Most health care providers currently utilize electronic health records (EHRs), or will in the coming future. Network collapses, glitches, power outages and flaws within the system all have the possibility of occurring. Due to the plethora of sensitive information contained within the health care field, health care providers need to form backup plans. These backup plans will serve as preventative measures in order to keep the integrity of the health care data intact. Therefore, contingency plans are a clear necessity within the field. Having a background in Information Technology and network security, I find the concept of contingency plans to be very intriguing. In the health care field, data is especially sensitive as it contains all personal patient information. Being that this sensitive data is widespread throughout the health care system; contingency plans prove to be an ideal asset to the field. They provide the security which is undoubtedly needed in order to maintain the integrity of the data. Additionally they aid in sustaining patient satisfaction, as well as overall quality of care. In order to fully understand the concept of a contingency plan, there are a few aspects which need to be explored. We must first define what a contingency plan is, followed by an explanation of why contingency plans are so valuable. Furthermore, an analysis of the implementation of contingency plans should be performed. Lastly, a comparison of such plans from other industries should be done, in order to comprehend the differences in both purpose and criteria. In regards to contingency planning, there are two key definitions. A contingency plan itself is “A plan used by an organization or business unit to respond to a specific systems failu... ... middle of paper ... ...w.healthcare-informatics.com/article/hospitals-prepared-hurricane-sandy-bolstering-infrastructure>. Pham, Thu. "Components of a HIPAA Compliant IT Contingency Plan." OnLINE TECH. Online Tech., 19 June 2013. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. . Rupp, Scott. "What’s Your Plan? Cloud as Disaster Recovery for Healthcare IT and Healthcare Consultants." Electronic Health Reporter. Millerrupp, LLC, 23 May 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. . Steciw, Anne. "FAQ: Disaster Recovery Planning for Health Care Data." FAQ: Disaster Recovery Planning for Health Care Data. TechTarget, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .
"FAQ: Disaster Recovery Planning for Health Care Data." SearchHealthIT. Ed. Anne Steciw. TechTarget, May 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. .
The utilization of mobile devices and cloud computing in health organizations should be committed to protecting and respecting the privacy of protected health information and understanding the importance of keeping this information confidential and secure. The electronic health records and protected health information should be managed to ensure its security, confidentiality, integrity, and availability for authorized purposes. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) via the mobile devices and cloud computing should maintain a process to guarantee compliance with applicable provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). All members
“An electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users.” (healthit.gov) The EHR mandate was created “to share information with other health care providers and organizations – such as laboratories, specialists, medical imaging facilities, pharmacies, emergency facilities, and school and workplace clinics – so they contain information from all clinicians involved in a patient’s care.” ("Providers & Professionals | HealthIT.gov", n.d., p. 1) The process has proved to be quite challenging for providers. As an incentive, the government began issuing payments to those providers who “meaningfully use certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.” (hhs.gov) There are three stages that providers must progress through in order to receive theses financial incentives. Stage one is the initial stage and is met with the creation and implementation of the HER in the business. Stage two “increases health information exchange between providers.” ("United States Department of Health and Human Services | HHS.gov", n.d., p. 1) Stage three will be the continuation and expansion of the “meaningful use objectives.” ("United States Department of Health and Human Services | HHS.gov", n.d., p. 1) The hospital, where I work, initiated the HER mandate many years ago. In this paper, I will discuss the progression and the challenges that my hospital encountered while implementing the EHR mandate.
Administrative Mandates, including the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, ICD-10 and HIPAA 5010, are all part of administrative simplification and the need for systems optimiza...
Also, known as a contingency plan is a precautionary measure that an organization takes to recover from a disaster. This precautionary plan helps your organization minimize the effects of a disaster so that your organization can get back too normal. “the overall program includes the entire spectrum of activities used to recover from an incident.” (Whitman, 2014).
The risk management plan is designed to provide safe treatment and monitoring of patients while in the facilities scope of care. Health care professionals are highly responsible to ensure that education is being provided to patients for future reduction of illness and injury. Managing the organizational risks within the facility along with the external risks within the community is the mission. Management within an emergency is unique in every way. All situati...
