Case Study: Dr. Faber

In 2009, the U.S. Government passed The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (Mangalmurti, Murtagh and Mello 2060). The HITECH Act authorizes grants and incentives to promote the “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHR) by providers (2060). The effect is a high commitment to a technology-led system reform, urging a renewed national commitment to building an information infrastructure to support health care delivery, consumer health, quality measurement and improvement, public accountability, clinical and health services research, and clinical

This Stage 1 started from 2011-2012, its objective dealt with data capture and sharing, these sheets are providing these services to assist professionals and hospitals understand the requirements of each objective and demonstrate meaningful use success. This stage also allows qualified providers to receive their payment after fulfilling nine core objectives and one public health objective. The second stage of the Meaningful Use is Stage 2 started in 2014; it dealt with the advanced clinical processes. This Stage introduces new aims and measures, as well as higher entries; it also required health care providers to prolong EHR capabilities to a greater portion of their patient populations. The last stage of the Meaningful Use is Stage 3, this Stage it still in a building phase. Its objective will be focusing on improving quality, safety, efficiency, and leading to improved outcomes. Even though the details of this program have not been finalized, Meaningful Use Stage 3 will work to make the program easier to understand. It will provide the professionals (EPs) and hospitals the ability to exchange and use information between electronic health records, and improve patient outcomes. Based on the current timeline, healthcare providers have the choice to begin Stage 3 Meaningful Use in 2017 but are not permitted to use it until

Meaningful use is used in the EHR system, and it is used to improve quality and safety of healthcare. It improves privacy and can benefit health care management care. The facility that I work at is in the first stage of even getting an EHR system they do not receive any incentive’s, because it is a long-term care faculty. If I was working in a hospital and they wanted to have a meaningful use, they would need 14 core objectives, 5/10 from a set menu of objectives and 15 quality measures.(HEALTHIT.GOV

Meaningful Use is the improvement of the way we deliver healthcare with the use HER. Several areas of patient care can be improved including how engaged the patient’s family can be in the healthcare process, better outcomes in the clinical setting and the empowerment of the patient to see more than they could in a paper chart.

Meaningful use means in simple providers need to show they are using certified EHR technology in ways that can be measured significantly in quality and in quantity.

The goal of meaningful use is to increase the ability to access relevant data, through automation, that will assist in the pursuit of increased quality and safety, while concurrently decreasing the cost of care (Fleming, 2011).

In addition to the core elements, providers will have to choose any five of the ten additional tasks to implement in 2011-2012. Some examples of these might be clinical lab results, patient appointment reminders and drug-formulary checks. This gives the providers a chance to choose their own path toward full EHR implementation and meaningful use. Legislation ties payments to the achievement of advances in health care processes and outcomes. The regulations are specific as to when providers will have to use particular functions in order to be considered meaningful users. The meaningful use rule acknowledges the urgency of adopting the electronic health record and recognizes the challenges it will pose on all providers.

An Electronic Health Record is a computerized form of a patient’s medical chart. These records allow information to be readily available to authorized providers during a patient’s encounter with the healthcare system. These systems do not only contain medical histories, current medications and insurance information, they also track patients’ diagnoses, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images and lab tests/results (source). The fundamental aspect of EHRs is that they are able to share a patient’s information quickly across service lines and even between different healthcare organizations. Information is at the fingertips of lab techs, primary care physicians, pharmacies, clinics, etc. The

Legislation such as the Health Information Technology for Economics and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act promoted meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) to provide better patient outcomes (CDC, n.d.). Meaningful use is regulated by CMS and National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and is based on five goals including: improving quality, safety, efficiency and reducing health disparities, engage patients and families in their health, improve care coordination, improve population and public health,

Meaningful use refers to the adoption of healthcare management technology referred to as the electronic-health record whose primary function is enhancing the quality, efficiency, safety, as well as reduction in health related disparities. In addition, meaningful use seeks to improve the level of care coordination, public health management and population. Undoubtedly, this aspiration encompasses the increased engagement of the patients as well their families while maintaining the safety and confidentiality of the medical information of the patient. From this backdrop, this paper shall discuss the legal, ethical and financial issues that may flow from the legislation (adoption) of meaningful use.

“An electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users.” (healthit.gov) The EHR mandate was created “to share information with other health care providers and organizations – such as laboratories, specialists, medical imaging facilities, pharmacies, emergency facilities, and school and workplace clinics – so they contain information from all clinicians involved in a patient’s care.” ("Providers & Professionals | HealthIT.gov", n.d., p. 1) The process has proved to be quite challenging for providers. As an

Meaningful use is advancement of our the way we administer health care using the EHR system. It provides improvement in several ways, which include: engagement with the patients and their family, providing better privacy and security with the patient's information, improvement in the way we coordinate care, and helping the clinic run more smooth. Meaningful use can help make your job as a medical assistant easier. For one, you don't have to try and sort through paper to find information you need for a patient. It helps cut down time for preparing each patient's files and if the physician decides that he needs additional information, we are able to locate it within minutes easily.

The patient’s growing data and information is the forefront of clinical information systems; with the use of the electronic medical record (EMR), electronic health record (EHR), and electronic personal health record (ePHR) have been the beginning of the movement into the integration and use of clinical health information systems (Reilly & Polifroni, 2011). As these technologies are being implemented into the everyday interaction that patients have with the healthcare delivery system, government laws and agencies are making sure that the use is appropriately monitored and the rights of the patient are protected (Barton, 2011). There are so many advantages of an interconnected record and the importance of interoperability for sharing

Electronic health records are revolutionizing how patients access their healthcare information. Most major insurance companies offer online platforms that allow patients to conveniently view

For more than 25 years, the US has practiced a speedy advancement of electronic health information technology in hospital and health care provider systems to expand access and quality for service recipients (Crilly et al., 2011). Different types of government , for example, state health departments have established health information exchanges over vast healthcare networks, insurance providers, and independent physician practices, and the use of electronic health records has greatly accelerated (Crilly et al., 2011). The US government dedicated to spend $10 billion per annum for the next five years to transition the US healthcare system to comprehensive implementation of standards-based electronic health information systems, including EHR (Wogan, 2012). EHR methods share data on patient characteristics,