...Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Federal Health Information Technology Strategic Plan 2011 – 2015 Table of Contents Introduction Federal Health IT Vision and Mission Federal Health IT Principles Goal I: Achieve Adoption and Information Exchange through Meaningful Use of Health IT Goal II: Improve Care, Improve Population Health, and Reduce Health Care Costs through the Use of Health IT Goal III: Inspire Confidence and Trust in Health IT Goal IV: Empower Individuals with Health IT to Improve their Health and the Health Care System Appendix A: Performance Measures Appendix B: Programs, Initiatives, and Federal Engagement Appendix C: HIT Standards and HIT Policy Committees Information Flow Appendix E: Statutes and Regulations Appendix F: Goals, Objectives, and Strategies Appendix G: Acronyms ONC Acknowledgements Notes 3 6 7 8 21 28 36 49 51 65 67 70 74 77 77 78 Goal V: Achieve Rapid Learning and Technological Advancement 43 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 3 Introduction he technologies collectively known as health information technology (health IT) share a common attribute: they enable the secure collection and exchange of vast amounts of health data about individuals. The collection and movement of this data will power the health care of the future. Health IT has the potential to empower individuals and increase transparency; enhance the ability to study care delivery and payment systems; and ultimately achieve improvements in care, efficiency...
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...adoption of the Electronic Health Records. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, have created a new timeline which is in reference to the implementation of meaningful use for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, ONC, also has proposed a better approach to update their, the ONC, certification regulations. One of these major changes is the timeline extension given for stage 3 from stage 2. CMS and ONC both feel that more time is needed to better structure the program and its requirements. The program has three stages. Stage 1 is the approach to the program’s participation. Stage 2 is the exchange of the health information. Stage 3 focuses on the improved outcomes. The goal and purpose of the extension is to focus all efforts on enhanced patient engagement, interoperability, and health information exchange in stage 2 and to utilize data from stage 2 to “inform policy decisions” for stage 3, as stated by Robert Tagalicod, Director of CMS’ office of eStandards and services. Stage 2 will continue throughout 2016 and stage 3 will commence in 2017 for the providers that have successfully completed at least 2 years in stage 2. This decision came about after many discussions and conversations the CMS and ONC have had with consumers, providers, health care associations, EHR developers, and other stakeholders in the healthcare industry, as was stated by the CMS and ONC. Many stakeholders and...
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...Health Care Law, Regulations and Policy HCS/545 November 23, 2015 Health Care Law, Regulations and Policy Health Care law and legislation came about to define the scope of acceptable practice of clinicians, while protecting the public’s individual rights. Miller and Hutton states “Law can be defined as a system of principles and processes by which people who live in a society attempt to control human conduct to minimize the use of force in resolving conflicting interests.” When creating laws, conflicting interest often takes into consideration the basis ethical principles that includes autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice to name a few. Laws, particularly health care laws are often in the form of a statutes, such as the nurse practice act, that serves as a guidance for nurses to know what defines and limits our practice. As such, the law also regulates how statures must be enforced. Administrative agencies, such as the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services under the auspices of the Health and Human Services, have created rules and regulations to enforce statutory laws. When we look at laws in nursing and other industries, it is an extension to address ethical issues that universally affects our society. Health care agencies are mandated to adhere to the rules that are created by regulatory agencies that can come in the form of laws, regulations, or codes, and are enforced through controls that make sure that these rules are adhered...
