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Updating Patient Records on Digital Devices

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In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the Health Information Technology (HITECH) act provision was passed into law. Billions of dollars was allocated by the federal government to provide financial incentives to hospitals and healthcare providers who will implement health information technology and electronic health records. HITECH seeks to improve American health care delivery and patient care through an unprecedented investment in Health Information Technology (HIT) (healthit.gov). Technology is changing fast and the use of digital technology has transformed the way people exchange and use information. Laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other digital devices are now the main tools that people use to create and send information. In order to cope up with these changes, the healthcare industry must adapt the use of technology to record, store and exchange information. Meaningful use (MU) 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 (healthit.gov). MU sets goals that are about healthcare, not about information technology. The first overall goal is to use EHR technology to improve quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care. For nurses and other healthcare professionals improving the quality, safety, and efficiency of patient is always a

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