Effect of Electronic Health Records System Adoption in Health Care Settings
Over the past decades, the advancement of technology has affected most industries in the United States to adopt computerization in their workplaces. Despite these changes, adoption of information technology has been slow in health care workplaces. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was enacted in 2009 to promote expansion of the health information technology implementation in health care settings. Although the adoption of health information technology such as electronic health record (EHR) has been growing rapidly since the legislation of the HITECH act, more than half of the hospitals lack a basic system of EHR. The EHR system allows the health care providers to save and retrieve patient’s data, promoting improvement in clinical, organizational, and societal outcomes. Despite the benefits of EHR, some studies in the literature emphasize disadvantages associated with EHR including high investment and maintenance cost, work flow disruptions in attempt to learn new technology, and privacy concerns. Even though emphasis on importance of EHR is constantly being reinforced, researchers continue to debate whether implementations of the EHR system will result in gain or loss. In order to improve the health care delivery system, the EHR system should be adopted because of its potential benefits of health information technology.
Electronic Health Records System
The use of informational technology has spread throughout the healthcare settings since the first thought of integrating computers for use in medicine in the 1960s (Quantin, Burgun& Venot, 2014). Despite the development of electronic health record system, the a...
... middle of paper ...
...Nursing Management, 18(5), 606-612. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01084.x
Keenan, G., Yakel, E., Dunn Lopez, K., Tschannen, D., & Ford, Y. (2013). Challenges to nurses' efforts of retrieving, documenting, and communicating patient care information. Journal Of The American Medical Informatics Association, 20(2), 245-251. doi:10.1136/amiajnl-2012-000894
Kutney-Lee, A., & Kelly, D. (2011). The Effect of Hospital Electronic Health Record Adoption on Nurse-Assessed Quality of Care and Patient Safety. Journal Of Nursing Administration, 41(11), 466-472. doi:10.1097/NNA.0b013e3182346e4b
Menachemi, N., & Collum, T. (2011). Benefits and drawbacks of electronic health record systems. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy. 4, 47-55. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S12985
Quantin, C., Burgun, A., & Venot, A. (2014). Medical Informatics, E-Health: Fundamentals and Applications. Paris: Springer.
Electronic medical records not only effect health care professionals, but the patients of those health care providers as well. However, nurses spend the most time directly using electronic medical records to access patient date and chart. Nurses now learn to chart, record data, and interact with other health care providers electronically. Many assume that electronic means efficient, and the stories of many nurses both agree, and disagree. Myra Davis-Alston, a nurse from Las Vegas, NV, says that she “[likes] the immediate access to patient progress notes from all care providers, and the ability to review cumulative lab values and radiology reports” (Eisenberg, 2010, p. 9). This form of record keeping provides health care professionals with convenient access to patient notes, vital signs, and test results from multiple providers comprised into one central location. They also have the ability to make patients more involved in their own care (Ross, 2009). With the advancement in efficiency, also comes the reduction of costs by not printing countless paper records, and in turn, lowers health care
Friedman, D. J., Parrish, G., & Ross, D. A. (2013). Electronic Health Records and US Public Health: Current Realities and Future Promise. American Journal of Public Health, 103(9), 1560-1567
The implementation of electronic health records (EHR) continues to make an impact on nursing and patient care throughout the country. As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, all public and private healthcare providers were required to implement electronic health records in their facilities by January 1, 2014. By demonstrating “meaningful use” of the electronic medical record, facilities are able to maintain Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement levels. Providers who show that they are meeting the “meaningful use” criteria during EHR use will receive an incentive payment from Medicare and Medicaid. “Meaningful use” is “using certified technology in EHR implementation to improve quality, safety, efficiency, and reduce health disparities; engage patients and families; improve care coordination; and maintain privacy and security of patient health information” (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2013).
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how Electronic Medical Records (EMR), affects healthcare delivery. I will discuss the positives and negatives this issue has on healthcare and how it effects the cost and quality for healthcare services. In addition, I will identify any potential trade-offs to cost or quality. Lastly, I will discuss how the EMR affects my job as well as any challenges or opportunities this issue presents.
