NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

Walden University NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper-Step-By-Step Guide

 

This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Walden University NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.

 

How to Research and Prepare for NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

 

Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Walden University NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.

 

After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.

 

How to Write the Introduction for NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

The introduction for the Walden University NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.

 

How to Write the Body for NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

 

After the introduction, move into the main part of the NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.

 

Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.

 

How to Write the Conclusion for NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

 

After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.

 

How to Format the References List for NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

 

The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.

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Grading Criteria

Sample Answer for NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

When information was passed from person to person directly or written in one area, it was much easier to control the accessibility of vulnerable information (Croll, 2010).  Today, we see that HIT provides us with many benefits but also adds some concerns around confidentiality, privacy, and ethical considerations. HIPPA supports the privacy and security by providing standards in practice, it is important for nurses to not only ensure we keep abreast of new and upcoming initiatives, but also become a leader in the development of these policies for public protection of health information (Hjort, 2007). When using EHR’s there are four ethical consideration including privacy and confidentiality, security breaches, systems implementation, and data inaccuracies (Ozair et al., 2015). One ethical consideration I face is the sharing of sensitive data to co-workers.  It is important that only authorized people access the data, but I find that working in a small hospital, information seems to be shared more freely.  Nurses often leave themselves logged into computers with open data easily seen.  This presents a security breech as well as a privacy concern.

AMIA developed a code of professional and ethical conduct in 2007 and more currently updated in 2018.  As professionals we have a responsibility to understand our role and responsibility when it comes to HIT and confidentiality of patient’s sensitive information, if there is an issue such as my experience with leaving computer access open and unattended, we need to advise colleagues of appropriate action.  We can also reach out to leadership teams to see if the system could help alleviate this concern by potentially setting a specific amount of time with no activity where log out is automatic.  Another issue is we have two large screen computers in the hallway. We access medical records and view chest x-rays as families and patients are walking by.  These workstations could be placed in a more confidential area.

As technology continues to advance so will the need of policies to continue to support our ethical responsibilities to protect public privacy (Hjort, 2007). Hopefully as HIT grows, the knowledge and expertise of utilizing these tools becomes more standardized for nurses. Utilizing the AMIA code for professional and ethical guidelines that tells us to continually upgrade our education HIT, recognize the limitations and seek solutions, support learners and provide a culture of including others to enhance professional conduct (Petersen et al., 2018).

 

Reference

Croll, P. (2010). Privacy, security and access with sensitive health information. Studies in Health

Technology and Informatics, 151, 167–175.

Hjort, B. (2007). AHIMA Report addresses evolving role of health care privacy and security

officers. Journal of Health Care Compliance, 9(3), 47–68.

Ozair, F.F., Jamshed, N., Sharma, A., & Aggarwal, P. (2015) Ethical issues in electronic health

records: A general overview.  Perspectives in Clinical Research, 6(2), 73-76.

doi: 10.4103/2229-3485.153997

Peterson, C., Berner, E.S., Embi, P.J., Fultz Hollis, K., Goodman, K.W., Koppel, R., Lehmann,

C.U., Maulden, S.A., McGregor, K.A., Solomonides, A., Subbian, V., Terrazas, E., &

Winlekstein, P. (2018). AMIA’s cod of professional and ethical conduct 2018. Journal of

American Medical Informatics Association, 25(11), 1579-1582.

https://class.content.laureate.net/869628f6f5c3c631ce5ec55300cb9772.pdf

Sample Answer 2 for NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

Meaningful use refers to an electronic health records (EHR) incentive program, which offers incentive payments for specific healthcare providers to adopt EHR technology in ways that improve patient care. The program encourages eligible providers to use the EHR’s capabilities to arrive at benchmarks that promote improved patient care (CMS, 2017). The meaningful use program has particular requirements that the eligible providers must meet to get the incentive payments. This paper seeks to discuss the legal, financial, and ethical issues that may arise due to meaningful use legislation and how they may hinder the successful implementation of meaningful use in an organization.

