program must meet certain milestones within specified timeframes W r i t i n g

if you could reply to the following DQ with 100-200 words each.

Betsy:

In the past decade, through the adoption of EHR (Electronic Health Record), the healthcare industry has grown substantially with digital transformation. According to Health IT, (2019), “One of the key features of an EHR is that health information can be created and managed by authorized providers in a digital format capable of being shared with other providers across more than one health care organization.” The driving force behind the adoption of EHR is the main reason for reducing medical errors and providing more effective methods for communication and sharing of information between healthcare providers and patients. The use of EHR has greatly increased. In addition, it helps reduce healthcare costs, better manage patient medical records, and improve the coordination of care and healthcare quality (Kruse et al., 2016).

The Federal Government has encouraged the adoption of EHRs through incentives found in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. In addition, the Center for Medicare, and Medicaid Services (CMS) has also facilitated the expansion of EHR by providing incentives for adoption and meaningful use, and even penalties for lack of provider participation (Kruse et al., 2016).

Few barriers are most regarding cost, technical concerns, technical support, and resistance to change. Despite federal and local incentives, the initial cost of adopting an EHR is a common existing barrier. Other barriers most frequently mentioned include technical support, technical issues, and maintenance, and ongoing costs. Policymakers should consider incentives to continue to reduce implementation costs, perhaps more directly targeting organizations with known low adoption rates, such as small hospitals in rural areas, Kruse et al., 2016).

References

Kruse, C. S., Kristof, C., Jones, B., Mitchell, E., & Martinez, A. (2016). Barriers to Electronic Health Record Adoption: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of medical systems, 40(12), 252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-016-0628-9

What is an electronic health record (EHR)? HealthIT.gov. (2019, September 10). Retrieved December 9, 2021, from

Some of the driving forces behind having electronic health records currently is the ability to communicate with the patients, order prescriptions, patients access and telemedicine. The EHR is increasing interoperability providing increased provider and provider communication decreasing lapse of care in patient transfer to providers or facilities. With the current outbreak of COVID-19 patients are able to be traced for exposure through the health department. Patients can be screened easily for studies according to their health conditions. The potential barriers behind adoption of EHR are the privacy and security of EHR. Today there is so much widespread about patient EHR hacking in healthcare facilities. Patients electronic data needs to be protected. Patients need to feel that they are protected along with their care. Many times patient information needs to be limited from staff who doesn’t need access to those charts and diagnosis information. The other barriers many smaller facilities in rural community hospitals and clinics have not obtained EHRs yet due to lack of broadband access or lack of providers.

Milstein-Adler, J. & Ashish, J. K. (2017). HITECH Act Drove Large Gains In Hospital Electronic Health Record Adoption. Health Affairs 36(8) https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1651

Monica:

Less than a decade ago, nine out of ten doctors in the U.S. updated their patients’ records by hand and stored them in color-coded files. By the end of 2017, approximately 90% of office-based physicians nationwide will be using electronic health records (EHRs) (PracticeFusion, n.d.). From 2012 to 2015 U.S. hospitals rapidly accelerated patient online access to health information and enabled online patient and health care provider communication, while other online capabilities were less universal. In 2015, nearly all hospitals enabled patients to view their health information online – triple the number of hospitals in 2012. The percentage of hospitals that provided patients the ability to view, download, transmit their health information online increased significantly from 10% in 2013 to 69% in 2015. In addition, over 3 in 5 hospitals offered patients the ability to electronically send or receive secure messages with their health care provider (HealthIT.gov, 2021).

Uptake on full EHR integration has only recently seen a significant increase with the passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act in 2009. This legislation has offered incentivized payments through Medicare and Medicaid for those office-based practices and hospitals that adopt an EHR system as a means of improving quality of care. This multistage project incentivizes health care providers to implement or enhance the electronic capture of patient information and includes a provision that patients are to be provided with copies of their health information. It further aims to increase the ‘meaningful use’ of health information to engage in ongoing quality improvement initiatives directly at the point of care and in the exchange of information between providers. However, offices and hospitals that enroll in the program must meet certain milestones within specified timeframes to avoid fines and other penalties.

Integrated EHR systems have the potential to significantly improve patient safety and quality of care within the hospital; however, there are many significant barriers to implementation that must be addressed by leadership before committing to hospital-wide adoption. Before transitioning to an EHR system, organizations must identify and dedicate appropriate administrative and medical personnel to work on implementation, which includes a dedicated liaison between the organization and EHR vendor. Communication with the EHR vendor about specific needs and workflow design should be prioritized to ensure that the system is ready for full implementation when it is scheduled to ‘go-live’. Success depends on a seamless conversion from one charting system to another, and there is no guarantee of data integrity during the transition phase; however, a well-planned and executed implementation can minimize some of these risks. If implementation is done poorly it can increase the risk of error, in turn exposing physicians and hospitals to potential medical malpractice lawsuits and other legal complications. EHR systems also increase the amount of data and documentation available for review in the event of a medical error or adverse event. As providers become more comfortable with an EHR system, learned dependence on built-in clinical decision-making tools may risk critical human decision-making, leading to medical error. The legalities and risk associated with EHR adoption may be further amplified by the tendency of physicians to practice independently and to not ask for help when they may not fully understand a practice or protocol.

References

HealthIT.gov. (2021) U.S. hosptial adoption of patient engagement functionalities. Retrieved from: https:// V., Pamarthy, A., & Jonnalagadda, N. R. (2016). Adoption of electronic health records and barriers. Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives, 6(5), 1-3. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/jchimp.v6.32643

PracticeFusion (n.d.) Retrieved from: https://practicefusion.com/blog/ehr-adoption-rates/