My Health Manager Is Kaiser Permanente 's Personal Health Record

Patients are taking an aggressive role in their healthcare needs. Patients desire to in touch with their medical records. Medical professionals are utilizing the Electronic Health Records to implement current data into information necessary to provide quality care for the patient. Thereby, managing patients’ current, and past histories. To understand what is occurring today, one must recognize why patients are taking an active approach to their healthcare.

Increased public demand to access health information and growth of consumerism in health care industry are two important reasons form increasing attention to Personal Health Records (PHRs) in the recent years. Surveys show that a considerable number of people want to have access to their health information. In one survey, 60 percent of respondents wanted physicians to provide online access to medical records and test results, and online appointment scheduling; 1 in 4 said they would pay more for the service.

Modern communications capabilities open up a world of possibilities for all types of medical practices to develop deeper connections with their patients and to manage health care remotely. The HIPAA Privacy Rule gives patients the right to obtain copies of their medical records, treatments and protected health information or PHI. These requirements go further if medical providers want to receive reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid -- patients must be able to access their records online, download copies and transmit the information to third-party providers. Most medical practices are finding it necessary to develop patient portals where patients and physicians can interact, share information and perform important functions such as practices billing patients and accepting payments online. HIPAA 's rules require that these patient portals have strong security and privacy protections to prevent unauthorized access of these confidential PHI records.

Mhealth has reached the poorest of communities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). More than 9 million patients email their physician in 2009 (Digital Health Care, 2010), because patients’ busy lifestyles do not allow time for an office visit for non-emergent health conditions. . In recent years, the expansion of mobile health (mhealth) technologies, including health text messaging, mobile phone applications, remote monitoring, and portable sensors, have changed the way health care is being delivered in the U.S. and globally (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Patients like the convenience of communicating with his or her physician through advanced technology.

Healthcare organizations have been tasked to explicitly define organizational requirements for what their facility maintains as a legal health record and maintains as a designated record set. The requirement that healthcare facilities maintain a designated record set, in addition to a legal health record, is a HIPAA privacy rule (AHIMA, 2011). While all healthcare organizations will uniquely define both record sets, in order to be in compliance with HIPAA their definitions must contain common principles (AHIMA, 2011).

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the electronic health record mandate. Who started it and when? I will discuss the goals of the mandate. I will discussion will how the Affordable Care Act ties into the mandate of Electronic Health Record. It will describe my own facility’s EHR and what steps are been taken to implement it. I will describe the term “meaningful use,” and it will discuss possible threats to patient confidentiality and the what’s being done by my facility to prevent Health Information and Portability Accountability Act or HIPAA violations.

Advancements in technology have made it possible for people to access medical information, communicate with their doctor, manage and track diseases, seek help, and maintain anonymity. Technology has facilitated the tracking of medical information, for example, Kaiser Permanente uses a computerized system to store and track patient information. Any doctor in a

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.

An ethical concern in health care is the fear of medical professionals violating HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) by using online sources such as email and Web marketing. According to Gary and Christiansen (2009), “The healthcare industry appears to be avoiding the use of email and Web marketing as a result of concerns regarding HIPAA restrictions and warnings from insurers not to engage in electronic communication with consumers.” Many medical professionals are reluctant to use online marketing because they are afraid of receiving a fine from the law. Unfortunately, these businesses are unaware that when used correctly, online marketing is an effective way to attract the consumer. “Offering these customer-oriented services can be a strategic use of the Internet for marketing to current patients, attracting new patients, and reducing costs” (Gary and Christiansen, 2009). From experience, patients love being able to talk to their doctor whenever they have a question or concern. It is easily and assessable for the patient to be able to access their phones or computers and communicate with their

Health information exchange and information technology are essential tools that healthcare providers and consumers often utilize to assist in improving health care. An electronic health information exchange promises potential benefits for health care systems through improved clinical care, reduced cost and the needed elements for a national health information network. As with any other industry, the exchange of such information has its many benefit, but it

Health information technology (HIT) involves trading of health information in an electronic format to advance health care, reduce health expenditures, improve work efficiency, decrease medication errors, and make health care more accessible. Maintaining privacy and security of health information is crucial when technology is involved. Health information exchange plays an important role in improving the quality and delivery of health care and cost-effectiveness. “There is very little electronic information sharing among clinicians, hospitals, and other providers, despite considerable investments in health information technology (IT) over the past five years” (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2014, p. 1).

The transformation of health care through the use of Health Information Technology continued with the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, which mandated the integration of physician quality reporting and Electronic Health Record reporting. This Act required the creation of measures and reporting of the “meaningful use of the electronic health record” and “quality of care furnished to an individual.” In doing so, the law directly links the adoption of the electronic health record with quality of care to the patient. This entails coordination which the Act requires the use of electronic health

Doctors have the power of knowledge but with the help of the internet patients have access to medical information to understand or question the diagnosis of their doctor. The patient has power because they are a consumer of health care services without them the doctor has no job. The doctor has power because the patient cannot order tests, diagnose illness, or prescribe medication for them only a doctor with a license can (Burns, Bradley, & Weiner, 2011). Both the doctor and patient together have the power with their relationship to determine which direction the patient’s health care should take. Insurance companies have the power over the doctor and patient to either pay for medical services or deny them as not appropriate for the care of

Nobody in the research got billed for the secure messages, that, in contrast to the e-visits, don't encourage the user to respond to questions and rather let the user to enter what they need. The research discover that, there seemed to be a somewhat reducing development in yearly visits for every patient, from 1.97 visits annually during 2009 to 1.87 visits annually in the year 2011. Then again on the whole, patients who chosen secure messages often didn't replace the frequency of their office visits and people who delivered one or more e-visit message didn't change his or her visit frequency. Patients with comorbid conditions, or chronic issues, even didn't affect the frequency of their office visits, although researchers stated that they hoped for this group to reduce the frequency of office visits when patient portal messaging was offered.

The future trends in health care are limitless. From using applications that perform EKG’s to robot-assisted surgery, the rapid expansion of technology applications in health care is astounding. Advancing technology also pushes the boundaries of health care in its ability to integrate health care information. The integration of health care information is critical to the effective, efficient delivery of quality care in a now fragmented health care system. This paper will assess how the internet or any new forms of electronic communication can be used as an external delivery source of communicating patient-specific information, address the impact of distance delivery on health care, how these communication issues impact health care today and