MIS Information concepts for Healtcare IT applications, Dr. Ashish K. Gupta

8/10/2013
1
Information Concepts 1Information Concepts 1
Dr. Ashish K. GuptaDr. Ashish K. Gupta
MBBS, MS-Surgery, PGDHHM, MBA-HCA (FMS) Gold
Medalist, MAHA, PG in Quality Management & AHO,
Consultant Surgeon, Hospital Consultant,
NABH-Assessor, CMD Blue Ocean Consultants
Director Programs AHA
Study Objectives:Study Objectives: (Lecture Duration= 3/4 Hour)
1. Differentiate Data & Information
2. Characteristics of Information
3. Data Transfer
4. Conceptual Model of
Communication
5. Information Presentation
6. Factors affecting the degree of
communication
7. Methods for Improving
Communication
8. Concept of Summarization
9. Message Routing
10. Misuse of Information
11. Methods to Avoid Misuse of
Information
10 August 2013 Dr. Ashish K. Gupta 9811114879 2
12. Attributes of information
13. Redundancy in Information
14. Information quality
15. Four Dimensions of Information
Quality
16. Parameters impacting
information quality:
• Impartiality,
• Validity,
• Reliability,
• Consistency,
• Age
Books/ References
Name of Book Name of Author(s) Publisher(s)
Management Information System-
Managing a Digital Organization
Kenneth C. Laudon
& Jane P. Laudon
PHI
2012
Management Information System-
Text & Cases
A Digital Firm Perspective
Waman S
Jawadekar
Tata McGraw-Hill
Education Pvt. Ltd.
5th Edition
2012
Management Information System James O’Brien Tata McGraw-Hill
Education Pvt. Ltd.
2013
Computers & MIS M.L. Singla Excel Books
2013
 Information & Data
are two commonly
used interchangeable
words in
organizations, in day
to day work
 Are they
synonymous?
 In MIS, information
has a precise
meaning & is different
from data
S. No Information Data
1. Is equivalent to
finished goods
Is like raw materials
2. Has a value in
decision making
Does not have value in
decision making
3. Brings clarity Does not bring clarity
4. Creates intelligent
human response in
the mind
Does not create any
intelligent human response
10 August 2013 5Dr. Ashish K. Gupta 9811114879
Relationship between Data &
Information
DATA InformationProcessing
The relationship is of raw material to finished product

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Characteristics of InformationCharacteristics of Information
Information:
1. Improves
representation of an
entity
2. Updates the level of
knowledge
3. Has a surprise value
4. Reduces uncertainty
5. Aids in decision
making
Uses of Information to an Organization:
 A valuable resource
required by the
management to run a
business organization
 It is processed and is
presented in a form that
assists decision-makers
DATA; DATUM (Singular)DATA; DATUM (Singular)
 Is defined as groups
of raw, non-random
symbols in the form
of text, images or
voice representing
quantities, actions &
objects
 Is currently not being
used in a decision
process
DATA
 Raw data may not be
able to surprise us
 May not be organized
 May not add anything
to our knowledge
DATA & INFORMATION
 These are relative
concepts
 Analogy of raw
material to finished
products illustrates
that information for
one person may be
data for another
 Like finished goods
from one
manufacturer may be
raw material for
another
 This may also change
over a period of time
 Any information today
may be a data after
certain period
InformationInformation
 A data that has been
processed into a form
that is meaningful to
the recipient & is of
real or perceived
value in the current or
the prospective
actions or decisions
of the recipient.
(David & Olson)

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 Any data or information must be transferred
through communication from the ‘source’ to
the ‘destination’ without loss of content
Conceptual Model of CommunicationConceptual Model of Communication
Source Transmitter
Encoder
Channel
Receiver
Decoder
Destination
Noise &
Distortion
 This model of communication is used in MIS
 MIS is equivalent to the transmitter that
provides information & sends through reports
(channels) to various receivers, which is
decoded or interpreted by the receiver at the
destination
 Poor quality of information due to various
factors would create confusion &
misunderstanding. This is equivalent to
‘noise’ & ‘distortion’ in communication model
 Good MIS communicates the information
without noise & distortion to the user
INFORMATIONINFORMATION
PRESENTATIONPRESENTATION
 Presentation of
information is an art
 Data may be collected
in the best possible
manner & processed
analytically, bringing
lot of value in the
information, however
 If it is not presented
properly, it may fail to
communicate anything
of value to the receiver
Factors affecting the degree ofFactors affecting the degree of
CommunicationCommunication
 Methods of transmission
 Manner of information handling
 Limitations & constraints of a receiver as the
information processor & the organization as
the information user

