Wager Karen A., Lee Frances W., Glaser John P. Health care information systems: a practical approach for health care management

Third editon. — Jossey-Bass, 2013. — 736 p.This most widely used textbook in the field has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect changes in the health care industry and the renewed focus on health care information technology initiatives. Two new chapters cover Federal efforts to enhance quality of patient care through the use of health care information technology and strategy considerations. Additionally, reflecting the increased focus on global health, the book features an international perspective on health care information technology. Case studies of organizations experiencing management-related information system challenges have been updated and several new cases have been added. These reality-based cases are designed to stimulate discussion among students and enable them to apply concepts in the book to real-life scenarios. The book's companion Web site features lecture slides, a test bank, and other materials to enhance students' understanding.This book provides an incredibly thorough overview of information systems and their importance in the health care industry. It provides an overview of the health care information industry; a history of health care IS in the United States; a review of the fundamental characteristics of information, the uses to which it is put, and the processes it supports; and a highly detailed discussion of the primary clinical and managerial applications of information (including electronic medical records), the value of information and IS to multiple stakeholders, and, most important, the management of information and IS. This approach is particularly helpful when one considers that the vast majority of health system executives underwent their graduate training at a time when information systems were in their infancy and thus when no such text existed.
The second edition of this book also included a dozen minicases documenting the challenges of IT implementation. This is incredibly valuable, since the technology costs are usually outweighed by the process costs of installation and achieving adoption by end users. This new edition is thus a great primer, offering a systematic presentation of a complex, important topic.