Abstract
Effective information management in knowledge-based industries, such as healthcare, is crucial to their success in achieving desired outcomes and product goals. Advances in computer and information technology, along with the evolution of the field of biomedical informatics, have contributed to the maturation of healthcare electronic information systems whose purposes are to support patient care and sustain hospital operations. Access to data across application systems through better integration of system components has become a preferred model for information system architecture and, as a result, institutions often choose to adopt enterprise-wide systems architecture formats using single-vendor application packages. Whether the information system architecture is comprised of multiple, variably, or non-integrated core components or is an integrated enterprise-wide system, this chapter emphasizes how data access, even using a hybrid information system structure, can be used to drive and, hopefully, advance the delivery of care.