Clinical and Administrative Health IT Systems

This unit examines the clinical specialty systems, point-of-care devices, administrative applications, and underlying IT infrastructure used in health care settings. Students study how systems such as EHR modules, radiology/PACS, laboratory and pharmacy systems, practice management and billing tools, and network/server architectures interoperate and support clinical workflows, remote access, and administrative functions.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze clinical specialty systems (e.g., maternal/infant, radiology/PACS, laboratory, emergency department, cardiology, pharmacy) to identify workflow integration points, data exchange needs, and clinical decision support requirements.
• Evaluate point-of-care and remote access technologies, hosted vs. local deployment models, and authentication methods (including single sign-on) to recommend solutions that meet clinician needs for usability, interoperability, and scalability.
• Apply knowledge of administrative systems (practice management, accounting, payroll, encounter forms, prescription labels, patient eligibility) and third-party database integrations (drug and toxicology databases, payer portals) to design coordinated administrative–clinical workflows.
• Demonstrate the ability to select and justify infrastructure components (servers, email/phone systems, productivity applications) and resources (continuing education, regional extension centers) that support system availability, security, and ongoing clinician adoption.