Healthcare Technology Assessment

Two organizations migrating to a common health information system would need a system that meets current regulatory requirements, meets the needs of the combined organization and their practice environment. The implementation of a common health information system would require an interdisciplinary group of forward thinking innovators, and an interoperable electronic medical record system that includes standard nursing terminology.

Our one hundred bed hospital is in need of updating from paper charting to computerized health records. In doing this, we will meet our goal of compliance with meaningful use legislation. We assembled a team of members to assist with this task and together we have narrowed the search to two health care systems. Those two systems are EPIC and Meditech and we will now discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each, with a final recommendation for our new healthcare system.

Healthcare systems are highly complex, fragmented, and use multiple information technology systems and vendors who incorporate different standards resulting in inefficiency, waste, and medical errors (Healthinformatics, 2016). A patient 's medical information often gets trapped in silos, which prevents information from being shared with members of the healthcare community (Healthinformatics, 2016). With increasing healthcare costs, a system needed to be created that would lead to the development and nationwide implementation of an interoperable health information technology system to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare. Introducing the National Health Information Network (NHIN), this organization can be defined as a set of

The health care sector is impacted by numerous changes and challenges, such as increasing need for health care provision, changing demands from patients or rapidly evolving technologies. In the context of evolving technologies, the developments occur not only in the actual provision of the medical act, but also at the level of the complementary operations, such as health care information management.

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.

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.

Wager, K. A., Lee, F. W., & Glaser, J. P. (2009). Health care information systems, a practical approach for health care management. (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.

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).

Recent reforms in health care, such as the passage of measures mandating electronic health care records, make unified public health information systems an increasingly viable option for providers, insurance companies, and care facilities. An examination of the experience of the Missouri Department of Health indicates that the construction of such a system based on information engineering has a number of benefits but only if properly implemented with prudent foresight. Some of the most valuable lessons learned that can assist other health care providers with the implementation of a similar system include protecting client confidentiality, procuring funding, sharing information with other agencies, gaining executive sponsorship, and allocating a sufficient amount of time and resources to such an undertaking.

With the enforcement of both the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), our health care systems have undergone drastic and continuous change in health care policy, regulations, and reforms. This has significantly changed the way our health care organizations have provided medical services to patients, and at the same time meet new health care law requirements. The issue, however, in meeting these reforms lies in ensuring patients receive quality care at an affordable price, and that health care organizations meet these goals through technological improvements with Healthcare Information Technology (HIT). In doing so, health care organizations can not only meet the new health care law requirements, but, at the same time, save financial resources to improve quality standards of care for patients in the present and in the future.

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

Health information management and health information technology can be described as the protagonist and its sidekick in the medical field. In this scenario, health information technology (HIT) is the sidekick because health information management (HIM) directly interacts with the public by using the information obtained through the use of HIT. In their article Redefining the Roles of Health Information Management Professions in Health Information Technology, Zeng, Reynolds, and Sharp (2000) describe HIT as a fundamental technology platform for information to be managed and shared. HIT refers to the infrastructure needed to move large quantities of digitized information in an efficient and secure manner from one place or person to another. HIM,

Health is one of the top priorities for population, services providers and payers (government, companies and private individuals). An important formulates operation and tactical objective which helps the organization achieve its strategic objectives is the Electronic Medical Record system. Information technology

Health technology information (health IT) is crucial to health care. Health IT is defined as the exchange of data information through an electronic system (HHS, 2017). The use of it will help reduce medical errors, enhance the quality of care, increase efficiency, reduce paperwork, and decrease unnecessary medical costs. However, to gain the most out of health IT, privacy and security standards must be all health organizations first priority. It is important that patients feel that their personal information is secured.

The U.S. transforming health care system by promoting development of a nationwide Health IT infrastructure since 2004. Which allows for electronic use and exchange of information. Most of the healthcare institution are encouraged by the Health Information Technology (HIT) and US Government to develop an integrated computer based information management environment to use electronic