Answer To: HSYP806 Systems Science in Healthcare Assessment Task 2: Case study report Due: 12 noon Thursday 3rd...
Sunabh answered on Oct 02 2021
HSYP806 SYSTEMS SCIENCE IN HEALTHCARE
ASSESSMENT TASK 2: CASE STUDY REPORT
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Description 3
Discussion 5
Systems Underpinning Healthcare and Current Systems Thinking 5
Role of Digital Health and Health Informatics in Systems Thinking 7
Challenges in Adopting Systems Approach to Public Health 8
Recommendations 10
System’s Approaches to Address Population Health Issues 10
Conclusion 10
Bibliography 12
Introduction
Health care is an essential aspect of human life and therefore, sustainability of life depends upon the healthcare and services provided by it. Therefore, healthcare industry requires an appropriate structure and functioning aspect to be decided by the system-based approach. System thinking can be considered as a problem solving approach required to analyse and solve problems persisting with in healthcare. It would be essential to consider all the factors to which a patient may be exposed to by taking into account all the services that healthcare industry may be providing to them.
This case-study analysis focuses upon the issue of lacks or errors that may be persisting in the system thinking in the specific context of the health care industry or an overall approach of services provided to the patient by the health care professionals. Effects of the issue or fault will be analysed with respect to the impact on population and system thinking associated with the same. Further, efforts will be made in order to provide certain recommendations that would allow overcoming the challenges while adopting a new and improved approach towards public health.
Description
Presented case study clearly reflects the two-sides of an information technology (IT) error that took place in the medical industry of England. Breast cancer has been observed as a major cause of death among women in England. Therefore, Breast Cancer Screening Program had been reported to invite more than 2.5 million women every year for women lying between the age group of 50 to 70 years and this screening was meant to be provided every three years up to their 71st birthday (1).
However, in January 2018, Public Health England (PHE) found that the algorithm used for shortlisting the women candidates was being faulty that is instead of being 71, 70 was being used as cut-off point. As a result of this error, 450,000 women aging 70 years were not being invited for their last breast cancer screening before 71st birthday. Further, according to Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state reported that around 135 to 270 women their life shortened due to above-mentioned IT fault and they may be alive if the fault had not occurred.
309000 women out of 450,000 who were not called for screening have been reported to be still alive. In order to catch-up for the fault, women younger than 72 years and are GP registered would be receiving their invitation by the end of May, while women older than 72 years will have to discuss through the provided helpline for the beneficial aspect of mammogram at their age. Scotland due to use of different system along with Wales and Northern Ireland despite of using similar system to England were not affected by this IT issue.
Lynda Thomas, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support long with Professor Martin Gore would be chairing the review within 6 months that may provide any alternate in order to reduce the clinical impact and improvements to be made regarding the presented issue. A rush has been reported upon the helpline provided after the failure was reported to unattended women, as this issue was persistent for almost a decade according to Baroness Delyth Morgan.
There have been dynamic related to the reported IT fault and several benefits and harms for the same have been reported. Some professors and doctors have been reported with the view that there is no significance for screening of women after 70 years of age and therefore the fault was beneficiary as it may also have prevented ‘over-diagnosis’ and associated side-effects. However, other have opposed the view that a number of lives could have been saved while some have countered the view with the fact that there would be 3 cases where cancer would have been ‘over-diagnosed’ for every breast cancer death prevented.
Discussion
Current case study presented a very deep insight of the system-thinking present within healthcare industry through the views of various scholars and participants of this industry based upon the IT issues. Healthcare is a complex as well as combination of an interdisciplinary system and therefore, it would be essential to consider that accidents or mistakes are inevitable (2). However, the intensity of that mistake or number of individuals impacted by that mistake would define the consequences. System thinking somehow affects the problem solving and is directly associated with the improvement of any industry or sector.
Further, this would define the association of individuals involved in a system with each other as well as involved work function. Likewise, public health is a much wider aspect and therefore decision-making for such a complex area cannot relied completely upon one individual, department or organization. Instead, a complete and collaborative approach is required for the proper analysis of issue face by the public. Therefore, after that development of policies or implementation of decision-making also needs to be reviewed.
Systems Underpinning Healthcare and Current Systems Thinking
It would be essential to consider that healthcare services are being provide with a collaborative approach from different departments and organizations. However, it is...