1. Fundamentals of Information Systems4
Fundamentals of Information Systems

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. Figure 4-5 LED lights illustrate 8 bits.

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

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

8. 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

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

10. 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

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

12. 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

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

14. 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

15. 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

16. Figure 4-8 Excel spreadsheet of patient information.

17. 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

18. Figure 4-9 Data dictionary tables.

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

20. 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)

21. Figure 4-14 Drawing of a network configuration.

22. 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

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

24. Communication Systems
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.

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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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