Legal, Financial, and Ethical Issues That May Arise As A Result Of Meaningful Use Legislation

Legal issues that can occur during meaningful use legislation include increased legal responsibility and accountability for healthcare providers. Complex electronic-based auditing procedures can point out providers who review or fail to review vital patient information in the EHR (Balestra, 2017). As a result, providers can be sued on the grounds of medical negligence for failing to address priority patient issues. Challenges related to the quality, usability, and reliability of the available EHRs may bring complex legal implications. Most EHR contracts have a ‘hold harmless’ clause which restricts health providers from reporting EHR-related challenges (Balestra, 2017). Furthermore, documentation-related EHR issues may result in legal liabilities. Documentation must be accurate and clear to offer a foundation for every provider to improve patient outcomes (Balestra, 2017). However, electronic documentation that does not meet these principles may result in undesirable outcomes for the provider, patients, families, or the healthcare organization, resulting in legal proceedings.

Financial issues that may occur from meaningful use include unresolved issues on the party that should pay for the implementation and use of the EHR. In most of the current provider reimbursement models, the highest percentage of the EHR monetary benefits go to health care payers instead of those currently financing the EHR implementation (Lite et al., 2020). Health care providers may raise financial concerns about the cost and resources needed to implement and maintain the EHR.  The transition costs from paper-based records to EHR documentation are barriers to successful, meaningful use legislation (Lite et al., 2020). The transition is associated with costs to reduce patient load during the transition process, staff training, various technical support charges, and costs to load medical records from paper into the EHR system.

Evidence reveals that EHRs result in unintentional consequences with patient safety implications. EHR usability challenges may result in ethical issues that may need ethical decision-making models to guide health providers on the appropriate actions to promote safe, effective patient care (McBride et al., 2018). The EHR has enhanced portability and accessibility, which raises ethical questions on the ownership of protected health information. Ethical issues may also arise on the health providers’ responsibility to prevent and notify patients of the potential for privacy breaches when using the EHR (McBride et al., 2018). Computer-based breaches on personal health information may result in complex ethical and legal issues on the suitability of the approaches used to address them.

How These Issues Might Present Barriers to Successful Implementation within an Organization

Potential legal, financial, and ethical issues significantly hinder the implementation of meaningful use within a healthcare organization. Legal issues hinder successful, meaningful use implementation since healthcare leaders become concerned about the legal liabilities that EHR implementation may bring to the organization (McBride et al., 2018). The legal fees needed to develop EHR contracts also hinder the successful implementation of meaningful use, especially in small practices (Lite et al., 2020). Financial issues such as limited resources limit organizations from purchasing the EHR, which is a major barrier to implementing meaningful use. Ethical issues related to patient privacy and data integrity bar organizations from implementing meaningful use due to concerns of failing to uphold the HIPAA rule on maintaining patients’ privacy when using the EHR.

Ways That Health Care Organizations Can Make the Most of Their Electronic Health Record Investments In Light Of Meaningful Use

The Meaningful Use program promotes a safer, more efficient way to deliver healthcare services. Health care organizations can make the most of their EHR in view of meaningful use by using it to foster smooth, accurate data-sharing among the healthcare providers and improved quality of care for all patients (Wani & Malhotra, 2018). Organizations can use the EHR to ensure that the providers have access to complete and accurate information, facilitate the diagnosis of health conditions, and provide the best possible patient care. Besides, they can use the EHR to improve care coordination in the organizations (Wani & Malhotra, 2018). With the EHR, information can be shared instantaneously across care organizations, including hospitals, physician offices, and health systems, resulting in better care coordination.

Organizations can use the EHR to increase their patient engagement. The EHR strengthens the capacity of organizations to receive their medical records electronically and share them securely over the Internet. Health organizations can use it to their benefit to encourage patients to take a more active role in managing their health and their families (Wani & Malhotra, 2018). Organizations can also use the EHR to improve patient safety. For instance, they can use the EHR to promote fast electronic access to patient information about allergies, conditions, medications, and treatment history, thus significantly reducing the risk of medical errors (Wani & Malhotra, 2018). Lastly, organizations can use the EHR to promote healthier patient populations and communities by capturing vital data about diseases and outcomes and sharing it with other health professionals locally, regionally, and countrywide.

How EHR-Related Meaningful Use Legislation Is Being Implemented In My Organization

Meaningful legislation is being implemented in my organization through interventions consistent with the 13 Core Objectives and 9 Menu Objectives of stage one (CMS, 2017).  Clinicians use computerized provider order entry (CPOE) and clinical decision support (CDS) in making clinical decisions and carry out drug-drug and drug-allergy checks. The organization maintains an updated problem list of current and active diagnoses, an active drug list, and an active medication allergy list for patients. In addition, we have adopted E-Prescribing for the largest percentage of our patients (CMS, 2017). We also implement meaningful use by documenting patients’ demographics, changes in vital signs, and smoking status for patients 13 years and above. Furthermore, the organization offers patients the capacity to view, download, and transmit their health data online.

