...technology (Carter, 2001) In the early 1990s, heeding recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) landmark study, the U.S. government set an ambitious goal for all physicians to computerize patient records by the year 2000 (Dick, R.S., Steen, E.B., & Detmer, D.E. 1997) Due to patients’ privacy issues, less streamlined and often conflicting software technologies, and multiple other barriers in EMR technology adoption, this goal could not be achieved. The adoption of EMR technology started to gather some momentum since 2004 when President George Bush outlined detailed plan to ensure access of electronic health records by all Americans by 2014 (Bush, Executive Order 13335) To achieve this goal, President George Bush created a new, sub-cabinet level National Health Information Technology Coordinator position at the Department of Health and Human Services to implement health IT infrastructure nationwide. The biggest push targeted towards promoting the adoption of EMR technology came with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) 2009 by the U.S. Congress which appropriated $19 billion dollars government assistance to jump start the adoption of EMR technology by physicians, clinics, and hospitals. The healthcare reforms highlighted in the ARRA include an investment of $50 billion in health information technology (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AARA), 2009). There is the new federal HIT initiative program for health care organizations who adapt electronic...
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...sobriety before offering permanent housing. To address this problem, the Housing First program needs to provide permanent supportive housing. Being different and separate program from "rapid re-housing", it is a relatively new invention in social policy and human service programs. Being an innovation, this program has not undergone major changes. However, it spanned off from past programs to provide housing to the homeless. It developed as a substitute to emergency shelter/transitional housing progressions system. Major changes in policy have led to the actual implementation of this Housing First program. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed in February 2009 is one of these changes. The act would provide funding for the “Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program” (HPRP). The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act was also signed the same year in May. The failure in these programs has led to Housing First, under...
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...right point in clinical workflow to improve patient-centered care and healthcare outcomes. The implementation of a clinical information system is organized around an organizations vision and formulated goals. Arcade General Hospital is in the third stage of upgrading a clinical information system and their goal is to integrate the new upgrades with the application of meaningful use through adherence to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) by promoting the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology. Usability in is one of the main goals as it will allow minimal disruption in clinical workflow. Meaningful Use In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a rule on payment incentives for meaning use of clinical information systems (CIS). This rule was designed to entice hospitals and medical clinics to qualify for payments incentives if they adopted the necessary requirement in association with the progression of electronic medical record (EMR) implementation (American Hospital Association, n.d.). The use of meaningful use will include the ability for clinicians to access information to provide best of care for patients, better access to clinical information and for patients to receive ability to play a more active role having access to the private medical information. As per the ARRA incentive program, AGH has upgraded and implemented their CIS and has Certification...
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...Many Americans have heard of Homeless vets and homeless runaways, but a very uncommon yet very percentage of homeless are out on the streets know as the mentally ill and homeless. According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, approximately one-third of the total homeless population are people with an untreated serious mental illness. Most of the people with mental illness include people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or A major depression. It’s is next to impossible for these people to get a job and without jobs they would not be able to pay rent. To make matters worse, most of these people don’t know their problems and how and where to go to get their problems fixed. Being mentally ill makes it easier for others to push them around....
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...Case Study Review: U.S. DOT ARRA Website Vulnerabilities Executive Summary The United States experienced an economic shock, commonly referred to as the “Great Recession”, in 2008 that resulted in the most job losses in any year since WWII. Payrolls plummeted, home values dove, and slumps were experienced in almost every sector of the economy. The administration of President Bush had agreed to provide federal loans to prop up the automobile industry and President-elect Obama inherited an economy in collapse. In 2009, the newly elected President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law. The Act provided stimulus spending in infrastructure, health, energy, education, unemployment insurance, social welfare programs, and many other areas of government interest. To address concerns from political opposition to that Act, ARRA included strong provisions governing transparency of the spending of taxpayer money. ARRA funds would be dispensed with strong requirements that taxpayers be able to monitor how their tax money is being spent. A major beneficiary of the stimulus funds was the Department of Transportation. To address the transparency issue, the department established a number of websites supported by servers and databases that the public could access to monitor the spending of their tax dollars. The DOT’s expanded web interface inherently exposed it to greater risk. This case study reviews an audit of that risk, the department’s shortfalls...
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...Homelessness, Poverty and Politics in America At no time in American history is the poverty and homelessness problem more salient than it is now. Jabs and insults are hurled at political opponents like dirty bombs are hurled during war. Words like “food stamps” and “working poor” and “47%” become a regular part of the national rhetoric and almost seamlessly, they enter the ugly arena of bad words that people use to denigrate and demean. Meanwhile, the nameless and faceless majority of people living at or significantly below the poverty line still yearn for a voice. In days past, impolite rhetoric was covered up with a thin shroud of political correctness, today, there’s no such need as social media opens the floodgates for frankness and politics gets dirtier and uglier than ever. And still, the homeless men, women and children in America have no voice. On the left, President Obama’s administration reminds America that the 47% of people who rely on government programs of some kind and who legitimately need assistance are a group of people forgotten by the right. On the right, Governor Romney’s obsession with cuts and reductions on everything from taxes (paid by the top 1%) to government programs (that benefit everyone else) sound a lot like the fiscal policies espoused by President Bush and President Reagan three decades before that. Reagan has been credited with exploding the homeless problem in the United States (BBC News, 2004; Kengor, 2012) and yet there are many whose...
