...In this first reflection and before reading any of the course materials, consider what comes to mind when you hear the term informatics. What is it? How does it work? What are your assumptions? At the end of the module, has any of your assumptions or concepts about informatics changed as a result of your learning? Explain. My initial thought about healthcare informatics has not changed; I think it is supported by what I have learned in this course over the last 10 weeks. I understood informatics as being a vital piece to assist in abstracting data from different systems in a healthcare setting. It is used to help improve the overall quality and enhance patient care. I have found that having a clinical informatics team established at the healthcare organization is key to providing and guiding healthcare leaders in creating a system that will be utilized efficiently and effectively. As technology progresses toward interoperability (better interfaces and access to information on one system); Providers will have more time for quality patient care experiences and ability to communicate with other providers effectively; Patients and Providers will have access to diagnostic tests results, medication, and a summary of the provider visit, including the history of the patient’s healthcare status; Patients and Providers will use technology for face-to-face visits and counseling, as well as the ability to monitor vital signs and respond to critical changes. Ultimately, all resulting in...
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...Healthcare Law and IT 1 Healthcare Law and IT 2 Healthcare as a whole has undergone an enormous transformation in recent years. The United States spends more on healthcare delivery, in terms of a percentage of GDP, than any other country in the world. Much of that cost is related to research and improvements in technology and information systems, as well as implementing them in an effort to reduce healthcare costs over time. That is where healthcare informatics comes into effect. According to Health Services Research Information Central, the definition of health informatics is, “the interdisciplinary study of the design, development, adoption, and application of IT-based innovations in healthcare services delivery, management, and planning.” Healthcare informatics is used to gather, analyze, and interpret data and information about patients and treatments. This information, along with business and management information, is used to interpret how things are and to develop a better, more efficient and more cost effective method of operation. The big question is, how does healthcare informatics and technology effect or impact the development and implementation of healthcare law? One of the most effective technologies that has been widely adopted already is electronic health records. EHR are systems that track and record patient information. It also makes them more accessible and easier to share and communicate between doctors, patients and insurance companies. Electronic...
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...Electronic Medical Records and the Future of Medical Charting JoEllen McMullan Dr. Maria Lauer May 19, 2012 ABSTRACT Electronic Medical Records (EMR) is the transformation of documentation for nurses, physicians, pharmacists and all healthcare professionals involved in a patient’s care. It incorporates all orders, notes, prescriptions, therapies and the like of a particular patient’s progress along their path of treatment and recovery. EMR will transform the medical field in ways healthcare providers could not have imagined a decade ago. While there are positive and negative aspects of EMR, the ultimate result is one of accurate, precise and up to date patient records and communication between all disciplines in real time. INTRODUCTION Electronic Medical Records (EMR) is by far one of the biggest advances in medical charting in recent history. For years, documentation, charting, orders, and virtually any communication between healthcare professionals has been done in the format of “paper charting”. In other words, each professional would document in a patient chart, their particular contribution to that patient’s care on any given day. Not only is paper charting inefficient with regards to time, it also leaves tremendous openings for inaccuracies and errors. ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS I chose to research Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for multiple reasons. I previously held a position in a cardiology office where we transposed...
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...THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NURSING INFORMATICS & PATIENT SATISFACTION Daisy Michele Mattei University of Arkansas at Little Rock I will be discussing the relationship between patient satisfaction and the role nursing informatics plays. The expansion of health information technology may have an impact on patient satisfaction and outcomes either positively or negatively. More and more healthcare providers are using health information technology (nursing informatics), to improve patient care. I will also be discussing the impact of the electronic health record on improving the efficiency, safety, and privacy of healthcare today, along with the skills nurses need related to informatics and technology. Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of healthcare quality. “Satisfaction is an attitudinal response to value judgments that patients make about their clinical encounter.” (Kane RL, Maciejewski M, Finch M, 1997) Nursing Informatics is a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and wisdom in nursing practice. (McGonigle D, Mastrain KG, 2012, p. 95-96) (ANA, 2008, p.1) The goal of nursing informatics is to improve the health of populations, communities, families, and individuals by optimizing information management and communication. (McGonigle D, Mastrain KG, 2012, p. 95-96) (ANA, 2008, p.1) Information technology has dramatically changed the way nurses work. It...