The organization further implements meaningful use by conducting a security risk analysis to protect electronic health data. Clinicians also provide patients with clinical summaries for their outpatient visits within three business days. It also submits electronic data to immunization registries and electronic syndromic surveillance data to public health agencies (CMS, 2017). Besides, we conduct drug formulary checks and create lists of patients by their specific conditions. We also send reminders to patients for their preventive and follow-up care and provide them with patient-specific education resources. Health providers in the organization implement meaningful use by integrating clinical lab-test results, carrying out medication reconciliation, and recording the summary of care for transitions of care.

Conclusion

Legal issues related to meaningful use can be attributed to complex EHR systems, problems with quality, usability, and reliability of the EHR, and electronic documentation. Financial issues include inadequate resources to purchase and maintain the EHR  as well as the transition from paper-based records to EHR. Ethical issues may be related to patient safety and breach of patient privacy. These issues may hinder the successful implementation since organizations become concerned about the legal and ethical liabilities and lack adequate resources to maintain the EHR.

 References

Balestra, M. L. (2017). Electronic health records: patient care and ethical and legal implications for nurse practitioners. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 13(2), 105-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2016.09.010

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2017). Electronic health records (EHR) incentive programs. Eligible Hospital and Critical Access Hospital Meaningful Use Core Measures: Measure, 6.

Lite, S., Gordon, W. J., & Stern, A. D. (2020). Association of the meaningful use electronic health record incentive program with health information technology venture capital funding. JAMA network open, 3(3), e201402-e201402. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.1402

McBride, S., Tietze, M., Robichaux, C., Stokes, L., & Weber, E. (2018). Identifying and addressing ethical issues with the use of electronic health records. Online J Issues Nurs, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No01Man05

Wani, D., & Malhotra, M. (2018). Does the meaningful use of electronic health records improve patient outcomes?. Journal of Operations Management, 60, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2018.06.003

Sample Answer 3 for NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

Health information and technology use in the provision of healthcare has gained significant popularity and demand in the modern world. Countries such as the US, UK, and Australia are at the forefront in embracing healthcare technologies that have the potentials of improving the efficacy in the provision of care and reducing the costs incurred by the institutions of healthcare. The increased demand for the use of technology in healthcare has seen the adoption of the meaningful use program that aimed at strengthening the use of electronic health records ( Herasevich & Pickering, 2018). The program improves the efficiency and outcomes of the delivery of healthcare services by utilizing technology to make an effective use of provider, consumer, and healthcare institution information.

The origin of the meaningful program can be traced to 2009 when the Health Information Technology for Economics and Clinical Health Act was adopted into the law. The law mandated governments to allocate a significant proportion of their resources to expanding the use of electronic health records. The act was adopted with the hope that it could promote improvement in healthcare efficiency for all the American citizens. The US government recognized that the adoption would face some resistance from the adopters. As a result, it rolled out an incentive program for the healthcare providers and institutions that use certified electronic health records in a meaningful way (Davis & LaCour, 2016). The meaningful use of the system entails ensuring that it promotes safety, quality, and efficiency, eliminates disparities, and enhanced coordination of healthcare services.

The health information and technology systems that were introduced by the program are varied. They include EMR, EHR, and ePHR. Electronic medical records (EMR) provides a system where repository for clinical data, support for clinical decisions, order entry, applications for clinical documents, and controlled medical vocabulary are stored. Electronic Health Records (EHR) provides a secure system for every person’s encounters with the healthcare institution. Lastly, Personal Health Records provides a system for managing the clients’ health information (Balgrosky, 2019). These systems work together to ensure that health information is stored, organized, interpreted, and is available when needed by its users.

