Health Information Technology Pros And Cons

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

Health providers across America are using Electronic Health Records systems to keep up with patient’s health information. Long hours of filing and writing patients health information manually has become a thing of the past. The Electronic Health Record system, known as EHRs, has changed how patients and health providers communicate as a whole. It has taken information technology to a different spectrum, and has helped patients become more aware of their health history and health conditions. Throughout the years, EHRs systems have been crucially ridicule in the medical world, due to lack of knowledge, high expenses, and apprehension among health providers. Because there will always be challenges when new technology starts to expand in any type of establishment. I believe that EHRs serves a great purpose in health care despite its delays.

Electronic health records (EHR) are health records that are generated by health care professionals when a patient is seen at a medical facility such as a hospital, mental health clinic, or pharmacy. The EHR contains the same information as paper based medical records like demographics, medical complaints and prescriptions. There are so many more benefits to the EHR than paper based medical records. Accuracy of diagnosis, quality and convenience of patient care, and patient participation are a few examples of the

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 identified three main components of meaningful use: the use of a certified EHR in a meaningful manner, electronic exchange of health information to improve quality of care, and the use of technology to submit clinical outcomes and quality measures (Heath Resources and Service Administration, n.d.). ARRA includes many measures to modernize our nation’s infrastructure, with the “Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act” being an example. The HITECH Act is an effort led by Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) in support of electronic health records and meaningful use (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC 2016). According to Galbraith (2013), the HITECH Act aims to promote the use of EHRs by providing over $27 billion in monetary incentives for health care providers that become “meaningful users”. CMS uses these core objectives to determine if a health care provider has satisfied meaningful use and is eligible to receive financial incentives (Galbraith, 2013).

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act is part of the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA) signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The HITECT Act introduced the concept of ‘meaningful use’ which incentivized the adoption of electronic health records (EHR) for the overall improvement of healthcare. This act authorized payments to qualified provider groups that meet the 'meaning use ' requirements that are paid out over five year. According to data from the National Ambulatory Medical care Survey, 57% of office based physicians’ utilized EHR system as of 2011 and 52% of this physician plan to apply for the meaningful use incentives in same year. This is a 11% increase from the year before.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law in 2009, includes the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act known as the HITECH Act. The act defined specific requirements for receiving financial incentives for ‘meaningful use’ of the electronic health record (EHR). Hospitals and providers could begin implementation of the requirements in 2011 to receive the incentives by meeting specific objectives, after 2015 failure to meet meaningful use requirements will result in penalties. Meaningful use is divided into 3 stages and each stage has objectives and requirements specific to that stage. Hospitals and providers must meet requirements for Stage 1 of meaningful use for two years before

EHRs can positively influence workplace efficiency and communication and improve productivity with better access to and organization of patient data (McGinn, et al., 2011). EHRs can improve operational efficiency by providing the capability of sharing of information within the practice. Additionally, health information can be shared with external health care organizations provided the proper interoperability infrastructure is in place. Physicians can access patient information anytime and anywhere the system is enabled, enhancing patient safety as well as quality and continuity of care, particularly for physicians on call or working at multiple sites. They also can have access to drug recalls or other alerts provided through the EHR.

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).

In 2004 president George Busch announced the goal to mandate electronic health records for every American by 2014. This would require every paper chart to be converted to electronic chart so that health care providers and the patient themselves can access their information through the internet (Simborg, 2011). The purpose of developing the EHR is to provide appropriate patient information from any location. Also to improve health care quality and the coordination of care among hospital staff. To reduce medical error, cost and advance medical care. Last to ensure patient health information is secure (DeSalvo, 2014) The Department of Health and Human Services appointed the Office of the National Coordinator for Health

Considering the great advances in technology, EHRs prior to January 2009 were underperforming. Often the EHR simply resembled the provider’s unique approach to healthcare. The technology existed, however the healthcare industry was not ready embracing the capabilities of the EHR. EHRs require standardization and each hospital had its own version of practicing medicine. It became apparent healthcare providers were going to continue business as usual; therefore the benefits linked to the capabilities of the EHR went unrealized. Indeed it is interesting the amount of time and legal maneuvers it took to spark the use of EHRs in hospitals. It was apparent government intervention to jump-start the EHR was inevitable. On January 9, 2009 passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health legislation (HITECH) opened the gateway to technology and implementation of the EHR.

The health IT system is essential to transform the delivery of health care. Innovation within the IT system includes efficient data use through warehouses as they expand health information, which allows for big improvements in the technological use. These improvements would ensure that data user safety will allow the smooth exchange of information transfer electronically between different health care providers. In this case, most hospital employees and health care organizations understand how the health information technology (IT) is important for the HCO’s functions. The passing of “the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) legislation in 2009, with its specific attention to advancing EHRs, federal dollars are dedicated to expanding EHR use in physician offices and more” (Abdelhak pg. 180). This shows that a federal government has an ability to change in the healthcare industry, so the government should incorporate science and technology development. The private sector and government funding resources will also have a significant impact to play a great role in the exploration of new software operations in terms of advancing the technological environment. Advancing this area of the organization encourages health Information

The federal government established a nationwide health information technology (HIT) infrastructure which requires all health care facility personnel to use an electronic health record (EHR). According to Sewell & Thede, in 2004, President Bush called for adoption of interoperable electronic health records for most Americans by 2014. Electronic health records (EHR) is an automated system created by healthcare providers or organizations, such as a hospital in documenting patient care. In addition, EHR is an interoperable healthcare record that can comprise of multiple EMRs data and the personal health record (PHR). Furthermore, electronic health records can be created, managed, and accessed by approved clinicians and staff across more than one health care society (Sewell & Thede, 2013, p. 231-232). On the patients’ perspective, EHR will be used to support healthcare by providing electronic record of patients’ vital signs, demographics, allergies, medications, diagnoses, and smoking status. Consequently, on the providers’ perspective, EHR will support healthcare by use of decision support tools, enter clinical orders, such as prescriptions, provide patients with electronic versions of their health information, use systems that protect the privacy and security of HER patient data. Another meaningful use of EHR is to support activities such as conducting drug formulary checks, including clinical laboratory test results, recording advance directions for patient 65 years and

With HITECH, the Obama administration has given $34 billion dollars to fund the implementation of EHRs through an incentive based program. To qualify for this program, organizations must buy a government certified HER system and demonstrate “meaningful use” of the certified EHR technology. HITECH has created an essential foundation for restructuring health care delivery and for achieving the key goals of improving health care quality; reducing costs; and increasing access through better methods of storing, analyzing, and sharing health information. The HITECH Act supports the 5 pillars of health outcomes policy priorities as described under “meaningful use”. The act is also measured by a set of objectives: breadth of use (spread of HER use among medical staff); extent of use; and quality improvement (Meaningful use of EHRs, 2013). Originally the achievement of these objectives through meaningful use were set to be met by this year (2015), but an extension has been made until

In a study conducted by the Health Services Research on the “Clinical Benefits of Electronic Health Record Use”, 78 percent of Physicians said that the EHR in general improved patient care. This included: remote access to patient charts, alerts for potential medical errors and critical test results, along with recommendations for care and proper test selections, and improve communication with patients (King, J., Patel, V., Jamoom, E. W., & Furukawa, M. F. (2014).