HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND

DECISION MAKING

MDN 304

Book:
Management Information Sys. In Hospital : Anil Kumar Saini

Pabitra Sahoo
INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
• Information technology reflects the combination of three technologies, digital
computing, data storage and ability to transmit digital signal through
telecommunication network.

• An information technology expert works to monitor and manage computer

hardware, software and networks within an organization.

• Rapid change in semiconductors technology, information storage & networking,

combined with advance in software, has enabled new application, cost reduction
and widespread diffusion of IT.
DATA VS. INFORMATION
Data versus Information comparison chart

Data Information
Meaning Data is raw, unorganized facts that need to be processed. When data is processed, organized, structured or
Data can be something simple and seemingly random and presented in a given context so as to make it useful, it is
useless until it is organized. called information.

Example Each student's test score is one piece of data. The average score of a class or of the entire school is
information that can be derived from the given data.

Etymology "Data" comes from a singular Latin word, datum, which "Information" is an older word that dates back to the 1300s
originally meant "something given." Its early usage dates and has Old French and Middle English origins. It has
back to the 1600s. Over time "data" has become the plural of always referred to "the act of informing, " usually in regard
datum. to education, instruction, or other knowledge
communication.
Source of Health Information

• Health brochures in your local hospital, doctor’s office or community health

centre

• Telephone helplines such as NURSE-ON-CALL or Directline

• Your doctor or pharmacist

• Reliable health information websites, such as government sites, condition-

specific sites, support organisation sites, and medical journals.
Computer ???
A Computer is an electronic machine that can solve different problems,
process data, store & retrieve data and perform calculations faster and
efficiently than humans..

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Types of PC
• Workstation
• Desktop Computers
• Laptop
• Netbook
• Tablet PC

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 Various Components of Computer

A computer system can be blocked into mainly three parts:

A. Input Unit
B. Central Processing Unit
C. Output Unit

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 A. Input unit
Input unit is a unit that accepts any input device. The input device is used to input
data into the computer system.

Function of input unit:

• It converts inputted data into binary codes.
• It sends data to main memory of computer.

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 C. Output Unit
Output unit is a unit that constituents a number of output device. An output device is
used to show the result of processing.

Function of Output unit:

• it accepts data or information sends from
main memory of computer.
• It converts binary coded information into
HLL or inputted languages.

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INPUT DEVICES

• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Joystick
• Light-Pen

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Keyboard
• The first keyboard was developed in the 18th century and was named as a QWERTY
keyboard.

• The keyboard is a primary device for inputting text by pressing a set of keys.

• All the keys are neatly mounted in a keyboard connected to the computer system.

• Now-a-days wireless keyboards are also being used which increase user freedom. The
wireless feature is achieved by infrared signals or by radio frequency.

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All the modern keyboards of computer are classified as:
(a) Original PC keyboard having 84 keys;
(b) Advance Technology (AT) Keyboard having 101-104 keys;
(c) Multimedia Keyboard having 120 – 140 keys.

In general, a computer keyboard has following keys:

1. Alphanumeric Keys: It includes letters and numbers.
2. Punctuation Keys: These include comma, period, semicolon etc.
3. Special Keys: These can be function keys, control keys, arrow keys and Caps lock keys etc.

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Mouse
• Its name is derived from its shape, which looks a bit like a mouse, with its connecting wire that one
can imagine to be the mouse’s tail.
• A Mouse is a handy device which can be moved on a smooth surface to cause the movement of a
cursor on the screen.

• It is a pointing device which is used to input data and information into the computer system by
pointing on it.

• For GUI-based systems a mouse is an essential pointing-device. The cursor of the mouse moves in
the same direction in which the mouse ball rolls.
• The cursor moves very fast with a mouse giving you more freedom to work in any direction. It is
easier and faster to move through a mouse compared to movement using keys.
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Types of Mouse

Mouse could be mechanical, optical or cordless types. Further information regarding these types
are as follows:

• Mechanical Mouse : Mechanical Mouse uses ball for the movement of cursor on the computer
screen. When the ball is rolled in any direction, a sensor of the mouse detects it and also moves
the mouse pointer in the same direction.

• Optical Mouse : Optical Mouse uses Laser rays for the movement of cursor on the computer
screen. It is an advanced pointing device. Movement is detected by sensing changes in the
reflected light rather than the motion of a rolling sphere.

• Cord-Less Mouse : Cord-Less Mouse is battery driven and does not need any wire for the
physical connection with the motherboard. It transmits data through infrared or radio signal.

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Joystick
• Joystick is a remote control device for a computer which is used for
playing video games to indicate the position.

• It has a stick that pivots on a base and is used for controlling the action in
video games.

• The User moves a spherical ball with the help of a stick in the joystick as
opposed to the trackball where fingers are used for moving the ball.