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...Course Project Compare & Discuss Electronic Software for Health Records MediTouch EHR Electronic Health Record Software HSM 330: Health Services Information Systems Devry University September 12, 2013 Compare & Discuss Electronic Software for Health Records An electronic health record or EHR is a concept defined as a collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations. Once an EHR system is installed and staff are trained in its proper use, retrieving and updating patient clinical records is performed substantially faster and with fewer errors. In most cases, this allows health care providers to finish patient charting more quickly, and to do so while with the patient, increasing accuracy and completeness of the record. This can result in an increase in scheduled visits per hour with no lessoning of patient care quality. Also, by reducing the burden of administrative work, it allows a healthcare provider to concentrate more on the patient and less on paperwork. By definition, an EHR system is a record in digital format that is capable of being shared across different health care settings. In some cases this sharing can occur by way of network-connected, enterprise-wide information systems and other information networks or exchanges. EHRs may include a range of data, including demographics, medical history, medication and allergies, immunization status, laboratory test results, radiology images, vital signs, personal statistics...
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...C156 Advanced Information Management– Task 1 A2. Analysis of Technology Two organizations migrating to a common health information system would need a system that meets current regulatory requirements, meets the needs of the combined organization and their practice environment. The implementation of a common health information system would require an interdisciplinary group of forward thinking innovators, and an interoperable electronic medical record system that includes standard nursing terminology. The technology needed in this scenario that would make this combination successful consist of network security measures to ensure security of protected health information under the federal requirements of HIPPA and HITECH. The use of emerging technology such as cellphones, tablets and remote technology should also be included in the discussions of creating a telehealth system that would accommodate both of the combining organizations. Telehealth not only includes communication between patients and healthcare providers, but also communication between healthcare providers in both of the combining organizations. Video conferencing can save healthcare providers time and money by allowing them to collaborate with one another without being physically near one another. A3. Identification of Team The interdisciplinary team on the project committee will consist of four team members. Team member A would be the project team lead in which I would nominate myself...
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...and decision-making process An electronic health record or EHR is a concept defined as a collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations. Once an EHR system is installed and staff are trained in its proper use, retrieving and updating patient clinical records is performed substantially faster and with fewer errors. In most cases, this allows health care providers to finish patient charting more quickly, and to do so while with the patient, increasing accuracy and completeness of the record. This can result in an increase in scheduled visits per hour with no lessoning of patient care quality. Also, by reducing the burden of administrative work, it allows a healthcare provider to concentrate more on the patient and less on paperwork. By definition, an EHR system is a record in digital format that is capable of being shared across different health care settings. In some cases this sharing can occur by way of network-connected, enterprise-wide information systems and other information networks or exchanges. EHRs may include a range of data, including demographics, medical history, medication and allergies, immunization status, laboratory test results, radiology images, vital signs, personal statistics like age and weight, and billing information. There is much variety of health record software available for medical records. Sharing patient charts and medical information with other health care providers is also made substantially easier with...
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...IMPROVING PATIENT WAIT TIME IN THE DOCTORS OFFICE Tracey Rentas Old Dominion University Health Informatics CHP485 Dr. Ann Marie Kopitzke February 28, 2014 IMPROVING PATIENT WAIT TIME IN THE DOCTORS OFFICE This paper focuses on the improvement of patient wait times in a physician’s office. While there is more than one cause of long wait times in the doctor’s office the main purpose of interest within this paper is a consumer’s perspective on long wait times, the use of paper based systems, and the importance of updated technology such as electronic health records (EHR) to reduce patient wait times. Long wait times to see a physician in a doctor’s office is a problem that seems to be increasing and lowering patient satisfaction as a result. One of the top consumer complaints across the board is long wait times in the doctor’s office. Whether patients are talking about their primary care physician or their dentist, nothing frustrates people more than showing up 15-30 minutes prior to their appointment only to wait an hour or more to be seen (Downing, 2013). Long wait time to see a physician is becoming more of an exercise of frustration and it seems to be getting worse. It’s getting to the point where one might as well clear their entire day because between getting to the physician’s office, waiting for a very long time to be seen, and finally seeing a doctor, and then driving back home, it’s already a good half of your day down the drain. Often the worst part of a doctor’s...