“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.
Healthcare Information and Management Systems. (2012). Electronic Health Record . Retrieved March 19, 2012, from HIMSS : http://www.himss.org/ASP/topics_ehr.asp
The purpose of this article is to review, summarize, and outline the key aspects to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009. The outcomes discussed in this article are based on clinical, organizational, and societal outcomes based on EHR’s. Included in these outcomes is improvement in the quality of care, increase in financial and operational performance, patient and clinician satisfaction and conduction of research. The author also implicates disadvantages to EHR’s such as financial issues, changes in workflow, loss in productivity due to the learning curve caused by EHR’s and this is just to name a few. This article will use the benefits and drawbacks to further expand on the topic of electronic medical and health
This paper will identify the use of Electronic Health Records and how nursing plays an important role. Emerging in the early 2000’s, utilizing Electronic Health Records have quickly become a part of normal practice. An EHR could help prevent dangerous medical mistakes, decrease in medical costs, and an overall improvement in medical care. Patients are often taking multiple medications, forget to mention important procedures/diagnoses to providers, and at times fail to follow up with providers. Maintaining an EHR could help tack data, identify patients who are due for preventative screenings and visits, monitor VS, & improve overall quality of care in a practice. Nurse informaticists play an important role in the adaptation, utilization, and functionality of an EHR. The impact the EHR could have on a general population is invaluable; therefore, it needs special attention from a trained professional.
The ratification of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in February 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) heightens the planning and implementation of EHR adoption. As a result, the federal government made the health information exchange (HIE) a national priority. In this regard, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is sanctioned by HITECH to establish program and projects to improve health care quality, safety, and efficiency through the promotion of health IT. There are various government...
Many new technologies are being used in health organizations across the nations, which are being utilized to help improve the quality of health care. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) play a critical role in improving access, quality and efficiency of healthcare ("Electronic health records," 2014). In order to assist in expanding the use of EHR’s, in 2011 The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), instituted a EHR incentive program called the Meaningful use Program. This program was instituted to encourage and expand the use of the HER, by providing health professional and health organizations yearly incentive payments when they demonstrate meaningful use of the EHR ("Medicare and medicaid," 2014). The Meaningful use program will be explored including its’ implications for nurses, nursing, national policy, how the population health data relates to Meaningful use data collection in various stages and finally recommendations for beneficial improvement for patient outcomes and population health and more.
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.
Boaden, R., & Joyce, P. (2006). Developing the electronic health record: What about patient safety? Health Services Management Research, 19 (2), 94-104. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/236465771?accountid=32521
Did you ever think about how much time is spent on computers and the internet? It is estimated that the average adult will spend over five hours per day online or with digital media according to Emarketer.com. This is a significant amount; taking into consideration the internet has not always been this easily accessible. The world that we live in is slowly or quickly however you look at it: becoming technology based and it is shifting the way we live. With each day more and more people use social media, shop online, run businesses, take online classes, play games, the list is endless. The internet serves billions of people daily and it doesn’t stop there. Without technology and the internet, there would be no electronic health record. Therefore, is it important for hospitals and other institutions to adopt the electronic health record (EHR) system? Whichever happens, there are many debates about EHR’s and their purpose, and this paper is going to explain both the benefits and disadvantages of the EHR. Global users of the internet can then decide whether the EHR is beneficial or detrimental to our ever changing healthcare system and technology based living.
Advances in technology have influences our society at home, work and in our health care. It all started with online banking, atm cards, and availability of children’s grades online, and buying tickets for social outings. There was nothing electronic about going the doctor’s office. Health care cost has been rising and medical errors resulting in loss of life cried for change. As technologies advanced, the process to reduce medical errors and protect important health care information was evolving. In January 2004, President Bush announced in the State of the Union address the plan to launch an electronic health record (EHR) within the next ten years (American Healthtech, 2012).
Furthermore, they have also demonstrated the effect of EHR adoption with adjusting for nursing care in patient satisfaction. Here they have broadly pictured how nursing care facilitates the patient satisfaction outcomes. The precision model shows a statistically significant relationship.