How Health Data Flows Through a Hospital System (Multimedia comic)
Updated: February 17, 2026
Author: Sargun Dua
To explain how health data moves through a hospital system and why it is important for patient care, I am creating a multimedia educational resource. I chose this topic because it relates to my program (Health Information Science), where I am learning how clinical decisions are made, supported by digital systems that collect and distribute patient data. A key concept in this field is understanding how health data moves through the hospital system, yet patients can’t see it, and learners often misunderstand it. My goal is to make this inaccessible process clearer and help learners understand how data enhances safety in healthcare settings.
Many learners engage with healthcare systems without knowing how their medical records are transferred between technology and providers. To better understand the health care system digitally and their role in patient care, they require a certain explanation of the flow of health data.
The primary audience is older adults who interact with healthcare systems through appointments, prescriptions, or ongoing care. Even though they interact frequently with clinics and hospitals, many have little or no understanding of how the health care system operates. They may see reports, but there is less chance of knowing how that information is shared between healthcare providers.
Since most of this information occurs behind the scenes and is kind of difficult to understand, this audience needs a straightforward explanation of how their health data flows through a hospital system. They want to gain a better understanding of their healthcare experience, feel more comfortable navigating medical settings, and trust that their information is being used safely.
Extreme users may have accessibility needs, such as hearing problems, difficulty seeing, or limited technology knowledge. Others might have long-term illnesses that include regular checkups, which introduce them to more medical systems but may not enhance their understanding of how those systems work. However, a smaller percentage may already be comfortable with technology and would prefer an organized summary to overly general, straightforward explanations.
POV Statement:
To understand better and feel comfortable navigating their healthcare experience, older adults require a visual representation of how their medical information flows through hospital systems.
Learning Objective:
- Explain the flow of patient data between systems and healthcare providers.
- Identify technologies like EHR involved in the flow of hospital data.
- Describe the importance of current and precise information for patient safety and successful treatment.
Plan (Ideate, Sketch, Elaborate)
Ideation:
While I was brainstorming ideas, I considered how to make the concept of hospital data flow more engaging and easier for senior citizens to understand. Since health information systems mostly operate behind the scenes, using a comic could allow the information to be presented gradually through visual illustrations rather than all at once. My audience can benefit more from simple explanations and easy-to-read language than from complex visuals, so this format fits their needs as well.
Storyboard/ Script Plan:
The comic will consist of six panels, which will show how health data moves through a hospital system in order.
- A “data” character, representing newly generated health information, appears when a patient enters the hospital.
- When one of the staff members enters the patient’s data, an identification, such as an authenticator, is given to the data character to represent the establishment of the record.
- Vital signs are noted and included in the character to illustrate the collection of the data.
- Once the test results are uploaded, the data character is modified to reflect the new data.
- To decide on an approach to treatment, a doctor looks over the collected data on a screen.
- Then, finally, the pharmacy receives the instructions digitally and prepares the medications for the patient, illustrating how integrated treatment is made possible by shared data, and the patient didn’t have to worry about the next steps.
Theory Applied:
- Dividing Principle (Mayer)- By breaking up the information into panels, the comic format allows learners to process each step individually instead of all at once.
- UDL- The comic’s simple writing and clear images make the content understandable to learners with various levels of comprehension and cognitive requirements.
- Dual Coding Theory- Incorporating brief text with images helps learners understand and retain the material more effectively.
Comic Prototype:
