Lecture 1 in Health Care Informatics PDF

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Introduction to healthcare informatics...

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Module 1 Assignment Kinisha West Aspen University

Author Note CIS 450 Informatics in Healthcare Professor Lease RN, MSN/Ed. October 19, 2020

2 Module 1 Assignment Electronic Health Records system has revolutionized how patient data is being managed in the modern health care system. Long before the development of this technology, the techniques that were used required a lot of manpower and were rather time-consuming. The process of obtaining and managing patient data is paramount in ensuring synchronised healthcare delivery across all the departments (Hebda, Hunter, & Czar, 2019). As a nurse, one is expected to collect data on various parameters revolving around a patient’s health. Such data include vital signs, body measurements and nutritional elements. This data when collected in the right way and given context, will greatly define the kind of care that a patient receives. This paper discusses the impact of using Electronic Health Records system on the quality of nursing care delivery, another type of data that is collected in the hospital beside the ones stated in the reading material and finally the safety of the electronic health records from cyber-attacks as the class project. Effect of Electronic health records implementation on patient care Currently, most health workers are replacing their assessment skills with machine activity. Before the era of machines, many tasks which involved taking care of patients were carried out manually including the taking of patient vitals. Today, the case is different because the nurses simply take their readings from automated bedside machines. This kind of development is good for the efficiency of health care, but when viewed in the wrong way, it is a liability because it sacrifices the nurse-patient relationship which is very important in all-rounded therapeutic care (Hebda, Hunter, & Czar, 2019). This trend could be changed by twisting a few factors such as the view of machines in the daily lives of a nurse and their patient. For instance, instead of nurses seeing machines as a replacement for their duties, they should view machines

3 as the perfect extension of their duties. A factor to reduce their work tediousness and boost efficiency, thus giving them more time with their patients. As it is said, data without context is useless, spending time with the patient and getting to know their symptoms in the process rather than predicting using the data generated from the machine puts everything into context and therefore improves the chances of right diagnosis. Some nurses or health workers spend too much time on the computer screen due to lack of training and proper locus of the purpose of such machines in the health care setting. When this happens, the nurses and other health care workers begin to reduce the amount of time that they stay with their patients (Hebda, Hunter, & Czar, 2019). They, therefore, treat and care or deliver nursing services based on the data streams gathered through checking of boxes or the machines on the bedside. As a professional nurse, this is half baked care and can be very dangerous to the health and wellbeing of the patient. We are always being urged to treat the disease and the person. Treatment of the disease and the person, which entails therapeutic care, can only be achieved through meaningful contact with the patient throughout the treatment session. The nurses should therefore be trained adequately on the use and purpose of hospital machines and the electronic record systems to prevent time wastage on trying to figure out what these machines can do instead of investing their time in the care of their patients. From these impacts of the electronic health record systems, it is evident that patient care is greatly suffering. As well, some of the ways that have been implemented in gathering such data does not provide the full picture of the patient health condition. Some theorists have proposed before that the patient health or disease status entails their physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. These states of being can only be partially assessed through checking systems. In most cases, such systems only capture data on physical wellbeing which can be

4 treated but the patient remains unwell because the root course of their ailments is not taken care of. In case of a lawsuit, therefore, the charting system which uses clicking boxes would not be adequate to collect enough data which can be used to build or defend a case in a court of law. Another type of data being tracked by our organization Besides the types of data mentioned to be collected by Hebda et al (2019), there are other types such as patient predictions; health records such as medical history, allergies, vital signs and laboratory test results; and alert systems and their responses. This kind of data is collected to improve health care service delivery within the facility by determining the areas that the workers are not doing well then taking the required measures to ensure that everything is well and the customers are happy when they leave for their homes. Among these kinds of data being tracked by my organization, the ones that are specific to my practice are the health records. These kinds of data are key in determining the current health status of the patient and knowing which steps should be taken to ensure that patient health is restored to optimal functionality. Adherence to tuberculosis treatment among patients is a health records data that is being tracked by the national tuberculosis management organization. This data enables them to determine the rate of adherence to treatment and its impact on the rate of survival. This organization uses biometric tracking method which they have determined to increase the chances of patients adhering to the recommended tuberculosis treatment, improve the patient work attendance and reduce improper reporting of patient data by the health workers. Tracking of this data is ethical because there is no breach of privacy and all the participants are required to sign a consent form which they are explained for at the initial stages. They, therefore, sign up and their information used in generating the required data and later information. so far, they determined that patients that used the biometric monitoring system were

