E-Health Applications Strategic Decision

In a healthcare world that operates on stringent budgets and margins, we begin to see the need for a higher capacity healthcare delivery system. This in turn puts pressure on the healthcare organizations to ensure higher standards of patient care, and compliance with the reform provisions. However, these are the harsh realities of today’s healthcare environment, a setting in which value does not always equal quality. The use of technology can help to amend some of this by providing higher capacity care without compromising quality; this can be done with the use of such technology as electronic health records (EHRs). This paper will aim to address how EHRs influence healthcare today by expanding upon topics such as funding sources, reimbursement methods, economic factors, socioeconomic factors, business influences, and cost containment.

E-health can help new health tasks and processes to be undertaken for the first time: things that were simply not possible before. A number of health management and health policy decisions can only be made once e-health enabled health information systems deliver reliable data for the first

Healthcare and health information technology (health IT) are undergoing transformative change at an unprecedented pace. Strategic planning has become a major discussion point among CIOs, CTOs, CMIOs, and IT Directors. Whether it is implementing enterprise-wide electronic health record (EHR) systems, working toward compliance with the “meaningful use” EHR Incentive Program, enabling patients’ involvement through PHRs, transitioning to ICD-10, establishing insurance exchanges, becoming an accountable care organization, or even deploying a medical home, healthcare executives are confronted with a confluence of high-priority initiatives.

For over 10 years, all areas of industry have been investing in informational technology (IT). IT offers faster and more proficient care especially for the healthcare industry. Health information technology (HIT) is making significant changes in how care is being delivered and addressed for patients and healthcare workers. HIT includes electronic health records (EHR), personal health records (PHI), electronic prescribing and more. The potential list is endless. HIT provides for more accurate and efficient documentation, prescriptions, and education. The Obama administration came up with an answer to help in HIT by instituting the meaningful use. This paper will discuss the overview of meaningful use, its’ core criteria, and recommendations for additional criteria.

Since the mid 1990’s, a predominant concept of healthcare is the iron triangle of care, consisting of three competing issues: quality, access, and cost. (Carroll, 2012). William Kissick, who introduced the model, suggested that if you improve one or two of these issues areas, it comes at the expense of the third. If quality of care is increased, it comes at the expense of access or through increased cost. If access to care is improved, it is at the expense of quality or increased cost. If an institution is successful at cost containment while providing care, it is at the expense of quality and/ or access. (Kissick., 1994, p.13). Despite this deeply ingrained concept, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) viewed the use of Health Information Technology (HIT) in the nation’s healthcare delivery as a resource to promote quality and access while potentially decreasing overall cost. (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2003). (Page 175 of Delivering Healthcare in America) In efforts to promote the use of HIT, AHRQ provided five goals of implementation that would best impact the healthcare provided throughout the federal and private healthcare systems. These goals, when applied to the federal

“Go Paperless and Get Paid” is how the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) presents the incentives for electronic health records. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. Department of HHS) distributed more than $160 billion dollars to “improve and preserve health care, health information technology, community health, and prevention initiatives” (United States Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2014e). Likewise, the ONC offers “Health IT Adoption Programs” through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, seeking to advance the American health care delivery system and to improve patient care through an unique investment towards health information technology (HHS, 2014d). Additionally, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reward eligible hospitals and professionals with monetary incentives as they implement, adopt, or upgrade and demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology (HHS, 2014b). The Electronic Health Records Improvement Act (H.R. 1331) introduced by the United States House of Representative Diane Black is a bill to further improve the nation’s health care adoption of health information technology.

Advances in modern technology surrounds us in our day to day lives, allowing conveniences and efficiency at our fingertips. Great strides have been made over the years with technology, and the healthcare industry along with many other industries have adopted this new way of functioning; electronically. The effects of technology have come to the forefront in where our government has acknowledged the benefits and opportunities. “The promise of Health Information Technology for improving quality and safety of health care while reducing costs has caught the eye of policy makers and other leaders in health care” (Hersh, 2006). It deeply affects how we connect, interact, and communicate internally and externally, but also gives us a sense of control on how we engage ourselves to the innovative software and systems.

As the emergence of electronic health records (EHRs), the subject of transforming the delivery method of healthcare is prominent in the United States. The use of EHRs is a major key in the way physicians practice in healthcare organizations through communication and management of patient information. Henricks (2011) points out that EHRs are a part of an objective aimed at improving all aspects of health care and reducing health disparities, making the healthcare of patients and families appealing to them, refining the direction of healthcare, along with population and public health improvement, continuation of privacy maintenance and the security of health information, and finally reducing costs. In the perspective of health information technology

Health care spending across the nation has increased exponentially. In response and attempt for resolution, the government looked to health information technology (HIT). Research suggests, the rising expenditures of health care was due to high-cost advanced technology and prescription drugs, redundant tests and procedures, and inefficient healthcare administration (Yaraghi, 2014). The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 was implemented to enhance overall health care quality, efficiency, and safety, increase access, decrease health care costs, and to provide a platform for the private exchange of health information electronically (“Health IT”, 2016). The

In an effort to further improve the Australian Health Care System, an initiative was formulated in December 2008 in the Australian Health Ministers Conference for a National E-Health Strategy. This aims to formulate

Implementation of Healthcare Information Technology potentially reduces cost yet, remains a continuous challenge. The adoption of improved healthcare infrastructure is compelling and significant barriers remain such as technical issues, cost, concerns about privacy and confidentiality, system interoperability and lack of well trained staff to lead the process (Palvia, Love, Nemati, & Jacks, 2012).

Combined with data analytics, aggregate-level EHR enable examination and development of effective medicines and therapies for chronic diseases (Kohli & Tan, 2016). There are several forces that are driving many of the changes to the EHR including health and safety concerns with the number of preventable deaths from medical errors , a changing society, the internet, with an increasing amount of mobile patients, as well as government response (Gartee, 2011) The response to the IOM report was swift and positive, within both the government and private sectors (Gartee, 2011). The government responded with establishing a position of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to “develop, maintain, and direct the implementation of a strategic plan to guide the nationwide implementation of interoperable health information technology in both the public and private health care sectors that will reduce medical errors, improve quality, and produce greater value for health care expenditures (Gartee,

With the increase in information technology, it has allowed data to be accessed almost anywhere in the world. Gone are the old ways of looking at data such as going to a data resource centers. In the medical world, Health information technology (HIT) open up vast new opportunities to physicians and medical care providers all over the world. The introduction of Electronic health records (EHR) allows healthcare providers to record patient data digitally and can assist in health care delivery. With EHR being readily available, they can increase the health and span of an individual’s lifetime regardless of socioeconomic status. When looking at American health care, the OECD has the US as one of the worst developed health care systems and a large part of it is due to our health information technology. Health care

In today’s fragmented healthcare system, clinical decisions are made based on the available information. Unfortunately, the available information is not always complete. Patients have been using an increasing number of providers and health systems, many of which have no way to effectively communicate clinical information. This forces healthcare providers to make decisions based on incomplete information at the cost of outcomes to the patients and dollars to the health system. It is estimated that the use of health information exchange (HIE) could save $78 billion in healthcare costs per year (Shortliffe, 2014, p425). A concerted effort to solve this problem began in 2009, when The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

Information and communication technology has been adopted and implemented within various sectors of the economy. This is attributed to the benefits of technology in facilitating organizational activities and processes and its use in meeting the changes which characterize the modern society. The health sector is one of the industries which have significantly implemented technology. The health sector’s technological applications have been achieved within health information systems. The implementation of technology in this sector has resulted into both positive and negative implications on health