The adoption of the meaningful use program has significant implications to the practice of nursing. It translates into the improvement in the safety and quality of care given to those in need. The improvement is attributed to the reduction of medical errors that predispose the patients to undesired outcomes such as increased hospital stays and worsening in their conditions. The program also implies that nurses have to play an active role in safeguarding the privacy and confidentiality of the information of their clients. Health information systems are vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The vulnerability makes nurses the advocates for the adoption of interventions that prevent data breach in the institution. Lastly, the meaningful use program implies that clinical decision-making among the nurses and other healthcare providers will be improved (Teitelbaum & Wilensky, 2017). The improvement arises from the timely availability of data and easy collaboration among the healthcare providers.

Discussion and Analysis of the Meaningful Use Program

The goals and objectives of the meaningful use program are varied. One of them is to enhance the collaboration between the public as well as clinical healthcare. The collaboration is projected to result in the improvement in quality of care offered to the public due to active stakeholder engagement (Daim, 2019). The other goal of the program is to improve the provision of patient-centered care that prevents health problems and promote health. The use of health information technologies eliminates any possible adverse outcomes due to medical errors. It also increases the effectiveness of clinical follow-up of cases (Slight et al., 2015). Consequently, it is believed that continued use of the health information systems will enhance the provision of patient-centric care to those in need.

The other aim of the meaningful use program is to ensure the protection of the patient information. Institutions of healthcare are required to utilize certified health information systems that safeguard the private and confidential data of their clients. They are needed to adopt sophisticate physical, technical, and administrative safeguards that offer strict access to patients’ data. Healthcare institutions achieve this outcome by encrypting electronic information of their patients. They can also ensure that strict check systems are utilized before healthcare providers access the information they need (Piliouras et al., 2016). Therefore, protection of patient information is important in increasing the use of health information technologies in healthcare.

The other goal of the meaningful program is to enhance the coordination of care in healthcare institutions. Health information technologies such as electronic health records increase the rate at which clinical decisions are made. It enhances the collaborative efforts between the various stakeholders of the healthcare system. The fact that information is readily available implies that clinical decisions can be made with ease based on the health status of the client. The availability of data also increases the efficiency in which the operations of healthcare organizations are done (Piliouras et al., 2016). Consequently, additional benefits such as improvement in patient engagement, quality of care, and consumer satisfaction are achieved.

The success of the meaningful use program is two-fold. For a majority, the program has been successful due to the increase in healthcare coverage in the state. The incidences of adverse medical events have also reduced. The utilization of healthcare services in the state has also risen due to the efficiency associated with delivery of healthcare services. Some of the scholars also argue that the program has failed. The failure is attributed to the program’s failure to address vital human resource issues affecting the US healthcare system. An example is the acute shortage of healthcare workforce to provide the care needed in the state. The failure is also seen in the significant resistance from the healthcare providers in adopting the program (Adler-Milstein et al., 2015). Despite the above challenges, the program has been effective in reducing the costs incurred by healthcare organizations and the patients. The reduction can be seen in the efficient coordination of care and decision-making in healthcare institutions. Quality of care has also improved due to enhanced safety in the nature of care and accessibility as well as the reduction in medical errors (Holman et al., 2016). Therefore, while there are few challenges with the program, it has been effective in improving the quality of care offered to those in need in the state.

The adoption of the meaningful use program has both strengths as well as weaknesses. One of the strengths is that it focuses on promoting patient-centered case. The program ensures that the healthcare needs of the patients are prioritized. This is irrespective of the affordability of care since healthcare institutions are expected to provide quality care with low costs. The program also places more emphasis on the safety of care through collaboration and reduction of adverse events in healthcare. The other strength of the program is that it improves the operations of healthcare systems. Health information technologies allow institutions of healthcare to utilize the big data analytics. The outcome of this access is an improvement in the efficiency in which activities are run in health organizations (Holman et al., 2016). The information exchange also provides healthcare institutions with insights on the ways in which quality healthcare could be improved further. The last strength of the meaningful use program is its focus on clinical and societal outcomes. The program has been shown to drive clinical outcomes that include averted and increased revenues for institutions of healthcare. Other institutional benefits include improved compliance with legal requirements, increased satisfaction among healthcare providers, and utilization of evidence-based data in clinical practice (Gidwani et al., 2017). The societal focus includes the promotion of the health of the public.

One of the weaknesses of the meaningful use program is its cost of adoption. Healthcare institutions have to invest their resources in acquisition of healthcare technologies that support the program. They also have to train their workforce on the use of the systems in providing healthcare. These activities are costly to healthcare organizations, hence, affecting its use in them. The other weakness of the program is that it increases the risk of loss of productivity in an institution of healthcare. The decline could be attributed to staff dissatisfaction with the changes and resistance to the adoption of the system from them (Gidwani et al., 2017). Despite these weaknesses, meaningful use program has been effective in transforming the healthcare system in the US.

