Effect Of Change On Healthcare

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

The healthcare industry is in the midst of a major change from paper based medical record keeping to electronic medical record keeping. As part of the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was passed (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, 2014). HITECH is the U.S. Government’s first major contribution to the change from paper to electronic health information technology by setting meaningful use incentive program for Medicare and Medicaid providers that met certain requirements. Healthcare professionals that meet the meaningful use criteria will be awarded financially, and those that don’t meet the 2015 guideline will be penalized. We live in an electronic world of instant access to information and by adopting health information technology we give providers better and easier access to more information which in turn allows them to make a more informed diagnosis and treatment plan for the patient. The electronic health record (EHR) is part of the new information technology. According to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (2014.), EHR’s provide many benefits such as improvement in the quality of patient care; improvement in the coordination of patient care; more accurate diagnosis and better outcomes; a higher level of patient participation in their own care; and cost savings for the practice

EHRs have potential in recuperating patient safety. EHRs are efficient as they do not require doctors to use paper records, which in turn result in healthier individuals (Staggers, Weir and Phansalkar, 2008). Furthermore, Canada and many other countries around the globe have invested in EHRs due to the advantages for patient safety. Moreover, EHRs have its advantages, but there are also evident disadvantages, such as financial costs, patient safety, and medical errors (Sparnon and Marella,

As useful as the EMR is to patient care there exist a few drawbacks when records are transformed from paper into the digital form. Even though patient health records can only be accessed from inside the hospital’s computers, the EMR can be accessed from anywhere inside the hospital or from another hospital or clinic within the same organization. Before the implementation of the EMR, healthcare staff had to go directly to the patient 's physical chart and thumb through pages of information. Now, with the EMR, any hospital employee can access any patient 's information anywhere inside the hospital. EMRs are more easily accessible, even to personnel not involved in the

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.

Hillestad, R., Bigelow, J., Bower, A., Girosi, F., Meili, R., Scoville, R., & Taylor, R. (2005). Can electronic medical record systems transform health care? Potential health benefits, savings, and costs. Health Affairs,24(5), 1103-1117. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.24.5.1103

The major current issue that could influence change in healthcare is the presidential election. The impact could last for the next decade or more. The US Healthcare had massive changes in healthcare with almost every newly elected president. The changes in the proposals by both the leading candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are distinct. With either of the candidates winning, ACA will undergo changes that could lead to the change of policies and regulations.

Besides the disadvantages of (EMR)’s the advantages pose great benefits to patient care and efficiency. The greater use of electronic medical records or health records can reduce wait times, of seeing doctors or waiting for test results. All staff would need to cohesively work out the technical challenges and software data. With sophisticated IT

Lastly, Electronic Health Records increases the efficiency of the medical practice. EHRs are more efficient because they reduce redundant paperwork and have the capability of interfacing with a billing program that submits claims electronically. It also improves medical practice management through scheduling systems that link appointment directly to progress notes, automated coding, and managed claims and many other shortcuts. In a survey done on Doctors, 79 % of providers said with EHRs, their practice functions more efficiently (HealthIT.gov). Communication with other clinician, insurance providers, pharmacies and diagnostic center is faster and trackable. The increase in communication cuts down on lost of messages and follow-up calls. In addition, the communication of information between several health agencies also prevents the patient from needing to repeated examination. Because EHRs contain all of the patient’s health information in one place, it is less likely that

In July of 2004, Tommy Thompson, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, stated, "[A]merica needs to move much faster to adopt information technology in our health care system...electronic health information will provide a quantum leap in patient power, doctor power, and effective health care. We can 't wait any longer...” (hhs.gov). In the 12 years since Thompson’s statement, healthcare has been transformed by the beneficial adoption of electronic medical records (EMR) creating savings for healthcare organizations and reducing costs for practitioners and informaticists, as well as other professionals involved in the process.

An electronic health records (EHRs) has the simplest, digital (computerized) versions of patient 's paper charts. But, (EHRs) when fully up and running are so much more than that. EHRs are real-time patient-centered records. They make information available instantly "whenever and wherever it is needed." And they bring together in one place everything about a patient 's health. EHRs can: contain information about a patient 's medical history, diagnoses, medications, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, lab and test results; offer access to evidence-based tools that providers can use in making decisions about a patient 's care, automate and streamline provider’s workflow, increase organization and accuracy of patient information, support key market changes in payer requirements and consumer expectations. One of the key features of an EHR is that it can

The most current report of healthcare spending is in the year 2015. During the year, spending increased by 5.8% to reach $3.2 trillion, or $9,990 per person. Reports blame the coverage expansion that began in 2014, a result of the Affordable Care Act. (https://www.cms.gov/research-data-and-systems/statistics-trends-and -reports/nationalhealthexpanddata/downloads/highlights.pdf.

One thing that could drastically change healthcare would be how medical treatment is covered for cancer patients. Even with fairly decent insurance coverage, chemotherapy and other forms of treatment are outrageously priced. Often times families go into extreme debt due to a cancer diagnosis. This is not only the costs associated with treatment but the time off work due to recovering from the treatment, surgery, and other complications. My goal would be to come up with a way for families to not be burdened with the medical costs associated with a cancer diagnosis.

There are continual pressures on healthcare costs coupled with growing needs for healthcare services, linked with limited resources and evidence of poor performance which affect national and local healthcare organisations (Medicine 2013; Porter and Lee 2013; Publishing and Oecd 2002). Public demand for increased quality coupled with the increased need to do more with less has led healthcare organisation management teams to re-evaluate their operations strategy (Ballé and Regnier 2007). These days, healthcare settings such as hospitals operate under a barrage of improvement programs as a result, often adding to the pressure of operations rather than dealing with problems in the existing systems (Fillingham 2007). It is clear that healthcare organisations are complex dynamic systems that focus on improving quality of care and meeting stringent guidelines.

Electronic medical records had a great impact in the ushering in of the age of Nursing Informatics. (Himss, 2010)EMRS present healthcare professionals with the ability to retrieve and organize data in a quick and efficient approach. With information so readily available, patient safety increases and we know that patient cost goes down. This happens because patient medications, allergies, history, demographic, and treatment information is more collectively available.