The Impact Of Technology On Healthcare

Besides the disadvantages of (EMR)’s the advantages pose great benefits to patient care and efficiency. The greater use of electronic medical records or health records can reduce wait times, of seeing doctors or waiting for test results. All staff would need to cohesively work out the technical challenges and software data. With sophisticated IT

It is no secret that the medical profession deals with some of population’s most valuable records; their health information. Not so long ago there was only one method of keeping medical records and this was utilizing paper charts. These charts, although still used in many practices today, have slowly been replaced by a more advanced method; electronic medical records or EMR’s. “The manner in which information is currently employed in healthcare is highly inefficient, which slows down communication and can, as a result, reduce the emergence and

Although, the use of electronic health records (EHRs) not easy for healthcare organizations to implement or even can change due to their old way of doing things. For instance, Ajami at.el. 2011 & Castillo, 2010, both speaks of the importance of executives of clinics, vendors, physician, staff and IS leaders of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) in the marketing, selection, implementation and utilization has contributed to a myriad of problems due to miscommunication, misinformation, and misinterpretation between them. This transition may be a challenge, but may go smoother through communication between each of them. Because it may give each of them the opportunity to share information in writing or speaking, sharing

Achievements in public health and technology have created growth in the health care industry. Significant advances in prevention as well as declines in death rates have created a need for a more sophisticated system of record keeping. While monitoring the health of the nation, planning and developing better health services, and delivering effective and efficient care is now more important than ever. The need to manage patient data has increased as well. Moving from a world where paper records are kept in file cabinets, to implementing a system where documents are stored and maintained on computers and accessed through EMR systems is a complicated procedure for a large system, let alone the smaller independent practices that still

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 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).

The ARRA includes the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which pursues to improve American Healthcare and patient care through an extraordinary investment in Healthcare IT (HIT). The requirements of the HITECH Act are precisely designed to work jointly to provide the necessary assistance and technical operation to providers, enable grammatical relation and organization within and among states, establish connectivity in case of emergencies, and see to it the workforce is properly trained and equipped to be meaningful users of certified Electronic Health Records (EHRs). These computer software products are designed collaboratively to intensify the footing for every American to profit from an electronic health record (EHR) as part of a modernized, interrelated, and vastly improved grouping of care delivery.

In July of 2004, Tommy Thompson, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, stated, "[A]merica needs to move much faster to adopt information technology in our health care system...electronic health information will provide a quantum leap in patient power, doctor power, and effective health care. We can 't wait any longer...” (hhs.gov). In the 12 years since Thompson’s statement, healthcare has been transformed by the beneficial adoption of electronic medical records (EMR) creating savings for healthcare organizations and reducing costs for practitioners and informaticists, as well as other professionals involved in the process.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 was signed into law with an explicit purpose of incentivizing providers (e.g., physicians and hospitals) to adopt EHR systems. The HITECH Act of 2009 is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“stimulus package”). However, given that a bare EHR system provides only partial benefits to patients and society, the HITECH Act requires that providers adopt EHRs and utilize them in a “meaningful” way, which includes using certain EHR functionalities associated with error reduction and cost containment. How do EHRs improve care? What evidence proves that certain EHR “meaningful use” functionalities will translate into benefits? The purpose of this paper is to answer these questions. Impacts include both benefits and drawbacks, and, as such, I will discuss the advantages that have been identified by researchers. Overall, any reader interested in understanding the current state of the knowledge base with regard to EHR benefits will find this paper

The passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) Act “encouraged healthcare organizations and providers to adopt and effectively utilize certified electronic health records (EHRs)” (Conrad, Hanson, Hansenau, & Stocker-Schneider, 2012, p. 443). In addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) instituted Meaningful Use (MU) as a form of “incentive programs that governs the use of EHRs and allow eligible providers and hospitals to earn incentive payments by meeting specific criteria” (Yoder-Wise, 2014, p. 195). Consequently, as cited by Berfeld and Parker (2010) “Adoption of computers in care and an electronic medical record (EMR) within healthcare organizations is no longer an option, but a necessity for safe and cost effective provision of care” (p. 17).

Hoping to encourage health care organizations to move toward health information technology (HIT) and electronic health record (EHR) adoption faster, the federal government allocated more than $14.5 billion dollars in Meaningful Use incentives in the 2009 stimulus. On the surface, adoption numbers seem to suggest the stimulus was successful. Today, four out of five hospitals utilize EHRs, and almost as many office-based physicians (78%) have adopted some form of EHR system, according to 2013 stats released by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). However, transforming the healthcare industry is more complicated than simply improving adoption rates.

Furthermore, after achieving a computerized system in the documentation of patient information, it is important to stabilize and re-evaluate the change process. It is important the nurse leader, and the super users provide the staff with updates and ongoing education to keep abreast with the changes in the information technology platform. In other words to ensure success, information technology experts must be available at any deemed moment to address any issues resulting from the EMR system. Furthermore, clinical educators should also be availed to provide necessary training to new nurses and staffs. Still, the system must be in regulation to set standards and policies thus in evaluation compliance to set regulations as the HIPAA must be checked and necessary improvement made concerning information and data security.

Medical technology encompasses a wide range of healthcare products and is used to diagnose, monitor, and treat diseases or medical conditions that affect humans. This may included but not limited too, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical equipment. Such technologies are intended to improve the quality of healthcare delivered through earlier diagnosis, less invasive treatment options and reductions in hospital stays and rehabilitation times. Recent advances in medical technology have also focused on cost reduction. Medical technology may include medical devices, information technology, biotech, and healthcare services. The impacts of medical technology may involve social and ethical issues. For example physicians may seek objective information from technology rather than listening to subjective patient reports. A major contributor of healthcare expenditure in America is the advancement of medical technology. According to several studies it is shown that there is a correlation between the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and money allocated to healthcare. One of the leading theories is that medical technology is growing faster than expected.

While advancements in technology have positively impacted the nursing field, it has also created huge concerns with patient privacy and sharing of protected health information leading to detrimental effects to patients and their families. Indeed, technology is changing the face of healthcare with positive innovations to reduce medication errors and documentation errors. However, technology at our fingertips has created immense concerns with sharing of protected health information of patients via social media, email and other means of communication via technology. This paper addresses why I feel the advancement of technology has numerous deficits that need more research and implementation of new laws and policies to safeguard the

The article, IT-Based Capabilities, Service Innovation, and Quality in Health Care, focuses on how there have been many developments in technology which could be utilized to “effectively deliver services” within the health care industry (Thambusamy & Palvia, 2011, p. 1). Through innovation, health care facilities are expected to provide top quality care to patients. Technology has made that possible; however, prior to this study, it was unsure if the two had any correlation. The research that was conducted involves the term “service” in the health care industry (Thambusamy & Palvia, 2011, p. 1).