Core Requirements

Three progressive stages were developed as guidelines of the incentive payments for meaningful use of electronic health records. All eligible professionals are required to meet at least 15 core objectives as well as 5 additional objectives from the menu set in the first stage. The objectives include e-prescription, use of computerized physician order entry, and implementation of clinical decision support rule among others.  Of the core objectives, the most important ones for this research are using drug-to-drug and checks on drug allergy interaction and recording vital signs. Healthcare providers including nurses, doctors, and pharmacists can use the electronic health records to check the prescribed drugs for drug interactions and contraindications. They also use it to confirm the drug dosage and signs of possible adverse reactions to them. Through it, patient safety is protected through the elimination of adverse outcomes. The healthcare providers also make informed decisions that influence the patients’ recovery processes. There is also active collaboration among the healthcare providers on determining the appropriate management of the patients. The data on adverse events and immunizations can also be kept in the registry. Consequently, it promotes the health of the public. Healthcare providers can also use the electronic health system to monitor vital signs (Dewan, Luo & Lorenzi, 2015). The use of the systems allow for the detection of the abnormal findings that demand immediate response from the healthcare teams.

The second stage of meaningful use program was implemented in 2014. The mandate requires institutions of healthcare and healthcare professionals to build on their existing functionalities and achieve additional advanced capabilities such as securing online access for patients. The objectives in this stage include implementing formulary checks, using clinical lab test in structured data, and send reminders used for follow up and preventive care. The most important objectives in this stage are implementing formulary checks and recording patient notes electronically. The healthcare providers should be able to perform regular checks on the systems to ensure that they align with their practice. They should be able to record patient’s data in electronic formats to enhance efficiency in their operations. Through it, the quality of care will improve due to efficiency in decision-making. There will also be a reduction in the duplication of duties in the institution (Dewan et al., 2015). The third phase of the implementation of the meaningful use program was in 2016. The aim was to improve on safety, quality, population health metrics, and cost efficiency of health operations.

Challenges and Recommendations

The adoption of meaningful use program is faced with significant challenges. One of them is resistance to its adoption among healthcare providers. Some of the healthcare providers are not ready to embrace technological changes in healthcare. The resistance could be due to reasons such as fear of the unknown or lack of knowledge on the expected benefits of the change. Therefore, it is important that interventions that aim at improving their level of awareness are embraced (Holman et al., 2016). This includes training them on the use of healthcare technologies, as a way of minimizing resistance among them.

The other challenge in the adoption of meaningful use program is the high costs associated with the process. The adoption of healthcare technologies is an expensive venture for healthcare institutions. They have to spend their resources in acquiring and maintaining the systems alongside training their staffs on the use of the technologies (Holman et al., 2016). The high cost hinders the adoption of the program in most institutions. This challenge can be addressed by subsidizing the costs associated with the adoption process. User-friendly systems that do not require intensive training of the staffs could be developed. The systems should also not have regular maintenance, which might be expensive for health organizations.

The last challenge associated with meaningful use program is the rise in data privacy and confidentiality issues. The use of electronic health records to store patient data exposes them to breach by unauthorized parties. As a result, it raises concerns on how safe the individual data is protected by healthcare institutions. However, the challenge can be addressed by procuring highly effective and efficient systems that protect the data of the clients. The access should be restricted to only authorized persons and most of the commands encrypted.

Conclusion

In summary, meaningful use program has shaped the nature of healthcare offered to the US citizens significantly. It has contributed to the improvement in safety, efficiency, and coordination of care. It has also led to a reduction in costs of healthcare alongside an improvement in the health of the public. Some of the strengths of the program include its focus on patients, promotion of data privacy, and its focus on clinical and societal benefits. However, its adoption faces challenges such as the high costs of setup, resistance from the staffs, and increased vulnerability of the clients’ data. Therefore, a focus should be placed on exploring opportunities associated with the program while minimizing the factors contributing to the identified weaknesses.

