Primary Care Leader Benefits From Ahrq Essay

One of the issues with the electronic systems in health care for MU is the ability to retrieve laboratory results during a patient’s visit. In 2013, Hinrichs and Zarcone reveal that over 70% of medical decisions are determined by laboratory results. In 2007, AU Health implemented Cerner Millennium PowerChart that displays clinical data to improve the point of care for patients. With the PowerChart solution, the patient’s information can be easily verified, vital signs can be entered, and family history can be updated. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) signed by President Obama in 2013 places emphasis on expanding insurance coverage of medical care for everyone. As part of the ACA, the improvements in the way these results are exchanged and transmitted will add value to quality, safety, efficiency of health information (Hinrichs & Zarcone, 2013). The transmission and availability of EHR affect how other health professionals send and receive information at the local, state, and national levels.

The advancement in technology has rapidly transformed the world today, and the increase in the number of web-enabled devices has completely changed peoples ' lives especially the way they communicate. Electronic Health Record system, which is a digital copy of a patient’s medical history is one of the revolutionary ideas that have come with this advancement. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are instantaneously updating records that are patient-centered designed with the aim of providing real-time information to the authorized users (Cohen, 2010). It contains all the patient’s information that is in the hand of the medical providers including their medical history, treatment dates and types, immunizations conducted to the patient and their dates, radiology images and all the laboratory results from the tests conducted in the past. All this information is held in a digital format and can only be updated by authorized users who are stationed in the medical facilities. Electronic records are designed to make it easy for different health providers and organizations to share patients’ information which streamlines their operations since all the necessary information and history can be accessed from any location at any time.

The high cost of healthcare continues to rise and many in the United States are optimistic for health information technology to reduce and improve our current situation. Health IT encompasses a broad array of new technologies designed to manage and share health-related information. When properly implemented, these systems can help coordinate patient care, reduce medical errors, and improve administrative efficiency. Therefore, implementing a Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) will help the National Health Information Network (NHIN) achieve their goals in improving quality of care for the citizens of the United States. Thus, in order for the health IT to deliver on its promise, several obstacles must be overcome.

14. Capability to exchange key clinical information among providers of care and patient-authorized entities electronically

EHR was created to have a technical way to securely exchange private and personal medical health information in hopes to improve the quality of care, decrease medical errors, limiting paper use, reduction of health care cost, and increasing a person access to affordable health care. A mandate was created for EHR stating that health records can be accessible to all facilities with patients having the capability to access their own health records at any time. Ameliorating the quality and convenience of care given to a patient, allow for cost saving measures, engage the patient and family to participate in their care, improve accuracy of medical diagnosis, and enhance the efficiency of the overall outcome of the patients’ health.

Health Information Exchange (HIE) supports both transferring and sharing of health related information that is usually stored in multiple organizations, while maintaining the context and integrity of the information being exchanged (HIE, 2014). The goal of health information exchange is to expedite access to and retrieve clinical data to provide safe efficient, effective, equitable, timelier patient-centered care (HIE, 2014). HIE “provides access and retrieval of patient information to authorized users in order to provide safe, efficient, effective, and timely patient care” (HIE, 2014).

Changes in current health care practices, the aging baby-boomer population, and the higher acuity of patients has created a need for change and adaptability with the health care industry. Kaiser is an organization who has shown the ability to continuously change in order to reduce costs while improving efficient quality patient care. The investment on information technology (IT) advancements such as the implantation of electronic health records (EHRs) and use of a patient portal system is one way the organization has shown readiness to meet the health care needs of patients. KP in collaboration with five other healthcare organizations created a Care Connectivity Consortium, enabling secure electronic retrieval of current

A handy electronic health record system can diminish complications scattered all through the VA. This system will allow a modest and efficient ways to record, analyze, and inquire about specific patients with minimal training. Case in point, when a patient transfers from one state to another within the same region, or to another region completely, the information can be extracted, organized, and conveyed electronically. The hospital receiving the electronic record can download the patient’s complete medical history, therefore eradicating the requirement for re-entering the information into their own disconnected system. Electronic data can

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 order to meet the requirements set forth by the Federal Government many health care institutions began the painstaking process of seeking out an electronic program. These institutions sought to purchase a system that would have the capacity to interact with other programs, and the flexibility to allow all clinical personnel easy access to pertinent medical information such as labs, diagnostic test results and past medical history.

All companies involved in any type of medical field whether social care, mental care or physical care, are affected by the need for Health Information Exchange. This includes small organizations to large multi-hospital organizations. Healthcare has become a competitive field with organizations needing to control their costs, while keeping clients by providing the best care possible. Patients have come to realize that if not satisfied with their care, they will go elsewhere. This has allowed for a competitive

Health Information Exchange is the electronic movement of healthcare information amongst organizations according to the national standards. HIE as it is widely known, serves the purpose of providing a safe, timely, and efficient way of accessing or retrieving patient clinical data. Health Information Exchange allows for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other vital healthcare professionals to have appropriate access and securely share vital medical information regarding patient care. Health Information Exchange has been in efforts of developing for over 20 years in the United States. In 1990 the Community Health Management Information Systems (CHMIS) program was formed by the Hartford Foundation to foster a development of a centralized data repository in seven different geographically defined communities. Many of the communities struggled in securing a cost-effective technology with interoperable data sources and gaining political support. In the mid-1990s a similar initiative began known as the Community Health Information Networks (CHINs) with the intention of sharing data between providers in a more cost-effective manner. In 2004, the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research Health Information Technology Portfolio was funded $166 million in grants and contracts to improve the quality and safety to support more patient-centered care. This was the beginning of the progress we have seen in HIE today. Health Information Exchange devolvement serves the purpose of improving

The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe two health information and communication technologies (HICTs) and how they aid nurses in supporting safe, quality care, facilitating continuity of care and care coordination, and partnering with patients and families to increase participation in health care. HICT involves electronic creation, storage, exchange, and analysis of health information to advance delivery of health care. Widespread use of HICT within the healthcare industry can achieve the following goals: improve healthcare quality and safety, reduce costs and health disparities, enhance clinical research, and ensure security of patient health information (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015). Several examples of HICTs include: electronic medical record systems, electronic prescribing, consumer health applications, and telehealth (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ], 2015). Integration of HICTs in healthcare settings is valuable for all clinicians, but most importantly nurses as they are primary caregivers.

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

It is important to understand that patients are very satisfied with electronic health systems. For example, patients see a vast improvement in the speed at which they are being seen when they go their doctors’ office. Patients no longer have to wait on their physicians for hours due to the fact that their information can be readily available to their physicians when they come to see them. Moreover, all their information is transparent to their health care provider since all their data is in electronic form.