Technology and Human Resource Management - Research Paper Example

Technology and HRM: (The parts in parentheses are to be removed. They are just there to make you understand that I fulfilled your instructions) (Introduction- 1 page) The purpose of this research paper is to illustrate the importance of relationship between technology and human resources management (HRM). The trends of HRM specific to the healthcare field are of immense importance. This is because healthcare HRM is a field which is ever-changing and quite unpredictable. It is important to understand how technology has changed the face of HR through the growing influence of health information technology (HIT). HR has faced many problems in the past which have been rectified with the help of HIT. To illustrate how HIT can be used to enhance HRM in the healthcare field, this paper will focus discussion on SEHA organization. Completion of this paper is made successful due to immense contribution made by Mr. Smith Zaid who is the HR manager at SEHA. SEHA Hospital is located in Abu Dhabi. Never before in SEHA hospital’s history has any manager or leader tried to implement the tool of HIT to improve the performance of HRM like Mr. Zaid has. It was the interview conducted with Mr. Zaid which helped to clarify how HIT can be used to solve many challenges encountered by HRM department in the healthcare facilities. He first mentioned several issues which were plaguing the reputation of his organization in the past. Then, he went on to explain how he used innovation technology-based solutions to address each of those issues. Following discussion aims to establish how technology and HRM are inextricably linked to each other in the light of knowledge shared by Mr. Zaid, the HR manager at SEHA hospital. (Literature review + Discussion of Interview- 3.5 pages) Patient care delivery operations form an important part of those services in the healthcare field. Mr. Smith was having a lot of trouble in this particular area prior to depending on technology. As he became interested in new horizons introduced by technology, he came across the idea of HIT. He thought that it would be best to use technology to answer the puzzling questions and improve the quality of patient care delivery operations. Another problem encountered by SEHA was that medical information which used to be delivered to patients often lacked propriety and credibility. The patient records held by HRM often used to be breached which generated the problem of patient trust and privacy. HIT helps to ensure that all medical information is absolutely trustworthy and clear. This requires many imaginative innovations in information-sharing technology, but it also ensures security to patients and takes care of their concerns in an optimally effective manner. Securing patients’ records is a big problem for the healthcare industry and security concerns are a source of big headache for HRM. But, research claims that less financial investments are made by the healthcare industry in the area of IT security than any other industry. It is reported by the Community Health Systems that hackers stole “sensitive information on approximately 4.5 million patients” (Lemos, 2014). This shows that HIT is still not taken as seriously as it should be to deliver trustworthy healthcare. It is due to this reason that the security expert David Kennedy claimed healthcare to be the “most breached industry in 2011” (Brenner, 2011). This is why Mr. Zaid made a decision that he could provide healthcare security through making more investments in the area of HIT than ever before. First challenge encountered by Mr. Zaid in the use of technology to rectify problems was that his staff and other healthcare professionals resisted change. Research also claims that an important challenge comes when healthcare professionals tend to be suspicious of cybersecurity, so they resist it (Munro, 2014). After a detailed study of latest HIT tools, Mr. Zaid used cloud systems to protect patient information and privacy. Research suggests that majority of cloud services employed in healthcare run medium to high security risk. Skyhigh Networks is a popular cloud security vendor and recently, it made a statement that “more than 13% of cloud services used in healthcare are high‒risk” (Munro, 2014). However, Mr. Zaid aimed to bring remarkable and imaginative innovations in cloud-computing systems so that no one could be able to breach them. Open-source software with warranty was used at SEHA to assess how HR professionals can increase security. Research has also proved that “open source software has proved itself quite resilient to security breaches, although not immune” (Bidgoli, 2006, p. 808). Another important area which Mr. Zaid looked into to improve HR performance was to make all patient records electronic. It is claimed that the use of electronic data interchange is encouraged in healthcare (Heller & Veach, 2008, p. 54). Research also has it that medical information systems should be electronic universally because they are potentially capable of drastically improving healthcare quality. Patient and hospital costs can be reduced annually by more than $81 billion through use of electronic information record systems (Hillestad et al., 2005, p. 1106). Healthcare quality can be transformed by HR professionals through the use of electronic record systems and potential savings can also result. Mr. Zaid explored what kinds of actions were further needed to take HIT security forward and to inculcate it in all medical systems. He found out that this sort of activity is directly linked to patient welfare which makes the use of technology a patient-centered approach. Information security and privacy is a major concern in the healthcare industry (Appari & Johnson, 2008). Medical information should be delivered directly to patients in a very efficient and seamless