Medical System Research

Running head: Medical Systems Research

Medical Systems Research
Jessica Sooter
Westwood College Online

Abstract
Complete an academic research project comparing the history of computers in healthcare to current Medical Record Systems. Submit a minimum four page research project that includes:
A description of the history and influence of computers in healthcare. A summary of the software tools commonly used in healthcare today. An explanation of current privacy and security measures that are used to protect electronic health records. An explanation of why you feel data quality, entry, integrity, privacy security and reliability are important. A conclusion stating your thoughts regarding the impact of information technology on the field of coding and billing throughout history. A minimum of 3 external references cited correctly using APA format.
Medical Systems Research
The use of computerized systems in the health care profession evolved through a process which was driven by the need of the systems. Within the last 30 years, health care professions have seen few real visions which developed systems to aid their needs throughout the clinical setting. It was in the last five years that the computer technology was applied to hospital administration and also the technology was applied to the clinical areas as well.
The health care environment included the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid, cost based reimbursement, building mode, and the need to focus on financial needs and capturing revenues. The state of information technology included the mainframe of computers, centralized processing, and few vendor developed product.
High speed communication becomes of major importance when sending large amounts of data and images. A major internet problem nationwide is speed of communication; however this limitation was overcome with broadband communication. There are still problems with data security. While hospitals do have HIPAA to provide security guidelines for securing data, it makes it easier to identify an innocent and inconsequential violation which allows lawyers to sue.
The health care industries are entering a new era as they move from the use of computers to handle all administrative tasks into becoming more directly involved in the care process it. The health care information system includes Administrative information systems which contains primarily administrative or financial data, and is used to support the management functions and general operations of the health care organization. Then you have the clinical information system which contains clinical or health related information that is relevant to the provider in diagnosing, treating and monitoring the patients care.
An example of Administrative Applications include Patient Administration Systems which handle admissions, discharges, scheduling, patient billing or accounts receivable, and utilization management. The other is financial management systems which include accounts payable, general ledgers, personnel management, materials management, payroll and staff scheduling.
An example of Clinical Applications includes Ancillary information systems which include laboratory, radiology, and pharmacy. Other clinical information systems include nursing documentation, electronic medical record (EMR), computerized provider order entry (CPOE), telemedicine and telehealth, rehabilitation service documentation and medication administration.
The challenges of health care environment, coupled with advances in information technology, which led to the state of health care information systems. It’s important to look at where the health care industry has come in its adoption and use of information technology and where it has yet to go.
Electronic health or medical record refers to a computerized record of all patients stored electronically. The EHR is used widely worldwide. With the EHR information can be shared between hospitals or within different departments within hospitals. An electronic health record contains all details about the medical history of a patient and these records are normally kept in hospitals, clinical settings, physician’s offices, and other medical institutions. The more popular software used today include Medilig, ClearHealth, FreeMED, GNU med, and FFEHR. There is also medical practice management software which is used to manage the daily routines in a hospital or clinical setting. This type of software helps maintain patient records, appointments, prescriptions, reports, and insurance details.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), was enacted in 1996 by the United States Congress. HIPAA title I protects health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change or lose their jobs.HIPAA title II is known as the Administrative Simplification (AS) provisions, and requires the establishment of national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health insurance plans and employers. The act gives the right to privacy to individuals. The provider must have a signed disclosure form the affected before giving out any information regarding health care provided to anyone which includes parents. The AS also addresses the security and privacy of all health data. The standards are meant to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the nation’s health care system by encouraging the use of electronic data interchange in the United States health care system.
Data Quality in health care is important because good quality RAW data = good quality Indicators. There is evidence that can be trusted which enables managers to optimize health care coverage, quality, and ultimately health status by ; forming accurate pictures of health needs, programs and services in specific areas; informing appropriate planning and decision making, allocating and using resources effectively and efficiently; supporting ongoing monitoring to identify best practices to learn from and areas where support and corrective measures are needed, and last but not least to improve the quality of health care.
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Integrity is one of the most important and oft-cited of virtue terms. It is also perhaps the most puzzling. For example, while it is sometimes used virtually synonymously with ‘normal’, we also at times distinguish acting morally from acting with integrity. Persons of integrity may in fact act immorally- though they would usually not know they are acting immorally. Thus one y acknowledges a person to have integrity even though that person may hold importantly mistaken moral views”.
Privacy security is important in healthcare because it protects the patients that may be involved in research from harm and preserving their rights which is essential to ethical research. The justification for protecting personal privacy of patients is to protect their rights. There are many reasons for placing the protection on privacy, confidentiality, and security of health information. Most view privacy as being valuable in itself, which to me is an essential component of human well-being. Respecting privacy is a form of recognition of the attributes which give humans their uniqueness.
To achieve a high reliability in a health care setting, you need to have commitment. No important organizational goals can be achieved without such a commitment. All people in the leadership positions must be committed which include the governing body, management, physicians and nurses. All involved need to recognize that it may take years to achieve this goal, but the team must be there to fully support. All principles of the practice must should be embedded and followed at all times.
In conclusion, the United States health care system faces challenges that clearly indicate the urgent need for computerized systems in healthcare. The provisions of high quality affordable health care services are increasingly difficult. Enabling the use of computerized systems to me was the greatest thing invented. Computers help save a lot of havoc throughout hospitals and clinical areas where doctors and nurses are in high demand. The computer has become an important support tool for healthcare professionals. Medical informatics and discipline related to pharmacy have evolved from the cognitive of medicine, pharmacy, and computer science. Properly implemented, computers can provide more time for health care professionals to use their cognitive skills in health care.

References http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/HIPAA-Administrative-Simplification/HIPAAGenInfo/index.html?redirect=/HIPAAGenInfo/ http://www.himss.org/library/healthcare-privacy-security?navItemNumber=13400

http://www.jmir.org/2002/1/e2/

http://www.saching.com/Article/Role-played-by-computers-in-health-care-and-medicine/4313

References: http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/HIPAA-Administrative-Simplification/HIPAAGenInfo/index.html?redirect=/HIPAAGenInfo/ http://www.himss.org/library/healthcare-privacy-security?navItemNumber=13400 http://www.jmir.org/2002/1/e2/ http://www.saching.com/Article/Role-played-by-computers-in-health-care-and-medicine/4313