which must be attained at all costs. In general, quality assurance may therefore be said as involving all arrangements and activities which safeguard, maintain and facilitate quality healthcare provisions. It involves measurement of quality, identifying deficiencies, undertaking improvements and evaluating whether such improvements are successful.