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Methods for ImprovingMethods for Improving
CommunicationCommunication
1. Information
Summarization
2. Message
Routing
Concept of SummarizationConcept of Summarization
 This concept is used to provide the required
information in the form & content most suitable
for the end user
 Principle behind summarization is that too much
information causes noise & distortion i.e.
confusion, misunderstanding & missing the
purpose
 Summarization suppresses the noise &
distortion
 Information may be summarized in a number of
ways
Information SummarizationInformation Summarization
Key for
summarization
Focus of
Information
Examples
Management
position
Responsibility CEO, Directors, GM,
CMD
Management
functions
Performance,
Goals, Targets
MS. HODs,
Production top
Levels in the
organization
Relevance to
the level
Middle operations
DMS, Unit heads,
Operational/
Functional levels
Selective on
condition
Exceptions Audit reports,
Sentinel/ Adverse
event reports
Message RoutingMessage Routing
 Another method of improving degree of communication
 Principle of routing is to distribute information to all
those who are accountable for the subsequent
action or decisions in any manner
 If the information is generated with a certain
purpose for a primary user, then such information
may have secondary purposes to some other
users in the organization
 Copies of reports or documents are sent to all the
concerned users
 Achieve spread of information to appropriate quarters
Misuse of InformationMisuse of Information
 Knowledge is power & someone in the
organization may misuse this power to:
 Achieve personal goals
 Undermine the functional & organizational goals
 Apart from misuse, it has an impact on the
cost of information processing
 Therefore information needs to be distributed
cautiously & optimally
 To curb misuse
of information, a
control is
exercised on:
 the content of
information &
 its distribution

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Methods to Avoid Misuse of InformationMethods to Avoid Misuse of Information
Method Reason Example
Delay delivery of
information
Possibility of immediate
action or decision is
reduced. It will have only
a knowledge value
Performance statistics to
middle/ lower
management levels
Change in the
format & content
of the report
Provide only that
information which may be
needed, hence misuse is
averted
Sales information to
operations management,
sales v/s targets for
middle management,
sales with trend analysis
to top management
Suppression &
filtering of the
information of
confidential &
sensitive nature
To avoid the risk of
exposure & misuse of
information for achieving
the undesirable goals
Drawing & design
information, prize & cost
information
Methods to Avoid Misuse of InformationMethods to Avoid Misuse of Information
contd..contd..
Method Reason Example
Suppress the
details of
references of
data &
information
Make it difficult to collect &
process the data at the user
end to meet the personal
needs of information
Statistical reports
without references
Truncated or
lopsided
presentation
Make it difficult to read
through the information &
avoid its probable misuse
A focus on high value
sales & production &
suppress the details
ATTRIBUTES OFATTRIBUTES OF
INFORMATIONINFORMATION
 Information
must have
certain
attributes to
increase its
utility
Attributes of InformationAttributes of Information
S. Attribute Explanation
1. Accuracy in
representation
Test of accuracy is how closely it represents a
situation or event. Degree of precision decides
the accuracy in representation
2. Form of
presentation
Forms are qualitative or quantitative, numeric or
graphic, printed or displayed, summarized or
detailed. Appropriate form is important
3. Frequency of
reporting
How often the information is needed? How
often it needs to be updated?
4. Scope of
reporting
Coverage of information in terms of entities,
area & range, & interest shown by the recipient
or decision maker
5. The time scale It may be related to the past, the current & the
future & can cover the entire time span
Attributes of Information contd..Attributes of Information contd..
S. Attribute Explanation
6. The scope of
collection
Internal from organization or external to
organization
7. Relevance to
decision
making
Information has a relevance to a situation & also
to a decision making. Irrelevant information is
data
8. Complete for
the decision
consideration
Information that covers all the aspects of the
decision situation by way of the scope,
transactions & the period is complete
9. Timeliness of
reporting
Receipt of information on time or when needed
is highly useful. Information arriving late loses its
utility as it is out dated