• Joysticks are also used for controlling machines such as cranes, trucks,
underwater unmanned vehicles, flight simulators, industrial robots etc.
Light Pens
• A Light pen is a pen like light-sensitive device.

• It is connected by a wire to the computer terminal to detect the CRT

beam when pointed towards the screen and generate a narrow
electrical pulse that can be fed to the computer as an input signal.

• It is used to draw on the screen or to point to the displayed objects. It

operates by detecting the light emitted by the screen phosphors.

• A light pen can work with any CRT monitor but not with LCD monitors.
It is used by architects and engineers for CAD applications and editing.

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SOURCE DATA ENTRY DEVICES

• Digital Camera
• Scanners
• Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)
• Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
• Bar Code Reader
• Magnetic Stripe Reader

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Digital Camera
• A Digital camera is an electronic device which takes video or still photographs or both, digitally
by recording images via an electronic image sensor.

• Digital cameras can do things which film cameras can’t, for example displaying images on
screen immediately after they are recorded.

• Images recorded on a digital camera can be cropped for editing, deleted and various types of
special effects can be created by using Photoshop software.

• Digital cameras look like ordinary cameras but have sufficient memory in the form of chips to
store thousands of images, rather than using photographic films.

• A USB port is generally used for this purpose. A Wireless connection can also be used for
connecting to a computer via Bluetooth.
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Scanners
• A Scanner is an input device and is used to input data into the computer system in the form of
pictures.

• It optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital
image.

• In scanners the document is placed on a glass window for scanning.

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Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)

• OMR is the scanning of paper to detect the presence or absence of a mark

in a predetermined position.

• Now days, it is used as an input device for source data entry purposes.

• Universities and colleges often use OMR for the evaluation of OMR sheets
for competitive exams.

• OMR sheets consist of multiple choice question papers and students are
required to make a mark to indicate their answers.

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Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
• Magnetic Ink Character Recognition is a character recognition system that
uses special ink and characters.

• MICR technology is used by banks for faster processing of large volumes of

cheques. Numbers and characters found on the bottom of checks (usually
containing the check number, sort number, and account number) are printed
using Magnetic Ink.

• To print Magnetic Ink codes, we need a laser printer that accepts MICR toner.

• MICR provides a secure, high-speed method of scanning and processing

information. This technology is used for processing large volume of data.

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Bar Code Reader
• A barcode reader is an electronic device which is used to read printed
barcodes.

• Barcodes represent alphanumeric data which is a combination of vertical

lines (bars) that vary in width and length.

• It is a fast and effective way to input data. A Barcode reader uses a laser
beam to read the series of thick and thin lines which represent the bar code
number. The bar code is 13 digits long and it has four main divisions.

• The First two digits of a bar code represent the country, the second part
represents the manufacturer’s code (five digits) the third part represents the
product code (five digits) and the last digit is a check digit.
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Magnetic Stripe Reader
• A magnetic reader is a hardware device which is used to read the information
encoded in the magnetic stripe located at the back of a credit/debit card.

• A bank card holds data about the owner of the card, bank account number and
code of the bank branch, where the account is held.

• Magnetic stripe readers are often used at supermarkets and in many different
types of shops.

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OUTPUT DEVICES

• Cathode Ray Tube Monitors (CRT)

• Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD)
• Light Emitting Diodes Monitors (LED)
• Projection Displays
• Printers

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 B. Central Processing Unit
• Central Processing Unit (CPU) is considered as one of the most important component of a
computer system. It is also known as the brain of a computer.

• The main function of a CPU is to execute a series of instructions called as program in a specific
sequence.

• Normally there are four steps that all CPU use in order to perform their operation these are: fetch,
decode, execute and output.

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Central Processing Unit (CPU)

CPU can be sub classified into three parts.

i .Control unit (CU)

ii. Arithmetic & Logic unit (ALU)
iii. Memory Unit (MU)

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i. Control unit (CU)-
• The control unit manages the various components of the computer.

• It reads instructions from memory and interpretation and changes in a series of signals to activate other parts of the computer.

• It controls and co-ordinate is input output memory and all other units.

• The control unit determines the sequence in which computer programs and instructions are executed.

• Things like processing of programs stored in the main memory, interpretation of the instructions and issuing of signals for other units
of the computer to execute them.

• It also acts as a switch board operator when several users access the computer simultaneously.

• Thereby it coordinates the activities of computer's peripheral equipment as they perform the input and output.

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 ii. Arithmetic & Logic unit (ALU)
• The Arithmetic Logical Unit is an important component of the CPU, which carry the actual execution of the
instructions.

• After entering the data through the input device it stored in the primary storage unit. Then processing of the data
and instruction are performed by Arithmetic Logical Unit.

• The major operations performed by the ALU are addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, logic and comparison.

