Fundamentals of Information Systems 4 Fundamentals of Information Systems

Pretest (True/Fales) RAM information is only in memory while the computer is turned on. Because optical disks cannot be written over accidentally they are considered a reliable medium for permanent record archives.

Pretest (True/Fales) (continued) A computer screen would only be considered an output device. Application software runs without any involvement from the operating system. A character is the smallest unit of text data.

Computers Overview Electronic device used for entering, storing, processing, displaying, outputting information Systems consist of hardware and software Bits represent values 0 and 1 Bytes consist of 8 bits A character is smallest unit of text data A pixel is smallest unit of a digital image

Figure 4-5 LED lights illustrate 8 bits.

Figure 4-6 Maximum value of a byte is 256.

Hardware “Physical” computer components General examples include: Computer, circuit board, computer chips, monitor screen, keyboard, mouse, cables, wires, printers, switches, routers, network cards

Hardware (continued) Specific examples include: Central processing unit (CPU) Random access memory (RAM) chips Hard drives Optical disks (CD or DVD) Read-only memory (ROM) chips Magnetic tape

Figure 4-1 Interior of workstation showing CPU, RAM, ROM, and optical and hard drives.

Software “Intangible” logic, programs, routines that provide instructions to computer for processing information Temporarily loaded in CPU and RAM; requires computer to be on and program open Two broad categories include operating system software and application software

Computer Input and Output Input: putting information into computer Output: information coming out of computer I/O: abbreviation for input/output

Examples of Devices Input devices: Keyboard, mouse, scanners, microphones, cameras, Tablet PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs), x-rays, CAT scans, MRIs, PET, ultrasound, electrocardiogram devices

Examples of Devices (continued) Output devices: Monitors or screens, printers, speakers, COLD software Both input and output devices: Tablet PCs and touch screens

Databases Structure defined by an application that stores data, or input information, systematically for easy retrieval Components include characters, fields, records, files, tables Commonly used in healthcare systems

Types of Data Character: smallest unit of text data; limited to letters, numbers, space, punctuation marks Fields: separate data into defined units that can be recognized later Records: a group of fields about a specific thing Files and tables: store records

Figure 4-8 Excel spreadsheet of patient information.

Data Dictionary Defines field name, maximum length of data it can hold, and type of data it will contain Defines record layout, or order of fields in record

Figure 4-9 Data dictionary tables.

Figure 4-10 Data tables for patients, addresses, encounters and providers.

Networks Allow computers to pass information to one another, share resources like printers, scanners, application software, central disk storage Require special hardware Allow many computers to share information stored in one or more large databases (client/server configuration)

Figure 4-14 Drawing of a network configuration.

Examples of Networks LANs: WANs: Network only serves organization or facility in which networked computers are located WANs: Similar to LANs, but cover larger geographic areas by using secure telecommunication lines

Examples of Networks (continued) Internet: Worldwide public network of networks; can be accessed by any computer anywhere

Communication Systems E-mail: Example of client/server architecture Telecommunications systems: Phone systems, typically managed by IT department Networking application VoIP allows computer network to replace hospital telephone system Discuss A Real-Life Story: A Look Behind the Hospital Network with students.

Figure 4-15 Access points of a wireless network in a medical office.

Standards Health information industry standards define exchange of patient and medical data between applications Standards help ensure data in one database can be understood by another application or database Vendors must support and adhere to standards to facilitate interoperability of diverse systems

Data Elements Databases or paper records should include standard data elements to make it likely application will have data similar to other systems, improving interoperability and providing common elements for system-wide reports A data set is a list of data elements collected for a particular purpose

Data Elements (continued) Examples: patient demographics, insurance information, next of kin A healthcare data set usually represents the minimum list of data elements that must be collected

HL7 Most prominent interoperability standard used in healthcare today Facilities using various types of application software from multiple vendors must use HL7 to maintain interoperability between various applications CCOW subset helps maintain context while switching between applications