Health information specialist is a blanket term that is applied to a variety of technical positions. Almost all of these jobs involve medical data, information technology, electronic health records and health information management systems. The BLS states that the job outlook for health information technicians is expected to continue growing at 15 percent, which is much faster than average.
Kaiser Permanente has been equipped since 2007 with Health Connect; which is the largest private electronic health record implementation in the world. This is a highly sophisticated electronic program that integrates inpatient, outpatient, and clinic medical records with appointments, registration, pharmacy, and billing for all kaiser members. In addition, this electronic program includes an entire medical library with a whole set of care support tools which are accessible to doctors, nursing staff and patients (Kaiser Permanente, n.d.).
Health information technology can advance the health of individuals and aid with the performance of providers to produce and improve quality and cost savings in patients’ health. In 2009, Congress passed, and former President Obama signed into law the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Buntin, Burke, Hoaglin and Blumenthal, 2011). Authorized by the HITECH Act, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) has worked on health IT. The Health IT created legislation and regulations to provide requirements and certification criteria that the EHRs must meet to ensure health care
(September 30, 2013) - The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published amended rules applicable to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 in January 2013. As explained by the Secretary of HHS, healthcare has experienced significant changes since HIPAA was enacted in 1996. The implementation of electronic medical records is just one of those changes. The new HIPAA regulations are designed to provide patients with better privacy protection, and additional rights not included in the original HIPAA rules. The new rules became effective on Sept. 23, 2013.
This rule adopts standards for eight electronic transactions and for code sets to be used in those transactions. It also contains requirements concerning the use of these standards by health plans, health care clearinghouses, and certain health care providers.
In her assessment of the American Reinvestment & Recovery Act (ARRA), Murphy (2009) discusses how its enactment provided unprecedented funding for the advancement of health information technology (HIT) which served to promote health care reform. Electronic health records (EHRs) by extension received a boost via incentivization for appropriate use in hospitals and ambulatory settings (Murphy, 2009). The benefits of EHRs include the ability to improve the delivery and quality of nursing care, the ability to make more timely and efficient nursing care decisions for nursing, the ability to avoid errors that might harm patients and the ability to promote health and wellness for the patients (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015).
Other than HIPAA, Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act is a major federal policy initiative that affects the healthcare information technology (HIT) in the past years. However, its policy is used to protect the EHR system from a security breach that can cause multi-million dollar fines to the company (Campus Safety Magazine, 2010). In 2009, President Obama signed HITECH Act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with authority, so it can establish programs that will improve healthcare quality, safety, and efficiency using HIT (Hebda & Czar, 2013).
Providers across the U.S. are turning to the Health Information Exchange also known as HIE. HIE provides secure online access to patients charts among a network of providers, hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, and pharmacies who join in the exchange, so they can have timely electronic access to records their patients will allow them to share. For patients this means having their medical records available no matter where they go and for providers it means having instant access to life saving information when seconds count
The first article was a summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. In the article, there was an introduction on what HIPAA meant and its importance. First off, HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and it is a disclosure of patient information so that it is protected from unknown individuals and to assure that health providers abide by the privacy rule. Some key facts about HIPAA were, who was covered, what information is protected, and administrative requirements. Noncompliance and criminal penalties were some of the critical issues found in the article. Who is covered by the privacy rule? The privacy rule applies to health care plans, health care providers, and clearinghouses (U.S. Department of Health
This paper will illustrate how Hennepin County (HC) utilize monitor and maintain EHR records for the following business lines hospital, outpatient clinics, health, social and human service. Data sharing of EHR has allowed the organization to successfully provide care coordination for the population we serve. As healthcare evolves and service delivery continues to influence healthcare, it is essential that each business lines work together and collaborate to effectively access EHR within the Epic system. EHR systems, data bases, web portals are critical for a healthcare provider remain compliant with federal regulations. I am an HC employee, and my organization is unique, because we own and operate Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) and
Health information exchange or HIE allows doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care providers and patients to access vital medical information. It also allows them to share medical information securely and electronically. HIE improves the speed, quality, safety, and the cost of patient care.For many years patient's files were stored using paper methods, transferring them by mail, fax or transferred it by hand to every appointment. Changing to electronic file improves the completeness of patient's medical records. It makes decision making of healthcare providers avoid readmissions, avoid medication errors, improve diagnosis, and decreases the amount of times test are reordered. There are other benefits to health information exchange
Interestingly, the findings from the review of literature shed light to the challenges nurses encounter with the implementation of electronic health records and identify areas for improvement that could be made in an effort to achieve the goals of the HITECH act. Based on the review of literature, overall, the electronic health record is seen as a positive aspect to assisting nurses in providing positive outcomes for patients. However, challenges still exist with the daily utilization of the EHR, with communication among healthcare providers and interdisciplinary teams. These challenges present nurses with great difficulty as they attempt to provide care to their patients. Because some nurses continue to struggle with utilizing the electronic
The writer will be discussing the health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, its principal element of the law, how the law is communicated to health care providers and the institution, and what providers are likely to be the most impacted by the laws.
Technology has become an essential part of our everyday life therefore, it makes sense that doctors and hospitals get rid of the old fashioned paper charting and use technology to access patient records. Electronic health records (EHR) provide quick access to information, as doctors no longer have to wait for other providers to fax previous records to them. The accessibility of Electronic Health Records assist medical providers to make quick medical care decisions, by accessing previous care provided to patients including treatment and diagnosis. Quick access to information through EHR enables health care providers to treat patients faster as there is no need for records to be mailed or
Electronic Health Records are important to improving the quality of care provided, being able to find a patients history of care at a click of a button. The healthcare facility will produce better outcomes in EHRs with the