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...Technology: How It Applies To Nursing Informatics Cindy Burrus Partlow Kaplan University MN502-01 Theoretical Foundations of Advanced Nursing March 15, 2015 Technology: How It Applies To Nursing Informatics These days we take technology for granted – it is just there. We turn on the computer and are instantly attached to the Internet, free to peruse at our leisure, doing the latest Google search to find the answer to a nagging question. Technology has also been a boon in the world of medicine. Healthcare institutions are coming into the age of technology by implementing electronic health records (EHR) within clinics and hospitals. This paper will take the concept of technology and explore the meaning and affect to healthcare, and how it will affect nursing in general. Technology Relating to Healthcare In the healthcare arena, technology has made medical advances occur at an astounding rate. On a federal level, the executive and legislative branches of the federal government have launched initiatives to encourage the spread of health information technology. This came into play when the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was signed into law on February 17, 2009, to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (HHS.gov, n.d.). The act stipulates that, as of 2011, healthcare providers will be offered financial incentives for demonstrating meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs). Incentives will...
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...Medicare is a national government-sponsored health insurance program in the United States of America. On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare into law in Independence, Missouri. Medicare offers health insurance for Americans aged 65 and older. It also provides health insurance to younger people with disabilities, end-stage renal disease, and ALS. Medicare is the primary insurer for 54 million Americans. Medicare is a single-payer health care program, covering all eligible beneficiaries under a single, publicly financed insurance plan. Government spending on Medicare in 2013 was $583 billion, or 14 percent of the federal budget (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2014). Hospitals, healthcare providers, and suppliers participating in the Medicare program must meet minimum health and safety standards. The standards are defined in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 42. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) defines Conditions of Participation (CoPs) and Conditions for Coverage (CfCs) that set the standards that health care organizations must meet to begin, and continue participating in Medicare. CMS currently has approved seven accrediting organizations that can accredit a heath care organization as having “deemed status”. The national accrediting organization surveys a health care organization and certifies that they satisfy the health and safety standards component of the Medicare certification (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...
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...Human Service. IHS primary responsibilities include providing health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The goal of IHS is to raise the health status of the Indian population to the highest possible level while providing health services to Indians from 566 Tribes across the United States. The mission of IHS is to raise the physical, mental, social and spiritual health of American Indians and Alaska Natives to the highest level. (“Agency Overview,” n.d.) * In order to support their mission in raising the health status to the highest possible level and to improve and protect the health of every community, the IHS facilities have chosen to participate in accreditation through the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Accreditation through JCAHO provides many positive benefits and outcomes for the IHS. By seeking accreditation through JCAHO, the community and patients in the IHS system are able to recognize that IHS is committed to clinical quality. JCAHO accreditation sets standards on levels of quality assessment and quality improvement activities. JCAHO monitors programs that are in place within the organization and reviews policies and procedures to ensure life-safety standards are being met. The benefits to IHS in obtaining JCAHO accreditation can be realized with an increase in efficiency throughout the organization thereby reducing cost and lowering liability insurance premiums. (“Accreditation,” 2007, Chapter 7)...