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...(Rundio & Wilson, 2010 ). Health IT has changed the ways of communication and documentation. Informatics in healthcare has helped to increase the efficiency of our healthcare system. By moving away from hand written medical records, information has become more organized, more manageable, and much more easily accessible. Advancements in technology have allowed organizations to become more productive and more cost effective. Informatics has helped organizations in reducing their staff needs, ultimately saving them money. As healthcare IT continues to advance, patient safety, quality of care, and costs will continue to improve, and privacy and security will continue to be the goal for all electronic information. The use of electronic health information to improve the quality of care requires the exchange of electronic health records, which increases the need for security and privacy. Because of this, it was essential to establish collaborative governance guiding health information technology infrastructure (Rundio & Wilson, 2010) . The Health IT Patient Safety Action and Surveillance Plan addresses the role of healthcare informatics within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services promise to patient safety. The objective of the plan is to use healthcare informatics to make care safer and to continuously improve the safety of health IT (“HealthIT”, n.d.). The Health IT Safety Plan lays out actions that can be taken to improve the safety of health IT. The plan highlights...
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...healthcare. With the increased demand of mobilizing health care information, health information exchanges (HIEs) were established. The healthcare information exchange was designed to allow patient information be electronically accessible across an organization, region, community or hospital system. (1) The initial concept of HIE was to reduce cost of patient care, improve speed, quality and safety of medical information. (2) Background Over the past few year’s health information technology landscape has experienced rapid change. In the 1990s Regional and community Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) were created in many states. These RHIOs are the building blocks in developing a national network. The Office of National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology was created in 2004. The ONC is currently collaborating with RHIOs in an effort to implement and use the most advanced health information technology and the exchange of health information. (4) Since there are multiple exchanges, varying standards and architecture, the ability to establish uniform data and transmission standards has been difficult. Thus the ONC is still in the process of collaborating working on developing standards and compliance monitoring programs. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has supported state and regional coordination of health care IT systems for years. In 2007 the Texas State legislature the Texas Health Services Authority (THSA) in promoting and coordinating...
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...national EHR mandate. The ONC-Coordinated Federal Health Information Technology Strategic Plan: 2008-2012 outlines the goals, objectives, and strategies set forth by different federal agencies to help develop a new health information technology infrastructure. The objective of the plan is to develop a patient centered health care system that improves the health of communities and the Nation (Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 2008). After Hurricane Katrina, our Nation discovered how easy it was to lose paper health care information. This catastrophic event showcased the value of a national electronic health care system that would keep medical records safe in the event of a natural disaster (Walker, 2005). I will examine the challenges my healthcare facility has faced in achieving the goals of this mandate, and what future plans are in place. In 2004 President George Bush created an executive order that would lay the foundation for a new health information technology infrastructure. This infrastructure would help improve health care quality, reduce medical errors, and increase effective exchange of health care information among health care providers. This system would also provide that Americans have access to electronic health records while keeping that information secure. The DHHS Synopsis informs us that (2008) “Underpinning that system is the ability for patients and providers to electronically share accurate health care information securely while...
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...Electronic Health Records: Impacts on the U.S Healthcare Industry Blake Redco 28 Feb 2016 Abstract The patient health record, serves “to recall observations, to inform others, to instruct students, to gain knowledge, to monitor performance, and to justify interventions” (IOM, 2014). Beginning in the latter half of the 20th century and continuing through present-day, patient health records have increased in use and function. A significant portion of patient records, treatment history, and medication data are still stored in paper format however, and full transition to digital formats is likely decades away, or may not be achieved for many more years to come. This text will examine the modern electronic health record (EHR), and how it impacts, and is impacted by, the U.S. healthcare industry in political, technical, and economical environments. The focus on how and why the transition process is occurring, and the challenges therein, will be prevalent throughout examination of the three environments. This is a subjective description, although not comprehensive exploration of factors surrounding the HER, and is not to be taken as criticism or advocacy of any component of U.S. health care policy and/or practices. In each of the environments described below, efforts have been made to provide considerable and timely data, as well as references to influential industry literature and legislation. However, due to the dynamic nature of policies and mandates, technologies, and...