 

 

References

Adler-Milstein, J., DesRoches, C. M., Kralovec, P., Foster, G., Worzala, C., Charles, D., … & Jha, A. K. (2015). Electronic health record adoption in US hospitals: progress continues, but challenges persist. Health affairs, 34(12), 2174-2180.

BALGROSKY, J. (2019). Understanding health information systems for the health professions. Place of publication not identified: JONES & BARTLETT LEARNING

Daim, T. U. (2019). R&D management in the knowledge era: Challenges of emerging technologies. Cham: Springer.

Davis, N. A., & LaCour, M. (2016). Foundations of Health Information Management – E-Book. Philadelphia, PA:Saunders.

Dewan, N. A., Luo, J. S., & Lorenzi, N. M. (2015). Mental health practice in a digital world: A clinicians guide. Cham: Springer.

Gidwani, R., Nguyen, C., Kofoed, A., Carragee, C., Rydel, T., Nelligan, I., … & Lin, S. (2017). Impact of scribes on physician satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and charting efficiency: a randomized controlled trial. The Annals of Family Medicine, 15(5), 427-433.

Herasevich, V., & Pickering, B. W. (2018). Health information technology evaluation handbook. Boca Raton, FL:  CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group.

Holman, G. T., Waldren, S. E., Rivera, A. J., & Dardick, L. D. (2016, June). Using challenges associated meaningful-use criteria to prioritize needed changes in electronic health records. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care (Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 55-60). Sage India: New Delhi, India: SAGE Publications.

Piliouras, T., Yu, P. L., Salloum, L., Chavez, J., Suss, R. J., Cheung, Y. T., & Su, W. (2016, April). Impacts of meaningful use and what’s next: The Next Generation Accountable Care Organization model. In 2016 IEEE Long Island Systems, Applications and Technology Conference (LISAT) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Slight, S. P., Berner, E. S., Galanter, W., Huff, S., Lambert, B. L., Lannon, C., … & Payne, T. H. (2015). Meaningful use of electronic health records: experiences from the field and future opportunities. JMIR medical informatics, 3(3), e30.

Teitelbaum, J. B., & Wilensky, S. E. (2017). Essentials of health policy and law: Includes the 2018 annual health reform update. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Sample Answer 4 for NURS 8210 Week 6 Assignment: Meaningful Use Paper

The use of healthcare technologies have significantly transformed healthcare in the modern world. Healthcare technologies such as electronic records have proven effective in enhancing the safety, quality and efficiency of patient care. Since the implementation of the Meaningful use, healthcare organizations constantly explore the ways in which they can utilize healthcare technologies to achieve their desired competitive edge in their markets. The implementation of meaningful use is however associated with a number of issues that have impeded its success. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the legal, financial, and ethical issues in the implementation of the meaningful use and ways in which they act as barriers in the implementation process. It also explores ways in which health organizations can make the most of their health records investments and implementation process of the meaningful use legislation in my organization.

Legal, Financial and Ethical Issues

The implementation of the meaningful use legislation may be associated with a number of legal, ethical and financial issues. One of the legal issues that may be experienced with the implementation of the meaningful use is the lack of legal framework to guide the implementation process. Accordingly, states have not created a sound legal framework to guide the implementation and adoption of new technologies in healthcare. Healthcare institutions lack a legal system to guide them in navigating the system and process transition from the paper-based systems to the use of electronic health records. States have also failed to provide the legal frameworks to address issues related to the provider responsibility in reviewing healthcare data in the integrated electronic health records (Mello et al., 2018). There is also the legal concern that the implementation of the meaningful use legislation is likely to increase provider accountability and responsibility. The increased use of electronic records is projected to increase legal cases due to ineffective use of technologies in patient care, hence, placing more pressure on the healthcare providers when compared to the previous use of paper-based systems (Entzeridou et al., 2018).

The implementation of the meaningful use legislation may also lead to a number of ethical issues in healthcare. Firstly, it may raise concerns on the ownership of the protected healthcare information as well as the responsibility of the healthcare providers in preventing and informing patients on issues such as privacy breaches (Ntoutsi et al., 2020). The implementation also raises concerns about the confidentiality and privacy of the patients’ data. In this case, patients are increasingly worried that electronic health records vendors may engage in unlawful practices such as selling the copies of their databases to marketing and research companies. The increased use of electronic health records predisposes health organizations to adverse events such as security breaches and unauthorized access to data (Hand, 2018). As a result, health organizations are legally predisposed to adverse outcomes should breaches in security of data occur, worsening the complexities associated with the adoption of the meaningful use.

