Health Information Technology Analysis

The article, “2016 Report to Congress on HIT Progress,” explains how in the past six years, electronic health record became a highly used resource. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) provided a report that helped deliver a method of reflecting the significance of health IT’s improvement. For example, the report progress stated that the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act has supported communities by increasing health IT to improve care and change in the way it is delivered. Most hospital employees and health care organization managers understand how the health information technology (IT) is important for society and the government. This act is a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) legislation in 2009 that helps expand the use of health information infrastructure throughout the healthcare. This shows that
a federal government has an ability to change in the health care industry, so the government and private partners incorporate technology advancement.
Typically, the Obama administration has focused on the improvement of EHR information technology to transform the US health care system form, and he signed the HITECH Act in 2009. Since then, a majority of individuals now has access to their health care and resources electronically. This major legislative and political support for EHRs also has an impact on heath IT progress and will improve health information technologies in the future.
Most health care organizations have decisively moved from the paper based industry to an electronic records system. As the 2016 Report to Congress on HIT Progress shows, as this time, a huge amount of electronic health data exists across the United States, which was not available many years ago. This is a great opportunity for the future generation in order to advance the practitioners’ awareness of decisions making towards treatment and quality of care. These would also a necessary and very convenient for doctors to use towards review patient’s medical history.
The federal government agencies and offices cooperated to develop the “Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020,” which help to improve quality of care, privacy, efficiency of the health care system, and important to exchange electronic health information with many stakeholders effectively. The ONC works together with the public and private sectors, which focuses on realizing the actions that they need to take through the “A Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap.” Both the Medicare and Medicaid initiative programs have observed a major alteration when implementing the usage of EHR’s in these systems. Health IT has also been an instrument for individual patients to set a goal towards their health outcomes as they support them.
In addition, the ONC commenced actions to adopt regulation standards by publishing the “Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA)” in 2015. This consists the use of the right application software design, such as a new accountability networking system. “The 2015 Edition Final Rule” advances the movement toward creating a guideline and criteria that can help collaborate with innovators and health IT programs. This is also an opportunity to utilize IT health care and provide the potential for systems interoperability for the data users. The main goals of delivery system reform have a significant impact to transform the delivery of health care.
This report also demonstrates the key barriers of securing electronic health information while transferring data between health care providers, Report to Congress health information blocking, and improving the safety of health IT. The federal agencies are using all of the necessary health care resources to enhance data breaches and safety as well as expanding federal and private sector consumer access, combat information blocking, and implement recognized, national interoperability standards.
The U.S.
IT health infrastructure is progressing, but there is a lot of room for improvement and to achieve despite keeping patient’s privacy safe and secure is the number one priority while exchanging electronic health information for all and individuals. Although the errors incorporated with implementing EHRs are noticeable at this time, The EHR is still necessary and very convenient for health practitioners to use for the care of patients. Consequently, future technologies will reduce the dependence on the medical paper based industry to an electronic one either for acute or ambulatory care. This will provide a more efficient infrastructure and be more beneficial for health care providers when the technology advances. In the future, the federal agency, Congress, and private sector should collaborate in creating new health IT advancements in electronic health information “where is available when and where it matters most.” Hence, health care organizations are looking forward to use the more efficient and effective technological advancements as they provide it to their
patients.