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...direction and make decisions allocating its resources, whereas, the nursing process is a 5 step method used by nurses to ensure the quality of patient care. These processes require the use of informatics as an instrument to achieve the goals of the organization. Strategic Planning and Nursing Process Strategic planning is used to ensure that both short and long term goals of the organization are in tune with the mission of the organization and to ensure that the goals are achievable. The steps of strategic planning are: identification of goals, assessing external and internal environments, analysis of collected data, identification of potential solutions, choosing next steps, implementation of actions, and ongoing evaluation in the perspective of bench marks (Hebda & Czar, 2013). Informatics is an important part of strategic planning and helps to guide the direction and execute the goals set by the organization. Similar to strategic planning, the nursing process is used to administer patient care in a manner that is goal targeted and methodical. Although the five step process of assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation are similar to the steps of strategic planning there are some differences. Comparison Both strategic planning and the nursing process are scientific methods that focus on the eventual future goals attainment. The strategic planning process focuses on the future direction of the organization in the context of their internal and external stakeholders...
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...electronic the laws protecting patient health information also need to evolve to cover the ever changing technologic advances. The concerns of protecting patients’ private healthcare information have grown as the use of electronic medical records has become more prevalent throughout the industry. In the 1960s computers began being used for generalizing human behavior. A physician established the idea of the Electronic Medical Record (Srinivasan, 2013). Unfortunately, the usage of electronic medical records did not become more mainstream until two decades later. (Srinivasan, 2013). As the use of EMRs became more prevalent healthcare information technology has played a “pivotal role in improving healthcare quality, cost, effectiveness, and efficiency,” (Srinivasan, 2013). However, the use of healthcare information technology has brought up concerns about privacy and protection of patient health information. In 1996, the Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act also known as HIPAA was passed. This was the first federal law regulating the privacy of health information. HIPAA was “designed primarily to modernize the flow of health information” (Solove, 2013). While at this time medical records were still in paper form, it was clear that health records would become digital in the future. (Solove, 2013). In the early years of HIPAA there was much confusion and no civil enforcement actions were taken. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a privacy...
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...E P I DE M IC: R E SP ON DI NG T O A M ER ICA’ S PR E S CR I P T ION DRUG A BUSE CR I SI S 2 011 Background Prescription drug abuse is the Nation’s fastest-growing drug problem. While there has been a marked decrease in the use of some illegal drugs like cocaine, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that nearly one-third of people aged 12 and over who used drugs for the first time in 2009 began by using a prescription drug non-medically.1 The same survey found that over 70 percent of people who abused prescription pain relievers got them from friends or relatives, while approximately 5 percent got them from a drug dealer or from the Internet.2 Additionally, the latest Monitoring the Future study—the Nation’s largest survey of drug use among young people—showed that prescription drugs are the second most-abused category of drugs after marijuana.3 In our military, illicit drug use increased from 5 percent to 12 percent among active duty service members over a three-year period from 2005 to 2008, primarily attributed to prescription drug abuse.4 Although a number of classes of prescription drugs are currently being abused, this action plan primarily focuses on the growing and often deadly problem of prescription opioid abuse. The number of prescrip tions filled for opioid pain relievers—some of the most powerful medications available—has increased dramatically in recent years. From 1997 to 2007, the milligram per person use of prescription...
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...In health information technology context, an organization or individual should have properly demonstrated meaningful use and should have successfully fulfilled the requirement for electronic health records and related technology. According to the institute of Medicine (2003) the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (HIT) would play a “critical role” in our 21st- century health care system. One of the major components of using HIT was the development and adoption of Electronic Health Records system (EHR). EHR is a digitalized system, which is used by care providers to treat and diagnose the patient. Adoption and use of EHR has been growing in rapid pace in recent years. According to the Institute of Medicine, widespread use of effective EHRs would be key to improving health care delivery...
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