The implementation of the meaningful use legislation may also lead to a number of financial issues. One of them is the entity that will be responsible for paying the costs incurred in the implementation of health integrated systems as well as electronic health records. The existing evidence shows that healthcare payers benefit the most from the implementation of the meaningful use when compared to healthcare institutions and financiers of meaningful use (Keshta & Odeh, 2021). The implementation of the legislations may also decline the productivity of the healthcare institutions. For instance, statistics estimates show that full implementation may lead to up to 10% decline in organizational productivity (Mello et al., 2018). Therefore, the financial implications of implementing the meaningful use may hinder the whole process in healthcare institutions.

How Issues may Present Barriers to Successful Implementation

The ethical, financial and legal issues associated with the implementation of the meaningful use may act as barriers for the successful implementation process. Accordingly, the lack of sound legal frameworks to guide the implementation of the meaningful use may impede the implementation of systems such as integrated health records for coordinating care. The lack of a formal legal framework implies that health organizations and providers are likely to be held liable for any adverse outcomes associated with the implementation of the meaningful use. Health organizations exist to ensure the protection of rights of the populations they serve (Hand, 2018). As a result, they may not be willing to implement the critical components of the meaningful use due to the potential harm to their populations, hence, the need for formal legal frameworks to guide the process.

The earlier analysis showed that the implementation of the meaningful use legislations also places more authority and responsibility to the healthcare providers. Healthcare providers take the responsibility of collecting, organizing and using electronic data from different sources to ensure effective patient care. The consequence of the increased authority and responsibility is that healthcare providers will be highly prone to errors due to the intensive nature of care process (Mello et al., 2018). It will predispose them to lawsuits due to violation of ethics in practice, hence, acting as a potential barrier for the successful implementation of the meaningful use.

The successful implementation of the entire meaningful legislations is also associated with significant financial costs to healthcare organizations. As noted above, the implementation of the meaningful legislations will result in the reduction in the productivity of healthcare organizations. Healthcare organizations will also incur costs in purchasing, maintaining and improving their systems to ensure their efficiency in patient care. Healthcare providers also have to be trained on the use of the systems in patient care. The cost burden of the meaningful use may act as a potential barrier. In this case, the implementation contradicts with the aim of healthcare institutions, which is to be profitable in service provision for their sustainability (Mello et al., 2018). Therefore, the cost implications of the meaningful use should be considered for the successful implementation of its legislations.

Making the Most of the Health Records Investments

Health care organizations can make most of their electronic health records in light of the meaningful use in a number of ways. Firstly, they can invest in equipping their staffs with the needed competencies in optimizing the benefits of electronic health records. Developing the competencies of the staffs will ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to explore the additional ways in which healthcare technologies can be used to improve the care outcomes of their populations (Lin et al., 2019). The other way is through the incorporation of new technologies into the electronic health records to improve the safety, quality and efficiency of care. An example of a way in which they can achieve the objective is through the incorporation of telehealth into the existing technologies to ensure the provision of patient-centered care to the diverse populations (Radanović & Likić, 2018). They can also incorporate systems such as barcode medication administration into the electronic health records to improve the safety of patient care.

Implementation of the Meaningful Legislation in my Organization

My organization has adopted interventions that support the implementation of the meaningful use. One of them is the use of electronic health records. The organization uses electronic health records for data collection, storage, analysis, and retrieval for use in making decisions on patient care. The organization also provides patients access to their health-related data. Patients can access their health related data to ensure that they are informed about their care needs and lifestyle and behavioral interventions they need to promote their health. The organization also captures vital data such as smoking status of adults aged 18 years and above and transmits it to the state database to inform public health initiatives.

Conclusion

In sum, the meaningful use has considerable benefits to healthcare. However, the implementation of its legislations is associated with a number of dilemmas that should be considered in healthcare. The dilemmas may act as potential barriers to the implementation of the meaningful use in health care. Therefore, healthcare institutions should explore ways of making the most of the meaningful use despite the challenges associated with it.

References

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Lin, Y.-K., Lin, M., & Chen, H. (2019). Do Electronic Health Records Affect Quality of Care? Evidence from the HITECH Act. Information Systems Research, 30(1), 306–318. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2018.0813

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