I asked Ms. Lyons: What parts of planning are most likely to require a back-up plan and explain why? Her belief is organizations may need to prioritize different areas more than others due to what field the business is in and also consider what processes or units might be used more. Think of total company equipment failure versus needing coverage for an employee that took a sick day. The SWOT analysis is a technique that could be used identify key steps to developing a contingency plan. Analysis recognizes strengths and weaknesses and examines potential opportunities and threats. A company can manage and eliminate threats better that they might otherwise be unaware of. Particularly it helps to unfold opportunities able to use to their advantage. The strategy can provide helpfull data coincides with resources and abilities of the environment in which the business operates. The situation in the SWOT consists of an internal environment which covers weaknesses and strengths. Whereas, the external analysis examines opportunities and threats. So, there is a four-step process you can use to prepare a contingency plan for your business Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats. Strengths would be characteristics of the business or a team that give it an advantage over others in the industry. This can include attributes, internal to an organization. Beneficial aspects of the organization or the capabilities of an organization, process capabilities, financial resources, products and services, customer goodwill and brand loyalty. A weakness is an element that places the organization at a disadvantage compared to others. Detract the organization from its ability to attain the core goal and influence its growth. Weaknesses are the factors which do not meet the standards we feel they should meet.
Both man-made and natural disasters are often devastating, resource draining and disruptive. Having a basic plan ready for these types of disaster events is key to the success of executing and implementing, as well as assessing the aftermath. There are many different ways to create an emergency operations plan (EOP) to encompass a natural and/or man-made disaster, including following the six stage planning process, collection of information, and identification of threats and hazards. The most important aspect of the US emergency management system in preparing for, mitigating, and responding to man-made and natural disasters is the creation, implementation and assessment of a community’s EOP.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, is a law designed “to improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets, to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and health care delivery, to promote the use of medical savings accounts, to improve access to long-term care services and coverage, to simplify the administration of health insurance, and for other purposes.”1 HIPAA mandates that covered entities must employ technological means to ensure the privacy of sensitive information. This white paper intends to study the requirements put forth by HIPAA by examining what is technically necessary for them to be implemented, the technological feasibility of this, and what commercial, off-the-shelf systems are currently available to implement these requirements.
Many hospitals and large healthcare organizations are competitive and are now leaning on EHR systems to help keep competitive. With the intensity of competition having a defensive strategy in place when a disaster occurs will help decrease loss revenue and promote a seamless transition of quality care in a disaster (book). On average downtime for a physician will cost $488 per hour. A large health care organization like a hospital that has a lot of physicians employed would be financially devastated by downtime loss (Brazelton & Lyons, 2016). Many healthcare organizations (especially hospitals) are not making enough revenue to cover their operational costs. Therefore, when a disaster occurs or not having a backup recovery system can negatively
Disaster Recovery Planning is the critical factor that can prevent headaches or nightmares experienced by an organization in times of disaster. Having a disaster recovery plan marks the difference between organizations that can successfully manage crises with minimal cost, effort and with maximum speed, and those organizations that cannot. By having back-up plans, not only for equipment and network recovery, but also detailed disaster recovery plans that precisely outline what steps each person involved in recovery efforts should undertake, an organization can improve their recovery time and minimize the disrupted time for their normal business functions. Thus it is essential that disaster recovery plans are carefully laid out and carefully updated regularly. Part of the plan should include a system where regular training occurs for network engineers and managers. In the disaster recovery process extra attention should also be paid to training any new employees who will have a critical role in this function. Also, the plan should require having the appropriate people actually practice what they would do to help recover business function should a disaster occur. Some organizations find it helpful to do this on a quarterly or semi-annual basis so that the plan stays current with the organization’s needs.
Medical records are already a huge part of the medical industry and pretty soon electronic medical records will be a standard in all doctors’ offices and hospitals. These records are still in the integration process so not all doctors and hospitals are using them yet. There needs to be a way to reassure patients that when they have their information entered into electronic records they are safe and that the people who work with those records are handling them properly. Electronic medical records also need to be protected from outside threats as well as any accident that could occur with software or hardware malfunctions. Medical entities need educating to ensure these records are going to be protected.
It is also a very subjective process, and thus it can only be classified as a project rather than just a project (Elizabeth, 2009). In the planning phase, the main tasks that take place include analyzing and mapping out how work will be done. It also involves developing new workflows that will ensure that work is done in an efficient way. A contingency plan that will ensure that issues that may arise are well combated is also an important process that takes place in the planning stage. It is at this stage, where the individuals who will be responsible for forming a transition from the paperwork to the electronic health systems are appointed. Other issues concerning the privacy and security of the data that will be transmitted are also put into consideration (Westland,
Contingency plan-A rapid response unit to evacuate all individual on board and the implementation of safety procedure e.g. life jackets for each individual.
...y plans to react to the unforeseen. Implementing good contingency plans in conjunction with a robust PDCA cycle is a great step toward success for a company in the global market place.