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...Healthcare Law and IT Abstract: The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, has specific laws pertaining to healthcare records. Healthcare records includes any record that contains patient data, social security information, date of birth, name etc. (HITECH Act Enforcement Interim Final Rule) Part of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), involved an aspect called Administrative Simplification. These were provisions that we set that were going to simplify and standardize various identifiers, codes etc. While the thought is good, the rush to meet these standards contained its own set up challenges. HIPAA regulations cover many policies, patients, hospitals, vendors, financial departments, what use to be an acceptable way of business and communicating is now a new thought process for many. The abbreviations E.H.R. (Electronic Health Record) and E.M.R. (Electronic Medical Record) are used interchangeably throughout this paper. Some would agree they are the same, however the term EMR seems to refer more to the “Medical” field, clinical data, the term E.H.R. is Health record, involving all aspects of the health care fields and technologies. Table of Contents: Topic Page Introduction 4 Systems and Conversions 4-5 Public Health Benefits 5-7 National Patient Safety Goals 7 Meaningful Use 7-9 Introduction: ...
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...Healthcare Ecosystems LTT2 The challenges which are met in today’s healthcare are vast. It would seem that there are obvious reasons for the incorporation of health informatics to justify apparent flaws in the government programs such as Medicaid, TRICARE and Federal Employees Health Benefits Program are three legislative policies which impede its progress. With most disciplines there exists certain parameters which provide the basic focus for which the disciplines fashion themselves around. In all there are seven elements in the public health sector; http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6103a5.htm, and in this scope exist, planning and systems design, data collection, data management and collation analysis, interpretation, dissemination, and finally the application to public health programs. Like most new technologies; robust changes to processes can be delivered, but are met with opposition. Health information technology can defeat a lot of the lethargic processes comprised in healthcare management, but arguably by some as the use of terms such as unintended consequences can slow growth to the field and prospects of health information exchange http://www.amia.org/amia2012/panels. It is believed that while the Electronic Health Record would be composed and stored within secured database systems that there is huge risk which exist; patient privacy, as mandated by the Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). The opposition that...
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...quality. What are AHIMA’s Mission, Vision and Values? AHIMA leads the health informatics and information management community to advance professional practice and standards.AHIMA is working to promote this mission through: Informatics: Transforming data into Health Intelligence Leadership: Developing HIM leaders across all healthcare sectors Information Governance: Being recognized as the health industry experts in information governance Innovation: Increasing thought leadership and evidence-based HIM research Public Good: Empowering consumers to optimize their health through management of their personal health information AHIMA … leading the advancement and ethical use of quality health information to promote health and wellness worldwide • AHIMA is the worldwide professional association of recognized leaders in health information management, informatics, heath data technology, and innovation. • AHIMA proactively promotes the technological advancement of health information systems that enhance the delivery of quality healthcare. • Based on AHIMA’s Code of Ethics and applicable law, AHIMA will promote the ethical and appropriate use of health information, and its members will ascribe to and conduct themselves in accordance with the Code of Ethics as part of their professional responsibility. • AHIMA recognizes that quality health and clinical data are critical resources needed for efficacious healthcare and works to assure that the health information used in care, research...
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...are met in today’s healthcare are vast. It would seem that there are obvious reasons for the incorporation of health informatics to justify apparent flaws in the government programs such as Medicaid, TRICARE and Federal Employees Health Benefits Program are three legislative policies which impede its progress. With most disciplines there exists certain parameters which provide the basic focus for which the disciplines fashion themselves around. In all there are seven elements in the public health sector; http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6103a5.htm, and in this scope exist, planning and systems design, data collection, data management and collation analysis, interpretation, dissemination, and finally the application to public health programs. Like most new technologies; robust changes to processes can be delivered, but are met with opposition. Health information technology can defeat a lot of the lethargic processes comprised in healthcare management, but arguably by some as the use of terms such as unintended consequences can slow growth to the field and prospects of health information exchange http://www.amia.org/amia2012/panels. It is believed that while the Electronic Health Record would be composed and stored within secured database systems that there is huge risk which exist; patient privacy, as mandated by the Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). The opposition that some have towards health informatics are that we do not know...
