Healthcare
industry is growing fast by using IT to automate its many
processes like transaction, inventory keeping and maintaining
records, thus eliminating mundane and repetitive processes.
Healthcare is the management, prevention and the treatment
of illness and the main aim is to provide clean and effective
services that lead to the preservation of mental and physical
well-being of humans and animals.
The
medical diagnosis of an illness can be done in many ways;
from the patient's description, physical examinations and/or
laboratory tests. After the diagnosis is done by the doctor,
treatment is done keeping in mind drug reactions and allergies.
However, there is always a chance of wrong diagnosis which
may lead to drug reactions and allergies in a patient and
may lead to life threatening situations. To address these
points, one of the IT systems that helps the healthcare
professionals in problem solving during medical diagnosis
is the Decision Support System (DSS).
DSS
is also defined as "an interactive, flexible, and adaptable
computer-based information system" and is developed
to provide solution for non-structured management problem.
It utilizes data, provides an easy-to-use interface and
allows for the decision-maker's own insights. In healthcare
domain, DSSs are also commonly known as Clinical Decision
Support System (CDSS). It is defined as a software that
helps in clinical decision-making, in which the "characteristics
of an individual patient are matched to a computerized clinical
knowledge base and patient-specific assessments or recommendations
are then presented to the clinician or the patient for a
decision". The main advantage of this system is that
it helps to improve patient care and efficiency of the healthcare
providers. |