• The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performs simple arithmetic operation such as +,-, *, / and logical operation
such as >, <, =<, <= etc.

• Data is transferred to ALU from storage unit when required. After processing, the output is returned to the storage
unit for further processing or getting stored.
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 iii. Memory Unit (MU)
• Memory is used to store data and instructions before and after processing.

• The Memory unit is an important component of a computer where all the data and information are stored in the
form of binary digits (combination of 0‟s and 1‟s) and retrieved whenever necessary.

• Computer systems use a variety of devices for storing instructions and data. The computer memory is the place
where the computer holds data and programs that are in use.

• Computer memory refers to the physical devices in a computer.

• Memory is also called Primary memory or internal memory. It is used to store data temporary or permanently.

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 Memory is internal storage media of computer that
has several names such as majorly categorized into
two types, Main memory and Secondary memory.

1.Primary Memory / Volatile Memory.

2. Secondary Memory / Non Volatile Memory.

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1. Primary Memory / Volatile Memory:
Primary Memory also called as volatile memory because the memory can’t store the data
permanently. Primary memory select any part of memory when user want to save the data
in memory but that may not be store permanently on that location. It also has another name
i.e. RAM.

Random Access Memory (RAM):

The primary storage is referred to as random access memory (RAM) due to the random
selection of memory locations. It performs both read and write operations on memory. If
power failures happened in systems during memory access then you will lose your data
permanently. So, RAM is volatile memory. RAM categorized into following types.

• DRAM Dynamic Random Access Memory

• SRAM Static random-access memory
• DRDRAM Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
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2. Secondary Memory / Non Volatile Memory:
Secondary memory is external and permanent memory that is useful to store the external storage
media such as floppy disk, magnetic disks, magnetic tapes and etc cache devices. Secondary
memory deals with following types of components.

Read Only Memory (ROM) :

ROM is permanent memory location that offers huge types of standards to save data. But it work with read only
operation. No data lose happen whenever power failure occurs during the ROM memory work in computers.

ROM memory has several models such names are following.

1. PROM: Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) maintains large storage media but can’t offer the erase features in ROM.
2. EPROM : Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory designed for recover the problems of PROM and ROM.
3. EEPROM: Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory similar to the EPROM but it uses electrical beam for erase the data of ROM.
Cache Memory: A memory less than the access time of CPU so, the performance will decrease through less access time. Main memory can store huge
amount of data but the cache memory normally kept small and low expensive cost. All types of external media like Magnetic disks, Magnetic drives and
etc store in cache memory to provide quick access tools to the users.
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Computers' Role in the Medical World
• Diagnostic Tests
• Doctor and Patient Research
• Patient Monitoring
• Communication
• Storing Information
• Surgical Procedure

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Computer Software

• Computer hardware is useless without software.

• Software is the set of instructions and associated data that direct the
computer to do a task.

• Software can be divided into two categories:

System software and
Application software.
• System software helps the computer to carry out its basic operating tasks.
• Application software helps the user carry out a variety of tasks.
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System Software
• Manages the fundamental operations of the computer, such as
- loading programs and data into memory, executing programs, saving data to
disks, displaying information on the monitor, and transmitting data through a port to a
peripheral device.

• System software: operating systems, utilities, device drivers.

Application software

• Developed for a specific task, such as word processing (MS Word/ WordPerfect),
accounting (Lotus 1-2-3/ Excel), or database management (Access/ dBASE).
• We also use graphics and presentation software.
• Most applications are purchased on diskette or CD-ROM.
• They are installed by copying the programs from the diskettes/CD-ROM to the hard
disk.
The different types of application software
Word processing software MS Word, WordPad and Notepad
Database software Oracle, MS Access etc
Spreadsheet software Apple Numbers, Microsoft Excel
Multimedia software Real Player, Media Player
Presentation Software Microsoft Power Point, Keynotes
Enterprise Software Customer relationship management system

Information Worker Software Documentation tools, resource management tools

Dictionaries: Encarta, Britannica Mathematical: MATLAB, Others: Google Earth, NASA

Educational Software
World Wind

Simulation Software Flight and scientific simulators

Content Access Software Accessing content through media players, web browsers
Application Suites OpenOffice, Microsoft Office
Software for Engineering and Product Development IDE or Integrated Development Environments

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S.No. System Software Application Software

1. System software is used for operating computer Application software is used by user to perform specific task.
hardware.

2. System softwares are installed on the computer when Application softwares are installed according to user’s
operating system is installed. requirements.

3. In general, the user does not interact with system In general, the user interacts with application sofwares.
software because it works in the background.

4. System software can run independently. It provides Application software can’t run independently. They can’t run
platform for running application softwares. without the presence of system software.

5. Some examples of system softwares are compiler, Some examples of application softwares are word processor,
assembler, debugger, driver, etc. web browser, media player, etc.
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