5 25% more likely to adhere to their medication and 26% more likely to consume their medication in person. The health workers as well are noted to be more involved in the process compared to when there was no tracking system in place. There are no ethical concerns regarding the tracking of this data because the organization is contributing positively towards the fight against tuberculosis and is doing so by the books. Data safety in the hospital The process of patient care in integration with the electronic health record system involves the generation of large amounts of highly sensitive data. This data can wreak havoc in the lives of their owners as well as the holding facilities if they fall into wrong hands and are misused afterwards. This is an issue that is an ongoing concern and has not been fully addressed. It is quite impossible to completely solve the problem of cybersecurity that is being faced by data handlers who manage the electronic health record system because the attacks are constantly evolving. This factor has for a very long time reduced the rate of adoption of current technology in the management of patient data Kruse, Smith, Vanderlinden, & Nealand, 2017). It has, therefore, reduced the rate of growth of the health care sector by limiting their adaptation to the technological trends. A matter like this has further contributed to the lagging of the quality of care due to labour intensive yet inefficient means of obtaining and interpreting patient data. The traditional means are not only expensive but also unreliable due to human error and complexity of retrieval and analysis. These problems are solved by the current health record systems that involve the use of electronics but at a cost. The cost is the safety of the store records as they can be easily accessed remotely even by unauthorised people who can use them for defamation, blackmail and extortion of clients who may be otherwise unaware of such breaches.

6 Data safety in the healthcare setting can be ensured through various means including restricted access, installation of security protocols such as passwords and other authentication means, securing of servers from unauthorized entry, backing up of important patient information, and application of blockchain technology in data management (Manca, 2015). These are just a few ways that patient data can be managed efficiently to prevent a breach of access that can lead to compromise of patient safety or worse, costly lawsuits that would soil the name of the facility as well as burn a lot of resources that could be employed in ensuring better patient care. From data, safety stems some of the concerns that need to be addressed when taking and managing patient data (Manca, 2015). Such controversies or issues have created a lot of problems around the adoption and use of electronic health record systems. For example, when data such as vital signs are taken from a patient, who should own such information? Should it be the patient or the hospital? (Hebda, Hunter, & Czar, 2019). In addition to this, the data generated in some instances need to be shared to encourage collaboration and better patient outcomes. This act of sharing is quite controversial and needs a deeper understanding for better management and sharing of such useful data across teams who are not members of the facility in which the patient is admitted. Another issue when it comes to the data generated from the patient during treatment is how the data is used when the treatment period is complete (Hebda, Hunter, & Czar, 2019). The deidentification and aggregation of data then selling it is a common trend in today’s health care system. This has brought up issues such as who owns the data being sold and if they should be sold or used for the purpose that does not align to the initial purpose of collection. A theory that best describes this project is the systems theory that talks about the properties of a system. It is in only this way that the loopholes that could contribute to breach in data safety can be identified and worked out accordingly.

7 Conclusion Health informatics is very key in understanding the data generated during health care delivery, its integration with the electronic record systems and how it can be leveraged for better health care delivery. At the same time, it enables proper care to ensure the safety of use and access to prevent breaches that would otherwise be costly. Nurses need to know the difference between using the electronic health record systems as an extension of care and a replacement of their precious care skills.

8 References Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2019). Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (6th ed.). Pearson. ISBN: 978-0134711010. Kruse, C. S., Smith, B., Vanderlinden, H., & Nealand, A. (2017). Security Techniques for Electronic Health Records. Journal of medical systems, 41(8), 127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-017-0778-4 Manca D. P. (2015). Do electronic medical records improve the quality of care? Yes. Canadian family physician Medecin de Famille Canadien, 61(10), 846–851....