Driving Force Paper

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) states that in order to realize meaningful use of the EHR technology, healthcare providers are obliged to apply the technology in a approach that enriches quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare delivery; ebbs healthcare inconsistencies; involves patients and families; enriches care coordination; expands population and public health; and guarantees sufficient privacy and security guards for personal health information. (U.S Department of Health and

In regards to technology and how its influences healthcare today we see the use of EHRs, which allows for a high capacity healthcare environment by condensing patient information into an easily accessible form for all healthcare professionals. “EHRs allow us to collect meaningful data to determine the efficacy in which our units are functioning” (Biddle & Milstead 2016, p.12). This technology can help manage the high capacity hospital environment while not compromising quality. This

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ehr mandate and how it relates to affordable care act. The six steps in implementation of an electronic health record and how I would use them in the nursing home. The definition of what meaningful use is and what is HIPAA and what could happen if those laws were violated

Hence, EHR 's are inherently complex amalgamations of diverse subsystems targeted toward varied users. The stakeholders are the users and must have a role in implementing any IT or EHR system into its work flow. An EHR can be customized to accommodate any environment depending on the level of expertise of the vendor and how long they have been in the business of creating an optimum system that 's customized to fit the organizations needs. For the most part, EHR 's must be designed for efficient, error free use. Ideally, an EHR is a system that encompass all the subsystems that make a hospital meet "meaningful use" criteria to acquire incentives for adopting EHR into practice. In the next five years, EHR adoption will no longer be a luxury, it will be a "MUST". EHR 's and other health information technology will be a necessity to practice medicine (econsultant.com, 2010). Rather than purchase several standalone systems, it would behoove one , in my opinion , to purchase an EHR that would satisfy all the needs of the stakeholders, the physician , nurses and other hospital staff and all parties involved in the tertiary practice too. Although LWMS 's budget is not large enough to accommodate the full cost of implementing an EHR,

So much so that our political leaders and President Barack Obama have created a stimulus package called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Within this legislature, improvements to our healthcare industry and systems have been made with long-term financial savings in mind. As technology and uniformed data was becoming the standard in healthcare, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act has accelerated the speed. “The number of certified EHR vendors in the United States has increased from 605,6 to more than 10007 since mid-2008” (Sitting and Singh, 2012). Healthcare organizations now have no choice but to invest in a new

In efforts to reform the United States healthcare system and create a nationally unified data exchange system the federal government has established an incentive program to eligible professionals and hospitals. The federal government has turned to certified electronic health record (EHR) technology to help facilitate the process of broadening health IT infrastructures. The federal government views EHR system used in meaningful ways as the key to reforming the healthcare systems. Meaningful use of the EHR systems can also improve the overall quality of healthcare, insure patient safety, as well as reduce the cost of healthcare to individuals (Bigalke & Morris, 2010, p. 116).

In 2010, Stage 1 was introduced which focused on EHR data and sharing. Healthcare providers were obligated to store health information electronically in a standardize format that allowed authorized providers and patients to easily access the info. Stage 2 began in 2014, this stage broadened the use of EHR software for health information exchange among providers which will feature enhanced integration for e-prescribing and lab results, increased sharing of patient care summaries, and continuing to encourage patients to engage in their care in order to earn the incentives. Stage 3 began in 2016 which was set out to improve outcomes. To improve the outcome of health for patients on a large scale, the quality of health information exchanged needed to be focused on, giving providers efficient and easy access to comprehensive patient data (LeGate, 2013).

