The Health Information Exchange And Hie

Electronic Health Records will include the same information as the paper record. This includes basic patient information such as demographics, medical history, medications, allergies, laboratory results, radiology images, and billing information. (2006) Each individual doctor can specialize their system and what they want it to include. They can add different components to the electronic health record that are important to them and needed in their practice. (2006)

Electronic health information exchange allows doctors, nurses, pharmacists, other health care providers and patients to access and securely share a patient’s vital medical information electronically improving the speed, quality, safety and cost of patient care. In this paper I am going to explain the challenges of exchanging health information, privacy and security concerns, cost of set up and maintenance. Also, the three different types of exchanges. The benefits of health information exchange.

Although the EHR is still in a transitional state, this major shift that electronic medical records are taking is bringing many concerns to the table. Two concerns at the top of the list are privacy and standardization issues. In 1996, U.S. Congress enacted a non-for-profit organization called Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This law establishes national standards for privacy and security of health information. HIPAA deals with information standards, data integrity, confidentiality, accessing and handling your medical information. They also were designed to guarantee transferred information be protected from one facility to the next (Meridan, 2007). But even with the HIPAA privacy rules, they too have their shortcomings. HIPAA can’t fully safeguard the limitations of who’s accessible to your information. A short stay at your local

Along with the new technologies applying in healthcare, the documentation processes and storages also change from paper charts to computer-based electronic health records (EHR). Many healthcare organizations currently maintain patients’ health records in both formats of paper and electronic. The combination is known as hybrid health record system, which is used to assist in different methods that patients’ information is collected. Hybrid health records (HHR) contain specific patients’ health information. HHRs are stored manually and electronically in multiple places. Current patients’ health records usually contain both digital documents and handwritten notes. Patients’ data are electronically stored, such as laboratory, radiology tests,

“Go Paperless and Get Paid” is how the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) presents the incentives for electronic health records. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. Department of HHS) distributed more than $160 billion dollars to “improve and preserve health care, health information technology, community health, and prevention initiatives” (United States Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2014e). Likewise, the ONC offers “Health IT Adoption Programs” through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, seeking to advance the American health care delivery system and to improve patient care through an unique investment towards health information technology (HHS, 2014d). Additionally, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reward eligible hospitals and professionals with monetary incentives as they implement, adopt, or upgrade and demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology (HHS, 2014b). The Electronic Health Records Improvement Act (H.R. 1331) introduced by the United States House of Representative Diane Black is a bill to further improve the nation’s health care adoption of health information technology.

Electronic health records were a technological advancement in the healthcare industry in which paper patient record’s became digital. The transition from paper to digital charting allowed easier, quicker access to patient information for those who were authorized to do so. EHRs are secure and protected with username and password access only. It contains information such as patient medical history, procedures, diagnoses, medications, labs, tests, and treatments. Healthcare professionals and organizations who are authorized to access a patient’s electronic health record can do so at ease via a secure network or online database (HealthIT, 2013).

Medical records are not electronic, but paper, which causes them to become lost or misfiled. Physicians need readily access to patient records so they can treat patients effectively.

Health Information Exchange (HIE) is an electronic way for health care providers, patients, and payers to access and securely share medical information. There are data breaches everyday so patient and providers are concerned about the privacy and security of the HIE. Patients fear that sensitive health information related to dire diseases will be disclosed and used against them in decisions related to health insurance coverage or employment according to Mertz (2009, p.1). Providers are concerned that they will be breaking some health privacy laws of different states if they use a HIE. However, in essence as long as the HIE is following the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Privacy and Security Rules then the provider and patients should be safe. This is because HIPPA regulates covered entities such as healthcare providers, health insurers, healthcare clearing houses. They all must follow HIPPA regulations when accessing, using and disclosing your medical information.

Medicine has come a long way in the past few decades. Today’s doctors and nurses have some amazing tools at their disposals. The latest high tech equipment, modern pharmaceuticals and procedures but in many cases the most important tool that is needed is information. Patient information to be more precise is what is needed. Correct and up to the minute information about a patients history is a vital part of treatment. And yet for many, access to this most important vital tool still lingers in the dark ages. It can be found scattered around filing systems in different offices, highly subject to retrieval by hand and accessible only by phone or fax. There is a

The current healthcare is quite complex as healthcare is provided to a number of patient in a number different facilities and providers who do not share the same EMR. So, in other words healthcare is fragmented, however HIE is perceived to solve this problem. As part of the affordable health care reform, HIE have been views as the medium to securely share electronic patient health information across different faculties or providers (Bhansal & Gupta, 2014). Analyzing the statistical use, “in U.S. more than 100 organizations facilitate HIEs among provider organizations, and 30% of hospitals and 10% ambulatory clinics participate” (Rudin, Motala, Goldzweig, & Shekelle, 2014). There are countless benefits of implementing HIEs such as provide coordinated care, which might eventually reduce medical errors and improve patient safety (Bhansal & Gupta, 2014). Additionally, it can also reduce medical costs by avoiding duplicated services. Furthermore, the availability of patient health information especially at the emergency department is perceived to have a positive effect on both patient safety and quality care. However, these HIEs face a number of challenges including “lack of funding, concerns about privacy and security, technical issues, organizational concerns” (Bhansal & Gupta, 2014).

A lot of things have evolved when it comes to patient records in the medical field. In medical facilities the patient records use to be in paper form. There would be multiple pages of patient information, doctor notes, physical findings as well as diagnoses. These were all kept in a filing cabinet where mostly anyone could obtain the files and have the patient’s information. If the patient was at a different facility these records would then have to be mailed over which is not the most secure way to transfer a patients personal health records. It was then evolved that records should now be made electronically. This is so that security and transmission of a patients record can be more reliable.

Policies and procedures govern the operations of health information exchange (HIE), and many factors must be taken into consideration during their development or revision. They set expectations for the workforce, delineate staff training and accountability, and must be part of an ongoing education and compliance program, enforced by leadership. When using this environment, you want to make sure the information is protected and secures the confidentiality of the person.

Health information exchange (HIE) is the process of transporting medical-related information electronically between healthcare providers. Health information exchange was formed by the Hartford Foundation in 1990, with the establishment of Community Health Management Information Systems (CHMIS). Today, there are many models and forms that support health information exchange. Healthcare providers and organizations may have challenges with this new way of exchanging patient information, however, there are plenty of advantages that not only benefit the providers but the patients as well.

With the elimination of paper charts, patients information becomes available with a touch of a button. This information includes insurance verification, current medications, lab reports, and past visit summaries.

Physicians were complaining of there being too much clutter in the EHR. They wanted to have a mechanism to understand the patient’s story. There were complaints of too much “garbage” in the record and physicians could not get to the heart of the patient’s complaints. Some physicians wanted to use “progress notes” for everything without entering any discreet data. There was a dependence on scanned documentation, both clinical notes as well as business documents. Scanned documents could not be found in the “notes activity” within the electronic record, meaning physicians had to search multiple tabs to find information while providing patient care.