Opportunities exist for healthcare organizations
in particular to gain an edge over their competitors
through the use of 1ST. The need to use hospital
information systems (HIS) as a competitive
weapon has been further heightened by the competitive
pressures that pervade the healthcare
industry. The change from cost-based reimbursement
to fixed fee payment structures has
forced the healthcare industry to put more emphasis
than ever before on the efficiency of the
patient care delivery process Under the cost-based reimbursement
type of incentive structure that
characterized the industry prior to the early
1980s, there was no need for the strategic use
of HIS because "a bed built became a bed filled"