Electronic Health Records And Its Effect On Healthcare Quality

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

Possible benefits included positive patient outcomes as a result of improved quality of care, decreased medical errors, increase in financial revenue for organizations, better ability to conduct research, reduced cost of healthcare for patients, and an overall improvement in health for the general population (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). Disadvantages that were found in the review of literature included the initial cost to implement the electronic health record, continuing maintenance costs, and interruption in workflows that adds to the brief loss in productivity that occurs from healthcare providers having to learn a new system (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). There are also concerns about maintaining confidentiality (Menachemi & Collum,

Background: The Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) identified five goals for adopting health information technology (HIT) into the current health care systems that would significantly improve healthcare in America. (Abdelhak, Grostick, & Hanken, 2012, p. 82) These goals will help improve the quality of care within the federal health system by reducing medical errors, cost, and duplication of workload.

A powerful IT infrastructure is necessary to advance healthcare quality. Among countless other advantages, an effective IT infrastructure generates accurate and accessible performance data, allowing monitoring of results. However, Hill absorbed the cost to physicians which encouraged their physicians to adapt to the new system. Similarly, they made sure the system was user friendly which lessened frustration and resistance.

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

Quality is something that many medical care institutions have advocated for. With the innovation of Electronic Health Records, healthcare facilities as well as institutions were consumed with the concerns of how medical records were being handled. Currently there are many national organizations as well as some of the government agencies who are trying to pursue the cause of quality and patient safety (GAO, 2010). Although, Electronic Health Records are presumed to bring quality to the way healthcare data is being handled,

These rewards serve as gratification and the offered initiatives contribute to the prevailing positive attitudes from the physicians toward EHRs. These benefits include improved patient safety and quality of care, the ability to reduce healthcare cost, and ultimately better patient health outcomes and satisfaction. According to Jamoom et al. (2013), having the ability to access the patient’s charts remotely, being warned to critical lab values and potential medication errors, and the systems’ ability to identify needed lab tests are all reported benefits of the EHR. Improved overall patient care, the ordering of less medical test due to the availability of lab results, and the ordering of more on-formulary medications are all advantages that physicians reported occurring due to the adoption of the EHRs. The adoption and implementation of the EHR has presented challenges for information technology. These benefits of the EHR outweigh the initial dissatisfaction of the physicians. For the adoption of EHR to be successful in the healthcare industry it is important that the physician’s outlook remain

I was not the least bit surprised at how many case studies there were on the AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality) website on funding of health information technology. I really believe that this technology is the future for health care, there are many benefits to this change. The case study that stood out the most to me while I did my research on the AHRQ website was titled “Primary Care Leader Benefits From AHRQ-Seeded Health Information Exchange” this article stood out to me at first glance. As I said before health information technology is the future of health care if all organizations can get the funding they can all reap the benefits that

Unfortunately, physician's perceptions are not objective outcome measures (Schenarts and Schenarts, 2012). It’s very dangerous the fact that providers rely on the electronic system to catch our errors. Furthermore, some of the most notable benefits of EHR include providers’ ability to access patients’ medical history almost anywhere, at any time. Nonetheless, the heavy reliance on health information technology is a major concern. It has the potential to cause harm to patients instead of the intended purpose of patient safety. Some examples of this include latent errors that do not manifest until they have already caused harm to the patient, or system failures which can cause a delay in time for healthcare professionals to review records thus, causing a delay in patient care. In addition, patient orders can be lost or miscommunicated. Healthcare providers rely on with confidence that the computer system will seamlessly promote the quality care of patients. According to Fiercehealthcare.com (2017), because of deficiencies in the eclinicalworks software, patients could not rely on the accuracy of their medical records. In addition, one patient was

We live in a world filled with technology. School teachers and college professors use technology to give lectures, health care professionals use technology to keep medical records, or monitor patient’s vital signs, we use technology such as social media, to connect with people and gain acceptance. In 2014, Gary Turk posted a video to Youtube titled Look Up, in which he argues that technology, such as smartphones, causes us to miss out on certain things in life, because we don’t use it in moderation. Technology benefits our lives by making us more efficient in our professional and personal activities.

Technology has had a role in healthcare for some time, but only recently has it matured to a point where it can support operational, business and clinical functions of healthcare organizations. In the past, many hospitals used technology for specialized departments and unique roles, but the concept of a complete electronic health record system did not exist until the early 2000’s. The American Hospital Association (AHA) Information Technology (IT) Supplement to the AHA Annual Survey stated that in 2008 only 9.4% of hospitals had a basic electronic health record (EHR) system (HealthIT EHR, 2014). They defined a basic EHR as having electronic clinical information that includes results and the ability to enter and view clinical notes. Without the ability for healthcare organizations to capture clinical information electronically, an online patient engagement solution cannot

In 2009 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which led to the significant investment of $30 billion in health information technology. The RRA provided financial incentives for hospitals, and physicians to use EHR systems in 2014, 83% of physicians use some form of EHRs, and 76% of hospitals have an EHR setup. Even with a basic EHR system a hospital or physician can create an autonomy of service that the patient can take comfort in that they are receiving the highest quality and tailor made health care experience. Noting the physicians and hospitals with EHR Patients feel as though they play an even larger role in determining their need for care but the outcome of the care they receive. If care is given to a patient at a specialized care facility and can, travel to a hospital for a separate issue communication should be seen by both facilities ensuring the patient is not receiving duplicate treatment. Patients who have EHR interface have a more satisfying experience at about 82% (source, 2016). With the open lines of communication, a real collaborative relationship can develop

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

The Computerized Provider Order Entry is effective program to help organization improve quality measures and financial margins. The CPOE is effective program; which monitors a hospitals current performance and calculates methods of improvement. For example, Trinity Hospital a leader in clinical intelligence to track and report across it members hospitals on systems wide quality measures (Balgrosky, 2015). The Clinical Provider Order Entry will help patients compare programs graded by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid and Hospital Quality Assurance. This program will further enhance the patient-centric model because patients will have comprehensive comparison of hospitals to make informed medical decision as to where they would like to receive treatment. The quality measures monitor readmission, complications, patient’s experience surveys and other categories. Patients are interested in receiving health care in top-notched care facilities that address their needs. Consumer needs are very important because translating into referrals by word-of-mouth or rankings. Technology plays a major role in an organization's success with supports Judy Murphy idea of enhancing patient’s health information technology

Electronic health records (EHR’s) have many advantages, but there are plenty of disadvantages. EHR’s were created to manage the many aspects of healthcare information. Medical professionals use them daily and most would feel lost without it. Healthcare organizations were encouraged to adopt EHR’s in 2009 due to the fact that a bill passed known as The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). “The HITECH Act outlines criteria to achieve “meaningful use” of certified electronic records. These criteria must be met in order for providers to receive financial incentives to promote adoption of EHRs as an integral part of their daily practice”, (Conrad, Hanson, Hasenau & Stocker-Schneider, 2012).