Clinical reminders are a tool in an electronic medical records program that prompts healthcare providers to complete necessary tests and screenings appropriate for patients. These clinical reminders are used for preventive care such as vaccinations and the management of chronic conditions like diabetes. This paper will discuss seven specific clinical reminders, what they are, their purpose and the specific reason for ordering this healthcare measure for the patient.
The influenza vaccination is an annual vaccination specific for a given year to protect against the influenza virus. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2013) recommends that anyone over the age of 6 months should receive the seasonal flu vaccination (CDC, 2013). This is given by an intramuscular injection or a nasal spray of live attenuated influenza vaccine (CDC, 2013). The majority of influenza-related deaths occur in people 65 and older. This is ordered for our patient because he is within the 65 and older category and is at a higher risk of death from influenza.
The pneumonia vaccination, also known as pneumococcal vaccination, is a method of preventing specific type of lung infection known as pneumonia, which is caused by pneumococcus bacterium (CDC, 2013). There are two types of pneumococcal vaccines. The first one is pneumococcal conjugate vaccine also known as PCV13, which is given to children as a series between the ages of 2 months to 15 months (CDC, 2013). The second one is the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine also known as PPSV23, given to adults 65 or older or anyone over the age of 2 that is immune compromised. Both are given as an intramuscular injection.
Colon cancer screening is recommended for those 50 years and ol...
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...gist office. A serious of tests will be performed on the eyes to check the blood vessels, retina, pupils, sclera, and sight. This exam is to monitor if the diabetes is causing blindness.
Lipid measurement for cholesterol is used to measure high density lipoproteins and low density lipoproteins in a patient. A lipid measurement or lipid profile can be ordered routinely or with a physical. Lipid measurements are also ordered to monitor the effectiveness of medication used to reduce serum cholesterol. When a patient is using medication to lower serum cholesterol, a lipid profile should be done every three months. A patient can expect to have their blood drawn from a phlebotomist or a nurse. Once the blood is drawn it is sent to a lab for further analysis (Fallon, 2009). Mrs. Moomey is taking medication to lower serum cholesterol; her three month lipid profile is due.
To begin, there are numerous advantages throughout the EHR system. Considering this, enhancing patient safety is priority in the healthcare industry. Reminders, alerts, and pop-ups are just a few of the safety features an EHR can provide. These items can prevent medication errors, by alerting a nurse or physician of a blood sugar that is out of range, or a medication with too high of a potency, such as a wrong dosage amount. Reminders can be as simple as an immunization reminder to get a flu shot. Another example could be a drug interaction between NSAIDS such as i...
Although people should have the freedom to choose to be vaccinated, the public needs to be educated about the personal, economical, and social benefits of receiving the influenza vaccine. In addition, people who are at a high risk of contracting influenza as well as health care providers should be encouraged to receive an influenza vaccine in order to decrease the major health burden associated with the disease. Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a viral infection of the respiratory system and it is characterized by abrupt onset of fever, sore throat, and nonproductive cough. Influenza is spread from person to person by inhalation of the droplets produced when a person infected with influenza coughs or sneezes. In addition, it can also be spread by contact with infected objects such as utensils.
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.
One organization that creates and provides standards for healthcare and the implementation of healthcare software is American Society for Testing and Materiel (ASTM). In 2004, ASTM released a standard that would change the interoperability of healthcare software forever. This standard is known as the ASTM E2369, the Continuity of Care Record (CCR) standard. The was first release of CCR was ASTM E2369-4 and was a word document that allowed interoperability between primary care physicians for the exchange of patient summary information (Sween, 2012). The CCR provides “snapshots” of a patient’s administrative, demographic, and clinical information (E31.25, 2012). The information in this snapshot focus on mainly the diagnosis an...
While influenza, or the "flu", is not commonly recognized as an extremely lethal disease, the pathology of influenza, and especially of the kind found at Fort Dix, does suggest that an immunization program was a reasonable course to take in 1976. In the public's mind, influenza is often not seen as a specific disease, using interchangeable names for it like "flu", "gripe", and "virus". (Silverstein: 1) However, influenza is very different from an everyday low fever or "stomach flu". It is a respiratory infection, connected with a fever, coughing, and muscle aches, which often la...
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
2. When should the patient be advised of the existence of computerized databases containing medical information about the patient?
Tan & Payton (2010) describe the electronic health record (EHR), which dates back to the 1950s. These computer-based patient records have evolved into complex systems with many capabilities. They were designed to provide healthcare professionals with a comprehensive picture of a patient’s health status at any time and are meant to automate and streamline the workflow of the healthcare professional (Tan & Payton,
Influenza is a major public health problem which outbreaks all over the world. Resulting in considerable sickness and death rates. Furthermore, it is a highly infectious airborne disease and is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza is transmitted easily from one person to another person which has a great impact on society. When a member of society becomes sick, it is more prone to spread to other people. In the United States, every year between 5 to 20 percent of the population is affected by influenza. As a result of this, between 3,000 and 49,000 deaths have occurred per year (Biggerstaff et al., 2014). Therefore, the influenza vaccine is the most effective strategy to prevent influenza. This essay will examine two significant reasons for influenza vaccination which are the loss of workforce and economic burden as well as one effect regarding herd immunity.
Ng, Sophia, et al. "The Effect Of Age And Recent Influenza Vaccination History On The Immunogenicity And Efficacy Of 2009-10 Seasonal Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccination In Children." Plos One 8.3 (2013): e59077. MEDLINE. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
The use of electronic medical records has both positive and negative impacts on our struggling healthcare system. The positive effects are improved communication among healthcare providers, decrease cost to patient and insurance companies by eliminating repeat diagnostic tests and unnecessary procedures, and improve the health conditions throughout the country by collecting data information. Immunization registries, bio surveillance, and public health can be monitored to improve the “fiscal an...
Sharing the personal health records with patients has the potential to improve the safety of medication prescribing and trending of physiologic data (e.g. blood pressure, clotting times, blood glucose, and daily weights). Patient portals can serve as personal health records in which health information is preserved over time (Gephart & Effken, 2013). Humana provides great features of patient portal for their members. The patient portal can be viewed on a computer, a smart phone, and a tablet. The members can utilize the portal to order and search medication, find physicians, view existing claims and benefits, and submit requested documents. Using the patient portal makes the members to monitor and manage their health easier than
...e flu are very similar to those of the regular flu. However concern arises, because the possibility of the virus creating greater complications is likely. To prevent one from contracting the swine flu, he or she should get vaccinated. The main difference between the regular flu vaccine and the H1N1 flu vaccine is the components of which these vaccines are composed of. One should make the decision to get the swine flu vaccine based on one’s age and current medical condition. It is highly recommended that children and people to the age of twenty-four years-old receive the swine flu vaccine, because they have weaker immunity levels. It is best to ask a doctor which decision is preferred. The goal of health professionals is to eliminate the H1N1 virus as a global health threat, and to allow it to become a mere virus that can be prevented by proper vaccinations.
There is a vaccination against the H1N1 virus that is available by shot or nasal spray. It is recommended that those who are the highest level of risk get the vaccination before it is too late. The vaccine is the best protection against the virus. Side effects of the shot may include soreness, redness, and swelling at injection site, fainting, headaches, fever and nausea. Side effects from the nasal spray include a runny nose, headache, vomiting, aches and a fever. Serious side effects may include difficulty breathing, hives, paleness, weakness, dizziness and a high fever. The vaccines are usually given at the beginning of the flu season to those who aren’t at much risk. But those who are at high risk should get the vaccine yearly.
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.