Disadvantages Of Health Information Technology

The advancement in technology has rapidly transformed the world today, and the increase in the number of web-enabled devices has completely changed peoples ' lives especially the way they communicate. Electronic Health Record system, which is a digital copy of a patient’s medical history is one of the revolutionary ideas that have come with this advancement. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are instantaneously updating records that are patient-centered designed with the aim of providing real-time information to the authorized users (Cohen, 2010). It contains all the patient’s information that is in the hand of the medical providers including their medical history, treatment dates and types, immunizations conducted to the patient and their dates, radiology images and all the laboratory results from the tests conducted in the past. All this information is held in a digital format and can only be updated by authorized users who are stationed in the medical facilities. Electronic records are designed to make it easy for different health providers and organizations to share patients’ information which streamlines their operations since all the necessary information and history can be accessed from any location at any time.

This particular goal mainly focused on privacy of the individual. Invasion to privacy is strictly restricted and all the health information about the patient should be used with their consent only. Moreover every health system manager have aware about legal implications currently in practice to protect privacy.

eHealth is an application of information and communication technologies which can help manage and improve healthcare. According to McClure, “The global impact of e-Health is being manifested in the reduction of healthcare costs and improved efficiency through better retention and retrieval of records, better management of chronic diseases, shared health professional staffing, reduced travel times and fewer or shorter hospital stays” (as cited in Isabalija, Mayoka, Rwashana, & Mbarika, 2011). One of the most important factors that influences eHealth adoption amongst the healthcare organizations and providers is the financial incentives provided by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The HITECH Act of 2009 was signed into law to promote widespread use of electronic medical records (EMRs) and supporting technologies. As per the provision in the HITECH Act, the healthcare providers who adopt EMR system and manifests the “meaningful use” (MU) criteria by 2015 will receive incentives under

As a result, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was enacted by the federal government in 2009 (Blumenthal, 2010). This act was to improve quality, safety, and efficiency while enhancing patient privacy

Because technology is being use more and more by medical practice, there is a lot of information about patients being gather on an electronical from and the security rules is intended to protect that information.

The ARRA includes the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which pursues to improve American Healthcare and patient care through an extraordinary investment in Healthcare IT (HIT). The requirements of the HITECH Act are precisely designed to work jointly to provide the necessary assistance and technical operation to providers, enable grammatical relation and organization within and among states, establish connectivity in case of emergencies, and see to it the workforce is properly trained and equipped to be meaningful users of certified Electronic Health Records (EHRs). These computer software products are designed collaboratively to intensify the footing for every American to profit from an electronic health record (EHR) as part of a modernized, interrelated, and vastly improved grouping of care delivery.

It is interesting that technology has evolved vastly particularly in the healthcare industry some important examples are the Electronic Health Record EHR, Personal Health Records PHRs, Electronic Prescribing E-prescribing. HIT is important to healthcare as it is used as storage and also to share among healthcare workers such as from a primary care physician to that of a specialist in the treatment of a patient.

With an increasing usage of computers and internet, the access towards new technology advancement has become easier. Each member of the community and health care providers can access the information easily and can integrate into their health decisions. The introduction of HIT implementation has improved access to information and decision making based on evidence-based practices. At the community level, introducing their personal information could be a threat to their personal data because of an increasing breach of data in technology. Steps for the protection of Personal Protective Information (PPI) of community members are essential for effective implementation of HIT. In this respect, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have been implemented so to protect the personal information of the patients which ensure that the data breach from any healthcare facility would lead to the heavy fines. This step at the governmental level has created the sense of satisfaction among the community members regarding their PPI.

Health information is a very important topic as it impacts patient care. It can be a wonderful addition to the ever-changing healthcare system. In addition, health information technology can be very useful in assisting medical personnel, however,

The purpose of this project was to overview on the effects of health information technology integration (HIT). This report is mainly focused on understanding of health information technology, specifically on use of health information technology as significant use. Scope of this literature review, given the current state of health information functionality 8.

The Omnibus Final Rule to the HITECH can be seen in the area of the patients’ health information; which stated that patients are entitled to visualize who is responsible or capable to their health information. It also clarifies patients protected health information and demographic such as: a patient’s name, date of birth, address, email address, telephone number, social security number, a patient’s employer, and so on.

In fact, according to research performed by Dephillips (2007), the healthcare spends less than 50% on IT compared to other sectors. However, the implementation of IT despite of improving the quality of care can provide countless other benefits such as making healthcare more efficient by reducing medical costs and errors. As a result, “one of the most promising manifestations” of HIT is the transitioning of paper records to electronic medical records (EMR) (Arbab Kash, Spaulding, Johnson, & Gamm, 2014).

Health information management involves the practice of maintaining and taking care of health records in hospitals, health insurance companies and other health institutions, by the use of electronic means (McWay 176). Storage of medical information is carried out by health information management and HIT professionals using information systems that suit the needs of these institutions. This paper answers four major questions concerning health information systems.

It is important to understand that using electronic health system helps physicians to provide a more accurate diagnosis which helps to reduce medical errors and incorrect diagnosis which make patients very happy knowing that physicians have their best interest at heart (Kudyba, 2010). In electronic health system, information is structured and well organized in a manner that helps to eliminate the time spent searching for information. Moreover, patients are very happy since electronic health system helps to provide privacy and security of patients’ information and data so as to eliminate the problem of leaving patients’ information unattended on papers so that unauthorized personnel can see and

Health information systems (HIS) are complex and it is helpful to understand advantages and disadvantages to some key components of a HIS. This section will describe the advantages and disadvantages of usability, interoperability, scalability and compatibility.