A wave of medical errors and patient deaths caused by healthcare providers renewed the search for a viable EHR system in 2000. Electronic health records would allow "providers to make better decisions and provide better

A lengthy list of EHR benefits supports the evolution from paper to electronic medical record keeping. One such benefit, the significant reduction of needed storage space. Bulky paper charts require a lot of space and misplaced charts waste time and effort to locate. Since EHR data remains on the computer, medical practices no longer require secure on-site storage, and electronic files eliminate misplacing files. Another benefit to data remaining on the computer rather than a medical chart, electronic records allow immediate access from several locations. EHRs provide emergency room personnel access to allergies and other pertinent information of unconscious patients. The on-call physician accesses patient information from their home computer, rather than driving to the medical

Nationally, EHRs have become fairly popular and it is essential to realize they are resourceful to health care professionals. Canada Health Infoway INC. continues to help the federal government present EHRs to various health care institutions. The organization only puts funds forward for hospitals and clinics they believe the equipment will be successful in and consider the territorial and provincial standards. Also, Canada Health Infoway INC. plans on creating an authorized agreement for each individual territorial and provincial assignment, and guarantee that they fulfill the requirements.

Giving the facts from the Real-World Case by purchasing the same EHR system as Community Hospital, physicians have confidence that they will have better control of care over their patients. In addition, they will be able to write orders, advise medications and also have the capability to get into the providers EHR systems while covering in other specific areas of the hospital. For this reason, some pros of the EHR consist of better patient care, better-quality care coordination, upgraded diagnostics and patient outcomes and the applying of a computerized physician order entry; this allows in the decrease of transcript mistakes related to poor writing on behalf of the physicians for either procedures or prescriptions. (HealthIT, 2015) Regrettably, there is also a downside, as not all areas of the hospital, such as the Physical Therapy unit, Nurse’s station and Nutrition department are ready to engage with the new technology.

With the advent of electronic health records (EHR’s) and The American Recovery Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, electronic health records have become main stream and a requirement for healthcare providers who treat Medicaid and Medicare patients. An electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart (Health IT, n.d.). EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users. A portion of ARRA provides reimbursements to providers that have EHR’s that are certified for meaningful use. Certified EHR’s meet meaningful use requirements by meeting the government the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH)

There is improvement in financial, administrative and management information, decrease in the duplication of the records, decrease in the repetitive lab tests, and reduction in the cost associated with hospital stays. A lot of money is saved by electronically storing and managing volumes of information [1]. ITAA believes that an industry-wide investment in IT of $18.1 billion would yield gross savings of greater than $120 billion dollars for the health care industry over a six-year period. [2] Many billing errors, coding inaccuracy have been reduced and as a result of this, there is enhancement in revenue.

Long Term Acute Care (LTPAC) hospitals serve a valuable role in the spectrum of healthcare by caring for patients who need longer than usual hospital stays, on average 25 days or more. The average length of stay in what are considered short term hospitals is only 5-6 days. Access to these hospitals is crucial to a small but critically-ill population of patients. LTAC hospital patients are severely-ill, medically-complex patients. This data will be transmitted utilizing the same standards as shown above. These standards are universal and ensure all federal guidelines are being adhered to. For LTPAC facilities a comprehensive data exchange can enhance the patients stay as well as provide nurses and doctors with the patients complete medical history, medication history and suggested methods of

The information within this system is very crucial to the delivery of care necessary for the consumers of long term care. The use of electronic health records reduces medical error and allows for interoperability (Leventhal, 2014). The federal Electronic Health Record incentive payment program established in 2009 has helped enhance Electronic Health Record adoption to approximately 80% of doctors in the United States (Leventhal, 2014). But Congress excluded nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long term care facilities from this program, creating issues. For the future of long term care and technology use, all the long term care facilities should be a part of this incentive payment program. Physicians are not always present at these facilities. A bridge of communication needs to be created between the consumer’s physician and multidisciplinary team of the long term care facilities. The consistent use of Electronic Health Records will help bridge this gap, allowing the consumer to get better coordinated health care for their needs. In addition, Electronic Health Record systems will help lower error incidences and duplications by giving precise and sensible information to staff members. Further, it will allow medical practitioners to have quick access to data, patient medical history, and critical decision support (Leventhal, 2014). Moreover, Electronic Recording Sharing will be greatly used in long term care settings. Electronic Recording Sharing helps with transfers of care within the long term care system. This allows long term care providers to electronically share the health records of their residents or patients with hospitals and physicians. Hospitals that discharge their patients to long term care facilities want electronic orders to avoid rekeying patients’ admission data. This aspect is important, since