The Positive And Negative Impacts Of Health Information Technology In The Healthcare Field

Office of National coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has funded this program to find breakthrough innovations in the field of Health Information Technology (IT). This research program was awarded $60 million and this program is divided into four focus areas. This program brings together researchers, healthcare providers, and other health IT sector stakeholders in order to transform the research products into practice. This program is designed to improve quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare using advanced information technology. According to Healthit.gov “current adoption rates of health IT in different states we see that some states are better than others” [1], hence this program is designed to find the factors that are hindering the adoption of health IT and the products developed using this project should help propagate the growth of health IT. This program has both short-term and long-term related goals hence they focus both on current and future needs of health IT products. I have selected this program because it is important to understand the factors that are effecting healthcare practices health IT adoption and work towards analyzing and finding solutions to those problems, so that there is a 100% rate of adoption and data flow is seamless between the healthcare practices. This program helps keep the maintenance cost of the products developed to minimal as it focuses both short and long term needs. There are 4 focus areas to

(ONC) is to coordinate “national efforts to implement and use the most advanced health information technology and the electronic exchange of health information … to improve health care” (Health and Human Services [HHS], n.d., website). However, sharing confidential information found in the electronic health record (EHR) for research and quality improvement potentiate legal, financial and ethical challenges.

As the emergence of electronic health records (EHRs), the subject of transforming the delivery method of healthcare is prominent in the United States. The use of EHRs is a major key in the way physicians practice in healthcare organizations through communication and management of patient information. Henricks (2011) points out that EHRs are a part of an objective aimed at improving all aspects of health care and reducing health disparities, making the healthcare of patients and families appealing to them, refining the direction of healthcare, along with population and public health improvement, continuation of privacy maintenance and the security of health information, and finally reducing costs. In the perspective of health information technology

Article was written by people with extensive experience in health care, pediatrics, and public health. Jessica Anker, Lisa Kern, Erica Abramson, and Rainu Kaushal, all of them are members of Weil corner Medical College and Health Information Technology Evaluation Collaborative. The intended audience is members of health care system, health care providers, and professionals that are involved in patient care. This article discusses how health information technology (HIT) together with organizational structure and clinician involvement can improve care and safety of our patients. I think that this article is important for nursing practice, because it shows that HIT alone cannot improve quality care, but together with work of clinicians and communication

As computers, digital devices, and electronic health record (EHR) have become a significant part in delivering health care, health informatics ethics has emerged as a new set of standards in addition to existing codes of medical ethics (Hoyt and Yoshihasi, 2014, p. 219). It is comprised of medicine, ethics, and informatics in health care. As the International Medical Informatics Association’s (IMIA) Code of Ethics states, one of the general principles of information ethics pertains to information privacy and security (Hoyt and Yoshihasi, 2014, p. 220).

There are ethical issues everywhere one turns, so ethical issues in information systems should not be a new concept or surprise to anyone. There are emerging ethical issues and as information systems progress, new ways to access information becomes available. These issues can play a role in our personal and professional lives, as well as in government and social aspects. There are also ethical issues involved in the medical field. Two big ethical issues that are becoming more prevalent in discussions are tracking devices used for people with dementia and electronic medical records. There are benefits to both of these, but they also have disadvantages as privacy and patients’ rights come into question. These ethical issues are new and therefore

Further, the speaker notes how information has impacted the healthcare system. Notable changes are the implementation of the electronic health record (EHR). Digitization in the healthcare system is evident, and many practitioners have noted with the era of advancing technology, many prefer to use paperless information as opposed to dealing with piles of documents.

Dr. (Editor, Health Informatics Journal, Edinburgh, United Kingdom). Medical informatics has emerged as a diverse and important new field of study. The field deals broadly in the science of addressing how best to use information to improve health care. However, protecting public health requires the acquisition, use, and storage of extensive health-related information about individuals in a secured and reliable manner. Though the electronic accumulation and exchange of personal data has an important public health benefits, but have accompanies threatens individual privacy. The breach of privacy can lead to individual discrimination in employment, insurance, and government programs and as such, individuals concerned about privacy invasions may avoid clinical or public health tests, treatments, or research. The variation in state laws supports the need to build consensus on the appropriate use and disclosure of public health information among public health practitioners. Hence, a need for a consistent and congruential protection plan and security as the federal and state privacy protections do not adequately protect public health data, and are inconsistent and

Information technology(IT) in the 21st century has brought in several innovative changes in the physician practice and hospital system.There are several new possibilities and opportunities for information use and communication, at the same time there are new ethical, clinical, and legal concerns that have arisen with the use of information technology.As healthcare is growing complex, the majority of the studies focuses on new modalities of diagnosis and treatment.Conversely, no effort is targeted on improving operational systems.Although IT has brought in a mass customization, it poses threat to the medical safety ( Jorgenson, Notman, Benedek, & Malmquist, 2011). Recently, privacy and security concerns

In this paper, I will outline the pros and cons as well as issues such as safety, cost, security and other topics that relates to the Health Information Technology.

“By 2015, use of a certified electronic health record (EHR) is mandated under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act” (Kelly & Tazbir, 2014, p. 129).Electronic health records comes from the electronic medical records data and where nurses document the patient’s care that has the ability to move from one provider to another. “The main purpose of documentation is facilitating information flow that supports safety, quality, and continuity of care” (Kelly & Tazbir, 2014, p. 131). Electronic health records also improves the quality of confidential health information as compared to the paper system. Informatics is defined as “the use of information technology as a communication and information-gathering tool

The medical field is moving to another level when it comes to technology, with the implementation of Electronic Health Records, also known by the acronym, EHR. The new system that allows medical records to be maintained electronically, by the internet is making waves. The government has even put incentive programs into place, as extra encouragement to providers. The adaptation to Electronic Health Records has been anything but smooth, as many medical practices have been reluctant and some just afraid to try something new. Concerns will continue to arise until the medical world has an understanding of the privacy and security rules that follow the new technology. Electronic Health Records has and will continue to prove itself as an asset, a convenience, efficient, helpful, and more, as some will continue to shy away from the change. Electronic Health Records will prove that it is “meaningful”, falling under the category of “meaningful use.”

At a time when patients’ health record could be accessed by almost everyone who cares for the patients, it brings to one’s attention the ideals proposed by Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and the other philosophers and ethicists (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015). One has to understand though, that in spite of the great headway that the Health Information Technology (HIT) has come to, there are certain worldviews on “basic values that remain unchanged, the standards for living out these values will take on new meanings as professionals confront new and different moral dilemmas brought on by the adoption of technological tools for information management” (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015, p. 68).

“One of the challenges facing the United States national adoption of electronic medical records is ensuring the privacy of electronically accessed information. It is essential that both patients and a variety of health professionals participate in these policy discussions so that important ethical issues can be contemplated and decisions regarding health record databases and their approved usage can be articulated nationally and globally.” (Purtilo, 2011)

In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act passed as a result of President Obama signing into law the American Recovery and Investment Act (ARRA) (Wallace, Zimmer, Possanza, Giannini, & Solomon, 2013). Not to be confused with the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Civic impulse, 2004), the ARRA was an economic stimulus package that appropriated nearly seven hundred eighty seven billion dollars to create jobs, restore economic growth, and strengthen America’s ecosystem (Herring & Schaffer, 2011). A significant portion of the budget was allocated for healthcare reform, specifically as it related to health information technology. Physicians and hospitals were incentivized to