The Rising Cost of Health Care: Improving Productivity and Quality
Introduction
As a result in the rising cost of health care in many countries in the world, “this has created the need to improve productivity and quality in term of services given to patients in the healthcare and has led to the demand of new healthcare Information Technology infrastructure” (Carter 2006). “The infrastructures of Information Technology that is found in the healthcare system have been made to provide patient with centered care services” (Carter 2006).
Electronic Health Record (EHR)
“Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a database with various health information patient and are recorded electronically” (Reynolds 2008), theses information on the patient is generated as a result of the patient’s past encounter with health care personnel. The various data or information which are contained in the Electronic Health Record consists of the medical history of the patient, the progress of the patient, past lab data of the patient, and the past ailments of the patient. “Electronic Health Record can produce a complete record on all the information the patient has encountered during the time of treatment and other supporting healthcare-related activities” (Cimino 2006).
Biosurveillance
This is a system put in place to check the occurrence of various diseases which are caused as a result of biological agents such as viruses or bacteria. This process also checks on diseases that are found in people and detect the characteristics of an outbreak of such diseases that will occur. The main attention of biosurveillance focuses on the occurrence of diseases and investigations of the diseases. “Information such as; patient demographics, medical history, radiology and lab data- all of this information are the sources found in biosurveillance” (Engelbrecht 2005).
Consumer Empowerment
Consumer Empowerment can be defined as the ability to share medical information among healthcare stakeholders and this method has been growing ever since and It is a way of empowering people. The patient will learn how to become wiser on the matters of healthcare services that are available in a particular country. The main goal of this technique is to improve healthcare, and this can be as a result of accessing healthcare information. This type of innovation allows medical personnel to have a compressive view of patient medical history and this will decrease any medical errors during the time of treatment of the patient. Healthcare Information Exchange (HIE) allows patients to control their medical records because sometimes patients may be suffering from chronic diseases and can be transient when different medical personnel is involved in dealing with the patient, and this has empowered many patients in the healthcare sector.
ER-HER
“ER-EHR” is an acrimony of Emergency Responder Electronic Health Record and it involves providing on-site healthcare and also in an emergency that a patient has been involved in. “The healthcare provider will use the information which is contained in the ER-EHR to attend to the need of the patient involved in this emergency” (Mastrian 2008).
Medication Management
Medication Management is a system that helps doctors, health plans, patients, and employers to manage effectively healthcare medications. “Medication Management Systems (MMS) help clinicians and other medical personnel to approach, implement and integrate this technology into their day to day work” (Murray 2006).
Clinical Codes
Clinical codes representations are widely used in many countries in the world to document diagnosis and procedures of certain diseases that affect human beings. There are around 150 accepted clinical codes that are accepted in the Unites State, and other clinical codes which are mostly used around the world are; International Classification of Diseases (ICD), and these Clinical codes are mostly used by WHO.
Reference List
Carter, J. H. (2006). Electronic health records: a guide for clinicians and administrators. London: ACP Press.
Cimino, J. (2006). Biomedical informatics: computer applications in health care and biomedicine. London: Springer Publisher.
Engelbrecht, R. Connecting medical informatics and bio-informatics: proceedings of MIE2005: the XIXth International Congress of the European Federation for Medical Informatics. New York: OS Press.
Mastrian, K. (2008). Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge. New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning Publisher.
Murray, P. (2006). Consumer-centered computer-supported care for healthy people: proceedings of NI2006, [Seoul], the 9th International Congress on Nursing Informatics. New York: OS Press.
Reynolds, G. (2008). Fundamentals of Information Systems. London: Cengage Learning Publisher.