manner without any delays. But, medical information systems are often confronted with the challenge of hacking. So, Mr. Zaid tried to use technology to shield these medical information systems from hackers for patient safety and privacy. A notable computer science professor at Johns Hopkins University has recently told in an interview that hackers these days have shifted to hack important medical information. This is why it is critically important for HRM to insulate information systems (Rubin, cited in Ranum, 2014). In the project conducted by Mr. Zaid at SEHA, he focused on eliminating the concept of breaches which is about sharing patient information without their consent on health websites. Though such kind of information disclosure is named “the second highest reported breach” (Hasan & Yurcik, 2006), Mr. Zaid concentrated on insulating all patient record systems. Research has it that information security failures cause financial losses to both patients and care providers (Ball et al., 2003, p. 78). To meet this end of safe data disclosure, innovative IT tools were developed with the help of research fund in Mr. Zaid’s project. For example, HR professionals provided a web-based disease management service to all patients. This service is secured by maintaining a tight security check on it. It is only disclosed to patients and their healthcare providers. This system helped to promote a smooth flow of communication and ensured an easy exchange of clinical information. (Interview questions- 1 page) How long the company has been operational? SEHA was established not very long ago in Abu Dhabi in 2007 as part of the government’s healthcare sector reform initiatives. It has been operational since then. SEHA is an independent organization. It is meant to monitor and develop healthcare activities of many other hospitals in Abu Dhabi as well. What exactly does it do? Which sector does it belong to? SEHA is an independent company which belongs to the healthcare sector. Its main job is to enhance patient care delivery system in Abu Dhabi. The mission is to provide the best kind of healthcare facilities to local people. World class healthcare is provided at par with th international level. How big is the HR department of the company? Because SEHA is a big company and many other private hospitals are also linked with it, the HR department of this company is quite large. Thousands of administrators are employed in the HR department. This is why SEHA has gained reputation as one of the largest employers in the whole Middle East. What problems are commonly experienced? Improper medical records, breaches, and patient privacy problems were the major problems experienced. Many of these have been resolved now due to use of latest technology. The use of technological tools is linked to health system improvement and patient welfare. Costs are also reduced which saved SEHA from economic contractions. Has the problem completely diminished or does it still exist? The problems encountered at SEHA have diminished now to a great extent as discussed above. Patient welfare is enhanced by the use of open-source software because privacy is ensured to them. Electronic systems are implemented now everywhere which cannot be breached due to abundance of security measures. SEHA allocates more funds than any other company to adequate safety measures now. (Conclusion- half a page) Concluding, the above discussion shows that there is definitely a link between technology and HRM. HIT is also a form of technology which hugely influences many HR practices. It helps to increase patients’ satisfaction level because it decreases the rate of threats and social stigma which is otherwise encountered by innocent patients in case of security breaches. More investments should be made in the area of HIT security by HRM department in every organization like Mr. Zaid has done in case of his company SEHA. HRM is a highly dynamic field especially in context of healthcare. But, this factor can take the whole organization to the negative side without using technology. This is because HIT holds answers to many challenges encountered by HR professionals like breaches of records and delay of services. References: Ball, E., Chadwick, D.W., & Mundy, D. (2003). Patient Privacy in Electronic Prescription Transfer. IEEE Security & Privacy, 77-80. Bidgoli, H. (2006). Handbook of Information Security, Information Warfare, Social, Legal, and International Issues and Security Foundations. John Wiley & Sons. Brenner, B. (Nov 14, 2011). Healthcare ‘most breached industry in 2011.’ Retrieved from http://www.csoonline.com/article/2134941/data-protection/healthcare--most-breached-industry-in-2011-.html Hasan, R. & Yurcik, W. (Oct 30, 2006). A Statistical Analysis of Disclosed Storage Security Breaches. Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1179561 Heller, M. & Veach, L. (2008). Clinical Medical Assisting: A Professional, Field Smart Approach to the Workplace. Cengage Learning. Hillestad, R., Bigelow, J., Bower, A., Girosi, F., Meili, R., Scoville, R., & Taylor, R. (2005). Can Electronic Medical Record Systems Transform Health Care? Potential Health Benefits, Savings, and Costs. Health Affairs, 24(5), 1103-1117. Lemos, R. (Aug 24, 2014). CHS Breach a Sign of Health Care’s Security Illness. Retrieved from http://www.eweek.com/security/chs-breach-a-sign-of-health-cares-security-illness.html Munro, D. (2014). Over 90% Of Cloud Services Used In Healthcare Pose Medium To High Security Risk. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2014/09/01/over-90-of-cloud-services-used-in-healthcare-pose-medium-to-high-security-risk/ Ranum, M.J. (June, 2014). Avi Rubin on what it takes to move healthcare IT security forward. Retrieved from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/opinion/Avi-Rubin-on-what-it-takes-to-move-healthcare-IT-security-forward Read More