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Define interoperability in health information systems and what are the advantages and disadvantages
Advantages of interoperability in the health sector
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Recommended: Define interoperability in health information systems and what are the advantages and disadvantages
Continuity of care and interoperability are extremely important when a patient is being treated by multiple clinicians. Interoperability refers to the ability of computer systems or software to exchange and make use of information. Implementing a system that communicates or interfaces with other systems will preset better outcomes for patient care. When systems do not communicate, care can be delayed or inappropriate. In a critical situation, the clinicians need to have documentation, images, and demographic information readily available. If the systems are shared or communicate, there is less opportunity to error. Sharing and maintaining accurate and timely information should be a top priority. In emergent situations, time is of the essence and impacts the results of the patient’s treatment. For accurate information to be exchanged, certain patient identifiers must be confirmed. The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) has identified specific domains that are essential to health information exchange. …show more content…
This EHR is also cloud based. The cloud based services include patient engagement with the portal, medical billing, electronic health record, and order management. AthenaText is a great feature which allows fast, secure text messages to be sent through the EHR. When utilizing Athena, physicians will have quick access to incoming lab results so they can easily review and take appropriate action in patient assessment and treatment. Automatic alerts for items that need action to satisfy quality management measures are built in. This helps to ensure that all quality measures are being met. Flashers can be assigned to patients’ records if there is an urgent message that needs to be read by the staff before scheduling or treating. Referrals and other orders can be created directly from the patient’s chart. The e-Prescribing functionality is fast, convenient and creates minimal workflow interruptions. (Athena Health,
With clinicians and CEHRT, the ONC plans to improve healthcare quality through interoperability (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, n.d.) The ONC will promote more appropriate healthcare decisions in real-time, patient-centered care, and prevention of medical errors (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, n.d.). The ONC’s goal is to reduce healthcare costs by addressing inefficiencies (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology,
• Provides a basic level of interoperability among electronic health records (EHRs) maintained by individual physicians and organizations
Health care information system (HCIS) is an arrangement of information (data), processes, people, and information technology that interact to collect, process, store, and provide as output the information needed to support the health care organization (Wager, Lee, Glaser, 2013, p. 105). Having ready access to timely, complete, accurate, legible, and relevant information is critical to health care organizations, providers, and the patients they serve (Wagerm Lee, & Glaser, 2013). In the health care industry, the quality of care is one of the most important objectives for most health care organizations. The growing developments in health information technology have a great impact on the delivery of health care and have changed the systems used to record and share information. It has the potential to improve the quality of care if it is appropriately used. Health care organizations routinely apply computers and other technologies to record and transfer health information such as diagnoses, prescriptions, and insurance information.
Unfortunately, the quality of health care in America is flawed. Information technology (IT) offers the potential to address the industry’s most pressing dilemmas: care fragmentation, medical errors, and rising costs. The leading example of this is the electronic health record (EHR). An EHR, as explained by HealthIT.gov (n.d.), is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. It includes, but is not limited to, medical history, diagnoses, medications, and treatment plans. The EHR, then, serves as a resource that aids clinicians in decision-making by providing comprehensive patient information.
In order for hospitals and other health care facilities to prevent the thousands of deaths and injuries that occur every year due to medical errors; health care systems were required to implement new record keeping technology. This technology has made patient information and treatment accessible to all who needed to see it. This is especially important when a patient has more than one attending physician and their care relies on each doctor knowing what the other one has done, serving as the prime communication tool between doctors. If organizations do not centralize their technology and essentially their patient databases, the potential for duplicate work or inefficient patient care can exponentially increase. These high tech medical records can help protect physicians and hospitals alike against any lawsuits that may be filed on behalf of their patients. By correctly and thoroughly documenting all symptoms, illnesses, treatments, medication dosages, and diagnosis’ the doctor and health care providers can effectively prove what actions were taken with the patient, communicate with third party billers, and even use the gathered information for teaching purposes. Keeping a precise record of a patient’s medical treatment makes a large difference in many aspects of health care; especially when a negligence tort or claim is filed against the hospital and/or a doctor.
Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a digital collection of patient health information instead of paper chart that captures data at the point of collection, supports clinical decision-making and integrates data from multiple sources in any care delivery settings. The health record includes patient’s demographics, progress notes, past medical history, vital signs, medications, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports. National Alliance for the Health Information Technology defines EHR as, “ an electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards and that can be created, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff across more
... that do not communicate with each other will need to be addressed. The implications of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act will lead to an investment in the transformation of healthcare systems. Ultimately, healthcare systems will become transformed to exchange health information between systems in order to deliver equitable high quality care to everyone. According to Kadry, Sanderson, and Macario (2010) clinicians need to understand workflow and recognize barriers to meaningful use. Poor user interface can lead to negative clinical outcomes (Kadry et al., 2010). Without a clear vision, “institutions will convert paper-based systems into expensive digital chaos” (Kadry et al., 2010, p. 185). Without proper workflow analysis, potentially the same outcome could occur.
The internet is connecting health care organizations, physicians, and patients through an array of elaborate networks. Regardless of the size and type of healthcare organization, stakeholders see the need to share patient information and to make the information readily available for clinical and non-clinical staff. Streamlining the sharing of patient information through electronic health care records increases the quality of care, thus allowing the physician to focus on diagnosing the patient. To facilitate the communication and sharing of health care information the industry is developing community health information networks (CHIN) incorporating a telecommunication and networking capabilities linking health care communities and stakeholders (Tan & Payton, 2010). As a result, health care networks are consolidating a fragmented system and standardizing the flow of medical information.
As EHRs expand their functionality to include recall and reminder alerts, clinical decision supports, mhealth, and more complex tasks, they are considered comprehensive (Magnuson, 2014). Through this evolution, providers and patients will be able to share access to electronic health information that allows them to collaborate in joint, informed decision making which has the potential to greatly impact patient and population health (Healthit.gov, 2014) as it involves a clinical shift from the treatment of conditions to prevention through behavior and lifestyle modification (Magnuson, 2014). The management of patient collaboration will shift from being primarily the responsibility of the patient to that of accountable organizations. Shahid Shah, an award-winning Government 2.0, health IT, and medical device integration software expert, outlines the five stages of EHR maturity in patient care collaboration
Provides a basic level of interoperability among electronic health records (EHRs) maintained by individual physicians and organizations
EHR is built for medical providers to share information with groups for example laboratories, specialists, medical imaging facilities, pharmacies, emerge...
Through interoperability, patients have the transparency to view their complete medical records by logging into one structure to observe all consultations, interactions, diagnoses, medical records, and even the option to request an appointment with a physician. For example, in a TED Talks video, “Healthcare Should be a Team Sport” Eric Dishman had a recent kidney transplant, and for his post-op, Eric with previous experience as a medical technician, performed an ultrasound on himself, while his physician watched through a live video (Dishman, 2013). Eric’s physician noticed a black spot on his new kidney (fluid collection), his physician then instructed Eric to take a live picture of his kidney, which was automatically received by all of his physicians (Dishman, 2013). Through Eric’s medical experience, the growth of IT has had many benefits for patients and providers. Technology has made it easier for patients to access care and treatment anywhere through a coordinated “team sport” (Dishman, 2013).
Medical errors can be life-changing for a patient and sometimes even fatal. Modifying software to help prevent errors is critical. Discussing changes that can be made to the system will improve patient care and prevent medical errors. Ensuring that staff has proper training of standards is important to prevent medical errors as well. Documenting the pertinent information in regards to patient history, medications, allergies and co-morbidities is important, especially if that patient requires emergency medical help while under your care.
Our clinical knowledge is expanding. The researcher has first proposed the concept of electronic health record (EHR) to gather and analyze every clinical outcome. By late 1990s computer-based patient record (CPR) replaced with the term EHR (Wager et al., 2009). The process of implementing EHR occurs over a number of years. An electronic record of health-related information on individual conforms interoperability standards can create, manage and consult with the authorized health professionals (Wager et al., 2009). This information technology system electronically gather and store patient data, and supply that information as needed to the healthcare professionals, as well as a caregiver can also access, edit or input new information; this system function as a decision support tools to the health professionals. Every healthcare organization is increasingly aware of the importance of adopting EHR to improve the patient satisfaction, safety, and lowering the medical costs.
Physicians, administrators, staff, and patients who are affiliated within the healthcare organization should understand the importance of interoperability by coming together to ease ...