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Redundancy in InformationRedundancy in Information
 Redundancy is the repetition of the parts or
messages in order to circumvent the distortions
or transmission errors
 It is, sometimes, considered an essential feature
to ensure that the information is received &
digested
 In MIS redundancy of data & information is
inevitable on a limited scale
 It must be carefully used & has to be ensured
that the reports are not crowded with information
INFORMATION QUALITYINFORMATION QUALITY
 Information is a product of data processing
 What is Quality?
 The user will determine the quality of the
information based on:
 The degree of motivation it provides for action &
 The contribution it provides for effective decision-
making
 Quality of information is high if it creates
managerial impact leading to attention, decision
& action
Four Dimensions of InformationFour Dimensions of Information
QualityQuality
1. Utility
2. Satisfaction
3. Error
4. Bias
1. Utility1. Utility
 Utility dimension has four facets:
 The form: Information is presented in the form
the user requires & its utility increases
 The time: It is available when needed, its
utility is optimized
 The access: If it is quickly accessible through
on-line access system, its utility gets added
boost
 The possession: If it is possessed by the
user who needs it, its utility is the highest
Contd..
1. Utility contd..1. Utility contd..
 Possessive natured managers make access
difficult for other users of information
 Improving quality through increasing a utility
means an increase in the cost
 A balance, therefore, is to be maintained
between the cost & the utility

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2. Satisfaction2. Satisfaction
 Concept of utility of information is subjective to
individual user in terms of form, time & access
 As organization has many users of same
information, the subjectivity would vary
 Hence, one common key for measuring quality is
the satisfaction of the user
 If organization has a high degree of satisfaction,
then one can say that the information systems
are designed properly to meet information
needs of users at all levels
3. Error3. Error
 Errors creep in due to many reasons:
1. An incorrect data measurement
2. An incorrect collection method
3. Failure to follow prescribed data processing
procedure
4. Loss of data or incomplete data
5. Poor application of data validation & control
systems
6. A deliberate falsification
contd..
3. Error contd..3. Error contd..
 Erroneous information is a serious problem as
the user/ decision maker cannot make
adjustments as he is not aware of it in terms of
the location & the quantum of error
 To control it one must follow the method of
systems analysis & design
 Approach is that:
 The errors should be prevented
 Failing that they should be detected
 And if not, they should be controlled
contd..
 Data Processing for information should be
allowed only after a thorough validation of
transactions & contents on a logical plane
 Care is taken that information is processed after
ensuring correctness of the data in terms of the
time & number of documents & transactions in the
period
 Check data against the master data where ever
possible
 Balance should be controlled through logical
processing by using rules, formulae, principles etc.
that will ascertain correctness of the data contd..
 Following would, therefore, help considerably to
control errors arising out of wrong processing:
 Measures of system auditing
 Use of the test data
 Conducting a physical audit of record versus the
reality
4. Bias4. Bias
 Information with
minimum bias,
that has been
checked for &
eliminated
carefully, is a
good quality
information

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PARAMETERS IMPACTINGPARAMETERS IMPACTING
INFORMATION QUALITYINFORMATION QUALITY
 Parameters impacting quality of information
are difficult to determine
 Quality of information is also a function of
utility, that is from user’s point of view &
users being many, it is difficult to control
 However, if any information meets the
following norms it is of good quality:
 Impartiality
 Validity
 Reliability
 Consistency
 Age
ImpartialityImpartiality
 Impartial information:
 Contains no bias
 Has been collected without any distorted view of
the situation
 Partiality creeps in if the data is collected with:
 A preconceived view
 A prejudice
 A pre-determined objective
 A certain motive
ValidityValidity
 This relates to the purpose of
the information
 It answers the question- Does the
information meet the purpose of the
user for which it is being collected?
 It also depends on how the
information is used
 As the information & the purpose
need not have one to one
correspondence, the tendency to
use it in a particular situation may
make the information invalid
ReliabilityReliability
 It is connected to the representation &
accuracy of what is being described
 E.g. if an organization collects the information on
the product acceptance in the selected market
segment , the size of the sample & the method of
selection of the sample will decide the reliability
 If the sample is small, we may not get the
complete picture and if the source of data is not
representative then the information can not be
projected to the population
ConsistencyConsistency
 Information is inconsistent if it is derived from a
data not having consistent pattern of period
 E.g. we have collected information on quantity of
production for the last 12 months to fix the production
norms. If in last 12 months the organization has worked
with variable shift production, the production statistics of
12 month period for comparison is inconsistent due to
variable shift production.
 Consistency can be brought by rationalizing the data to
per shift production per month
 Regularity in providing information also helps in
assessing the consistency in information

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AgeAge
 Old information is not useful today
 The currency of information makes all the
difference to the user
 Old information does not meet any
characteristics of the information i.e.
 Update of knowledge
 Element of surprise
 Reduction of uncertainty
 The representation
To Conclude..To Conclude..
 Maintenance of parameters at a high degree
always poses a number of problems
 These problems are in the:
 Management of operations
 The source
 The data processing
 The systems of the organization
 Failure to maintain the parameters to high
degree affects value of information to the
user/ decision maker
Questions!Questions!

MIS Information concepts for Healtcare IT applications, Dr. Ashish K. Gupta

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