Have you ever observed a health informatics project in your (other) organization? Please provide a brief introduction.
Yes, I have observed and contributed to a health informatics project. The project is the Newborn screening on a Lowcode platform. My hospital normally operates Newborn screening to identify various disorders in newborns on paper-based methods. As time went on, the hospital found that the paper-based records had many flaws in efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility, so they would like to upgrade to digital records to mitigate these flaws. Furthermore, the hospital would like to integrate various departments work such as paediatrics, IT, and finance into one application. As a result of this request, my department suggests using the Lowcode platform as a solution as it allows developers to implement web applications rapidly.
How can this health informatics project help to improve the current practices?
Using the benefits of the Lowcode platform can make this project improve the current practices as below:
Implementation: The Lowcode platform allows developers to implement web applications simply by drag and drop feature and offer quick deployment as the Lowcode platform is a PaaS cloud service.
Customization: As there are frequent usability testing and requirement changes, the Lowcode platform is easily customized to handle various changes and workflows.
Accuracy: The platform offers data validation and error-checking feature to ensure that the information is accurate, which improve the outcome and work efficiency.
Accessibility: Various healthcare staff from different departments can easily access and monitor various newborn screening tasks on the web application. For example, the paediatrics department can easily create new records, identify the lab results, and send the billing information to the financial department in one go.
Integration: This project is able to integrate with various data sources such as EHR, lab data, and financial systems, which reduces the work in different departments as they can manage and operate on the same application.
Security: Lowcode platforms generally have reliable security measures, which eliminate the risk of unauthorized access and loss of data compared to paper-based records.
Scalability: As the volume of the data increases, a Lowcode platform can be scaled up and managed more easily than a paper-based system.
Cost-effective: While a low-code platform has an initial cost, it can lead to long-term cost savings by reducing the need for on-site servers, paper-related expenses, and improving operational efficiency.
Are there any challenges or difficulties in implementing the project?
Yes, there are various challenges and difficulties in implementing the project such as:
Integration with existing system: Developers need to utilize various APIs to request and send the data, which the connection with the existing system is difficult and requires planning.
Application development: While the Lowcode platform is customizable, various requirements are changed on the course which leads to time-consuming.
Usability testing: There is frequent usability testing as the IT team needs to ensure that the platform is user-friendly and addresses the needs correctly.
Training: Training is required for the user to effectively use the new platform, which can be difficult for those who are not familiar with computers.
Technical support: A Lowcode platform requires regular technical support and maintenance to ensure it functions properly, and the IT team need to routinely update the platform and be ready to support user needs.