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...1. How did the global economic crisis unfold? It began during the 1990s when the American economy grew by almost 33% but changed for the worse in 2000 after the dot-com bubble burst & then after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. This created a stock market drop & a rise in unemployment. In effort to avert recession, the Federal Reserve dropped interest rates dramatically. Once interest rates dropped the economy was overflowing with money which lead lenders to be able to provide mortgage loans to, previously, undesirable borrowers. Now the demand for houses rose & so did the prices for the houses making these subprime loans attractive to lenders because of the high return. So the Banks & investment houses continued to invest in mortgage securities but the financial institutions did not maintain enough reserves in case the housing market crashed. Naturally, the housing market came crashing down leaving borrowers “upside down” in their loans & they were forced to foreclose. When this happened, the banks became unwilling to lend money so funds were not available for businesses. Without funds for everyday operations, businesses struggled causing layoffs & raising the unemployment rate. 2. What steps did the Federal government and the Federal Reserve take to mitigate the crisis? The Federal Reserve bailed out Bear Stearns & AIG. The U.S. Department of the Treasury seized Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. Congress passes the economic bailout plan TARP which spent...
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..."An Evaluation of President Obama's First Year and a Half as POTUS" Introduction Barrack Obama became the 44th President of the United States of America on January 20th, 2009. He is the first African American to take office and with his presidency he promised to make changes to America that would liberate the American people from crisis into a bright new beginning. In his Inauguration speech, he claimed to mend the financial crisis by stimulating jobs and laying a “new foundation for growth” (Naughton, “Inauguration speech”). He promised to rebuild the Nation’s foundations such as roads, bridges, electric grids, and digital lines, to revive the prosperity and importance of science, to increase the care and lower the cost of health care, to mend the threat of global warming, to enact peace with Afghanistan, to withdraw from Iraq, and to transform the educational system to meet the conditions of a new era (Naughton, “Inauguration speech”). Throughout his first year as president Obama has enacted many policies and regulations such as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Health Care Bill. However, has Obama stayed true to his original promises stated throughout his campaigns, in his Inauguration speech, as well as his first State of Union speech. Has Obamba’s first year been a success or a failure? This essay will explore the history of Obama’s ascend to presidency, his success and failures, and an overall evaluation of Obama’s first year in office...
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...Part 1 Study of the Law in General Chapter 1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter, the learner should be able to: 1. Differentiate between public and private law. 2. Compare and contrast contract and tort law. 3. Compose a scenario that illustrates the difference between the substantive and procedural aspects of criminal law. 4. Identify and explain the differences between various sources of law. 5. Describe the branches of government and their roles in creating, administering, and enforcing law. 6. Explain the process of how a bill becomes a law. 7. List and describe quasi-legal requirements to which health-care organizations are subject. KEY CONCEPTS Common law Conflict of laws Constitution Contract law Deeming authority Electronic case filing systems Felonies 2 Law Misdemeanors Ordinances Private law Procedural law Public law Res judicata Separation of powers Stare decisis Statutes Substantive law Tort law Words of authority Workings of the American Legal System INTRODUCTION As health care becomes more complex, the interplay between the law and health care increases. Government regulation of the health-care field continues almost without pause while lawsuits against health-care providers appear to increase. The interplay of these forces significantly affects the health information manager’s ability to manage patient-specific health information. Thus, the health information manager must possess a fundamental...
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...EMR implementation to improve patient outcomes Florida International University The problem Quality of care has been low for Mesey hospital over the past few years. Medical errors, near misses and poor patient safety are at an increased rate. Communication has been lack luster, and patient satisfaction surveys have yielded unsatisfactory results. Mesey has invested in quality training, has had continuous education sessions and in-services in an attempt to improve care but has seen no improvements despite the efforts. The CEO, not realizing that it’s the system not the people, is looking into new and different strategies for improvement, including hiring new employees as the current staff is set in their ways and cannot seem to turn quality around. Mesey is currently using the traditional paper charting system and has not yet converted to electronic medical records (EMR). The CEO has done some research and has learned that the competitor Wellness hospital has been using EMR for over two years and has had great success - high quality rating and excellent patient satisfaction scores. The CEO of Mesey has been contemplating if implementing EMR within the facility will improve patient outcomes and satisfaction through improved safety and quality of care? Traditionally, paper based medical records have been used due to its simplicity and ease of use, low cost implementation, and widespread acceptance. This system does however come with a vast number of disadvantages including...