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...Mobile Computing and Social Networking CIS 500 With the new information age, health care providers are expected to keep up with the new healthcare technologies, treatments, medications, and different procedures that are introduced to the consumers at a rapid pace. With the introduction of technology in health care, patient stats can be a lot more accurate and yield a better outcome. The use of smart phones, and wireless technology devices has allowed patients to monitor vital signs, and upload this information to their health care provider’s information systems. Patients are also able to do videoconferencing using their Smart Phones in order to have remote consultations with their doctors. These technological advancements are allowing patients to take a more proactive approach in their healthcare. Traditional medical practices in the past have made this process almost impossible, because the systems were unable to organize, store, and retrieve medical and patient information. Today's information systems have made the impossible possible. The new technology comes with technical problems that will have pros and cons in mobile computing technology for better, and safer healthcare. A few problems include improving the quality of patient care, patient safety, preventing medical errors, reducing healthcare costs, helping patients manage their sickness, and minimizing the impact of the new enemy we all face with bioterrorism. Some other examples of how mobile computing systems...
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...Ecosystems Effecting Healthcare Introduction John Hopkins hospital is one of the many health care centers that have been developed due to the social and political conditions that have evolved in the environment. The founder of the hospital, John Hopkins, was influenced by social conditions facing the human population that lead Hopkins to come up with the health care center. Laws and economic conditions that have surrounded communities in the last couple of years have influenced the development of the organization. The major motivation behind the development of John Hopkins hospital is of social factor and is influenced by legislation. The mission of John Hopkins Hospital has been and still, is to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in patient care. Since the development of the institution in 1862, the mission has been to be the world’s preeminent health care institution by providing the highest quality of care and service for all people in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human illness. The Johns Hopkins Hospital operates cooperatively and interdependently with the faculty of The John Hopkins University to support education in the health professions and research development into the causes and treatment of human illness. They continue to be the leading health care institution in the application of discovery and because of such the organization attracts and supports physicians and other health care professionals...
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...legislation governing patient medical records. There are several laws designed to protect Americans’ personal health information. Patients have the right to privacy, and they have the right to have the information shared with healthcare providers used with discretion in the patient’s best interest. If you have or are considering a career in health informatics, it is important to be aware of federal and state laws so that Protected Health Information (PHI) remains secure when stored and transmitted by electronic health record systems. Privacy Act of 1974 The Privacy Act of 1974 regulates information collected by the federal government and its agencies. The legislation allows citizens to know what information is collected about them, assure the veracity of that data and obtain copies of the information. The Veterans Health Administration and Indian Health Services are subject to these regulations. Alcohol- and Drug-Abuse Patient Confidentiality The Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records rule allows for additional privacy in any federally assisted drug- or alcohol-abuse program. Identity, diagnosis and treatment are treated as confidential information. Patient impairment does not excuse release of confidential patient information. Conditions for Coverage of Specialized Services by Suppliers The Conditions for Coverage of Specialized Services by Suppliers is part of Medicare laws that govern providers and requires that all PHI be kept confidential...
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...program has had an enormous impact on modern healthcare. The program brings healthcare to those 65 and older, but as a result of regulations and federal monitoring, the process for obtaining coverage, keeping coverage, reimbursement for services and the impact on accreditation make some health care organizations struggle to make ends meet. The program impacts not only standards for licensure, certification and accreditation, but also effects quality of care, how providers are paid, and access to healthcare. Medicare stipulates how providers are paid for services. An example would be the Prospective Payment System (PPS). The PPS determines fixed Medicare payment amounts based on the classification of the service provided (CMS.gov, n.d.). Medicare reimbursements are also influenced by many quality programs in place. As stated above, the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program threatens reductions in payment for performance, thus impacting reimbursement as well. Since signed into law in 1965, the Medicare program has played a large role in standards for healthcare providers, clinical quality for its patients, reimbursement to its participating providers, and has provided access to necessary medical care for the elderly. This program also has a very large influence on the health informatics professional’s role in modern healthcare and its emerging technological programs contribute to the growing need of a skilled health informatics workforce. References Boccuti, C....
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