The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act

Progress. Over the last decade, the hospital has made a lot of progress regarding the use of HER’s. After the CPSI system was initiated, the transition from paper charts to computer charts began. Today, all charting is done electronically by all members of the healthcare team. From the dieticians to the physicians, everyone is trained and

Electronic health records can provide many benefits for providers and their patients, but the benefits depend on how they 're used. Meaningful use is the set of standards defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Incentive Programs that governs the use of electronic health records and allows eligible providers and hospitals to earn incentive payments by meeting specific criteria. The goal of meaningful use is to promote the spread of electronic health records to improve health care in the United States. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act provides the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) with the authority to establish

In 2008, the American economy broke down. Known as the Global Financial Crisis, this is widely considered to be the worst financial crisis since the 1930’s when the stock market crashed and the Great Depression hit.

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).

Under the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, or the Stimulus Act”), certain eligible providers are eligible for financial incentives for following and documenting “meaningful use” of a certified electronic medical record system. According to the HRSA, “in July 2010, the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule which established three phases of the EHR Incentive Program. The three stages of Meaningful Use are designed to support eligible professionals and hospitals with implementing and using EHRs in a meaningful way to help improve the quality and safety of the nation’s healthcare system.” The end point here is not that having an electronic medical record will allow for a

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act made an investment in the year 2009 to encourage the adoption and implementation of the electronic health records (EHRs)(Cite). EHRs incentive payments were authorized through Medicare and Medicaid to clinicians and hospitals when they privately and securely used EHRs for achieving improvements in care delivery by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). The healthcare organizations are expected to demonstrate meaningful use of EHRs. This rule of meaningful use has been implemented to strike a balance between acknowledging the urgency of adopting EHRs for improving the healthcare system and identifying the challenges that would be put forth

In 2009, more than $30 billion dollars in incentives was allocated by congress for hospitals to institute meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) by 2011 (Adler-Milstein, Bates, & Jha, 2011) (Murphy, 2010). The Meaningful Use Act is a complicated principle that is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as well as the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) act.

Access the CMS website and locate information regarding the Meaningful Use Act. In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) legislation was created to stimulate the adoption of electronic health records(EHR) and supporting technology in the United States. On Feb 17, 2009, President Obama signed HITECH into law as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) economic stimulus bill. The HITECH Act outlined the intended plans for the adoption of electronic health records through meaningful use. The CMS Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs have evolved into three stages of meaningful use with their own priorities, goals and their own final rule. Meaningful Use means “providers

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.

As part of the 2009 Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Obama Administration secured $4.35 billion to encourage state-led education reforms known as the Blueprint for Reform. The Blueprint for Reform was a proposal to change the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was first established in 1965 (Rochefort and Donnelly, 2011, p4). In 2002, President George W. Bush‘s made changes to the Act by introducing his education reform plan, No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Obama‘s Blueprint for Reform proposal involves changing NCLB as well as encourage the adoption of college and career-ready student education standards (Rochefort and Donnelly, 2011, p4). One of the educational programs of the Blueprint of Reform is the Race to the Top program.

Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on February 17, 2009. President Obama signed the act into law four days later. The law directed about $150 billion in new funds to the healthcare industry. It included $87 million for Medicaid, $24.7 billion to subsidize private health insurance for people who lose or have lost their jobs, $19.2 billion for health information technology, and $10 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The act also provided $650 million to support preventive medicine and wellness activities targeting health issues such as; obesity, smoking, and other risk factors for chronic diseases as well as $500 million for health professions training programs. This legislation has helped stimulate the

People believe the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or ARRA had a centralizing effect, yet there are motives that support, as well as some that oppose the act. The act is sometimes referred to as The Stimulus or The Recovery Act. The United States Congress in February of 2009 passed this Act and it was signed in the same month, by President Barack Obama.

Cerner integrates patient information throughout all of the departments within a hospital setting. This program also has the ability to expand into other health care facilities within a community, such as long term care, hospice, and home health (Cerner, 2015). Cerner offers community hospitals solutions in their “Software as a Service” model. Cerner will host the software program, provide upgrades, and monitor performance to ensure stability. This will allow community hospitals to have a predictable cost for the software (Cerner, 2015). Another advantage of this system is the “Smart Room”. Wireless devices such as infusion pumps, and vital sign monitoring devices can access the system. This allows for instant documentation of this information into a patient chart and will alert if abnormalities are noted. Bar code scanners and carts are available as well. These items improve patient safety (Cerner, 2015). Cerner is capable of CPOE, electronic prescription transmitting, and has the ability to capture data and immunization statuses to meet reporting regulations.

Cerner has the capability to display available history and demographics. Each time a patient is admitted into the hospital their records are maintained and are able to be viewed by any authorized staff member. Their charts are only allowed to be accessed if the patient was admitted within the last 30 days at any Methodist Health Care hospital. All information documented from other Methodist facilities will be visible to current providers. Chart Search improves productivity by limiting the amount of time needed to search a patient’s medical record. Clinicians

Many studies conducted in different health care settings have indicated that EHR will assist health professionals to reduce medical errors, achieve better effective care coordination, improve safety and quality, and also, it can reduce health care costs [2, 4, 6, 7, 12, 13]. Healthcare systems, like all business entities, are information-intensive enterprises [14]. Healthcare workers require adequate data and information management tools to make accurate decisions, both while caring for patients and while managing and running the enterprise, to document and communicate plans and activities, and to meet the requirement of the regulatory and accrediting organization [14]. Currently, the use of an EHR includes clinical care application/functions, clinical research function, and administrative function. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) highlights that a more immediate access to computer-based clinical information, such as laboratory and radiology results, can reduce redundancy and improve quality [15]. Similarly, the availability of complete patient health information at the point of care delivery,