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...for their children just worked their way through it by paying in bits and pieces from their monthly paychecks, relied on gifts from other family members or simply took another job to make those dreams a reality. The current recessionary economic situation the country finds itself in has put added strain on college financing options for most people and the sooner steps are taken to fix these problems the better. I come to this conclusion because of my personal situation concerning this topic. My family currently has three college students; I, my wife and our son, and we are all relying on loans and some grants to fund our education. I think the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which includes heavy investments in education, passed by Congress and signed into law by the President is a very good step in the right direction. This Act provides over $30 billion in funds to help improve access to college and help lay the foundation for positive long-term achievements of the country’s educational goals. Now is the time for increased investments in education because the economy, reeling from the current recession, benefits as a whole. The availability of adequate and inexpensive funding for college education is critical for America’s future prosperity and reforming the process is a must. Firstly, the basic argument for increased investments in college education is that employment prospects for college graduates are higher than for non-college graduates. Additionally, such employment...
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...the arts—are under increased scrutiny. Lawmakers may question whether government has a legitimate role to play in the arts or may ask why the arts should receive funds when so many other needs are pressing. We encourage you to welcome dialogue about these issues. The 40-year history of state arts agencies proves that when policymakers understand how the arts benefit government and citizens, they find a way to continue support, even during hard financial times. We hope that this document will help bring those benefits to the foreground and help your state answer common questions about government’s role in arts support. Designed for public arts leaders and advocates to excerpt and adapt, this material can be used to support your state’s case for the arts. Select the points that are most relevant in your situation. Quote the research. Add your own examples, and consider the tips and ideas included at the end of the document. For more information on promoting the arts in state policy, explore the Research and Advocacy sections of the NASAA Web site or contact the NASAA office at 202-347-6352. 1. Does every state fund the arts? Yes. Like most areas of state spending, public appropriations to the arts have seen periods of growth and decline tied to state budget conditions....
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...Geithner & Bernanke Amid the Global Financial Crisis 1. Fiscal policy: Given the breadth and depth of this recession, it was clear that the Treasury and the entire Obama administration had to take bold actions. In fact, right at the beginning, they were committed to a fiscal stimulus policy package which would be “substantial” enough to pull the economy out of the recession. The final stimulus package signed into law in 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was totaled $787 billion including about one-third tax cuts and one-third aid for states and the unemployed. Of the rest, labor health and education investment got 8%, and infrastructure investment got about 7%. It also included a large amount of government money to bail out the automobile industry. (Frank, 2009) In addition, the U.S. government initiated the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) which was signed by Congress in 2008. This $700 billion program was first designed to free banks and other financial firms of the most toxic securities on their books by purchasing them in auctions. As the financial crisis deepened quickly, the Treasury changed the plan and used the TARP funds to directly recapitalize banks and financial institutions. For example, the Treasury injected $40 billion into AIG and about $125 billion to 8 large banks such as Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and etc. (Frank, 2009) Monetary Policy: There are three basic tools for Fed to use -open market operations, discount...
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...Smoking Cigarettes DRUGS & SOCIETY FINAL PROJECT Introduction Tobacco use remains a global epidemic with the US being among the affected nations. A century ago, smoking cigarettes was not prime cause of ailment or death in America, and lung cancer instigated by cigarette smoking was fiction in the past 100 years. It is now among the principal cause of deaths in the US. Statistics shows that smoking is responsible for approximately 443,000 deaths in America and with about 50,000 being secondary smokers. About 45 million Americans are smokers, an estimated 3,800 youths are introduced to tobacco use daily. America spends about $96 billion in smoking-related ailments and $97 billion on productivity, which shows tragic impact to the economy. Smoking is addictive, and its effects is not limited to individual, but to finances and further poses a challenge to the state. Accordingly, there is a need for people to work towards quitting smoking. This paper discusses the effects of tobacco use, the available methods for regulating tobacco, and other new methods that addicts can use to quit cigarette smoking. How Smoking Becomes Addicting and its Effects on Human Health Cigarette smoke contains a concoction of about 400 chemicals. Most of the chemicals lack profound research by experts. The more these chemicals are understood, the more it will become easier to control tobacco use and its effects. Nicotine is among tobacco chemicals that is...
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...US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR CASE STUDY Total Rewards HRM533 016 December 2,2012 The purpose of this paper is to provide information about the United States Department of Labor (DOL) website. This Website communicates the current regulations and federal involvement in employee benefit. This report describes the features of this website and how each feature can be used to monitor employee benefits. And specifically focusing on how the benefits comply with all federal laws. Moreover this report provides detailed information on how employees would use this information to their benefits rights is protected. This new web service was developed based on data collected by the Occupational Information Network and the National Labor Exchange. The Occupational Information Network collects information on the skills and job requirements for a wide variety of nearly 1000 occupations in the United States (Investopedia Ulc., 2012, para 2). The National Labor Exchange was created by the Direct Employers Association to deliver information on the job requirements from various American corporations. Describe the major features of this Website and how each feature can be used to monitor employee benefits. The major aspect of this website would be the content list and how it is classified. In this section, we review the types of features found to be useful in web page classification research. First of all, I think that the structure and design are very important to a website as it...
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