Health Science and Medicine - Essay Example

Information Technology and Electronic Health Record are important in any business because they allow for the later assessment of any information regarding payments. Each patient’s information is properly recorded and documented in case of anything coming up leading to the patient demanding reimbursement. Storage of information in a hospital is crucial when it comes to the Medicaid assessment of whether the resources given to the hospital are being used effectively (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS 2010). The meaningful use of the Electronic Health Records helps in determining whether the hospital is going to be given penalties or continue being supported by this program. Every hospital is required to exercise the meaningful of Electronic Health Records in order to ensure that their patients have access to the best medical care possible and ensure the safety of the patients’ information. Keeping up with technology is important which is why should these hospitals be found not to be exercising meaningful use of the Electronic Health Records, they are liable to penalties. The meaningful use of the Electronic Health Records has a significant importance on the reimbursement of the hospital (Marcotte et al., 2012). Ensuring that each patients records are properly stored and that the hospital is using authentic technology will enable the hospital maintain its stability and avoid any penalties in the long-run. a) mHealth App b) General Hospital App c) Wellness App d) Physician Referral App e) Medication Tracking App There are various types of patient engagement applications. Some of these patient engagement application programs are found on the portal of the hospital website. However, with the current advancements in technology, there are patient engagement applications available on mobile devices. This has made it easier to educate the patients on various diseases and learn how to manage different health conditions. There are patient engagement applications and health tracking mobile applications (Bates, & Bitton, 2010). These applications are aimed at educating the patient o different ailments and enabling them to keep track of their medical ailments. There is communication and marketing applications for hospitals which basically help inform patients about the hospital and the services it has to offer. This application also offers a platform for feedback from the patients of this hospital. There are more specific applications such as the Diabetes Education application. This application is aimed at educating the patient specifically about diabetes, how it is brought about and how to manage it (Fisher, & Dickinson, 2011). Another type of application is the Chronic Care Management Application. This application gives advice on how to manage chronic diseases and assess for any negative changes in the health of the patient. This will also help the patient know when they are supposed to go to hospital and when there is nothing to worry about. Other than these applications there are many more types of applications that have made life much easier for most patients. Types of features that will be used in Patient Engagement App There are various features present in the patient engagement applications available. For one, all these patient engagement applications offer medical tips and advice. This information helps the patients learn more about various diseases. The advice given on these applications helps the patients manage how to manage particular diseases. The other feature is that these application offer platform for the patients to give their feedback to the hospital or ask any questions (Jha 2010). This helps in the saving of costs for the patients as they do not have to go over to the hospital and sometimes pay the required consultation fee. They also include ER appointment booking to enable the patient’s book appointments online. Another feature found on most of the patient engagement applications is a kind of access to Electronic Health Records access. This is meant to attract more patients and at the same time ensure that the patients benefit as much as possible from these applications (Adida, Sanyal, Zabak, Kohane, & Mandl, 2010). Identify any Patient Engagement program involving patient education Patient education is one of the most important factors when it comes to ensuring that their health is made a priority. Patients who have been empowered with knowledge will be able to spot any problems in their health, signs and symptoms of various ailments. The patients are going to be more responsible in matters concerning their health and when the symptoms persist, they will understand when it is a must to see a doctor. It is for this reason that there are Patient Engagement programs set up by hospitals so that the patients can learn more. Through patients learning more about different ailments, they will also make it easier for the doctor handling them (Buntin, Burke, Hoaglin, & Blumenthal, 2011). They have an interactive platform to ask any questions and give feedback to the hospitals about their services and areas that may need improvement on. One of the patient engagement programs is the Kaiser Permanente’s HealthConnect program. This program used a registry and support program that offers electronic care (Heisler et al., 2012). It helped work with the patients who were suffering from coronary artery diseases; whether short-term or long-term. This program was successful in reducing the total mortality by a 76% and a 73% for cardiac mortality. The program helped a lot of patient understand their heart conditions better. it also enabled them learn the steps to take in case of an emergency and how best to take care of themselves to prevent their heart conditions from worsening (Hsiao, Hing, Socey, & Cai 2012). It provided great support to these patients to the extent of reducing their mortality and giving them a chance at a better life. The patients were educated about better eating habits and more productive lifestyles which would help improve their immunity (Hibbard, & Greene, 2013). To add to these, the patients have an opportunity to interact with each other and learn more about their condition. Sometimes, simply supporting each other and sharing helps a great deal in the improvement of the patients’ health condition and life choices concerning their health. In conclusion, the Electronic Health Records system is very helpful in improving the life of the patients and maximizing the quality of healthcare given by the hospital. The meaningful use of the EHR is boosted by the patient engagement applications. This is because these applications do not just benefit the patients who are ill; they also promote awareness among more people on the existence of various ailments and how to manage them. Another advantage to the hospital is that not just the existing patients are able to earn about the hospital. Patient engagement applications also promote awareness about the hospitals and act can also be used as platforms for marketing the hospital products and service. The meaningful use of EHR also helps the hospitals in the reimbursement process if they use it effectively. However, if the hospital fails to maximize its use in improving the health of the patients and improving quality of services, then they may face a penalty and lack of support in management of some hospital bills. Running a hospital requires one to utilize the IT department, maximize the meaningful use of the HER and effectively use the patient engagement applications and programs to improve the lives of their patients and the quality of their services. References Adida, B., Sanyal, A., Zabak, S., Kohane, I. S., & Mandl, K. D. (2010). Indivo x: developing a fully substitutable personally controlled health record platform. AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings, 6. Bates, D. W., & Bitton, A. (2010). The future of health information technology in the patient-centered medical home. Health Affairs, 29, (4), 614-621. Buntin, M. B., Burke, M. F., Hoaglin, M. C., & Blumenthal, D. (2011). The benefits of health information technology: a review of the recent literature shows predominantly positive results. Health affairs, 30, (3), 464-471. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. (2010). Medicare and Medicaid programs; electronic health record incentive program. Federal register, 75, (144), 44313. Fisher, L., & Dickinson, W. P. (2011). New Technologies to Advance Self-Management Support in Diabetes Not just a bunch of cool apps!. Diabetes care, 34(1), 240-243. Heisler, M., Hofer, T. P., Schmittdiel, J. A., Selby, J. V., Klamerus, M. L., Bosworth, H. B., ... & Kerr, E. A. (2012). Improving blood pressure control through a clinical pharmacist outreach program in diabetes patients in two-high performing health systems: The Adherence and Intensification of Medications (AIM) Cluster Randomized Controlled Pragmatic Trial. Circulation, CIRCULATIONAHA-111. Hibbard, J. H., & Greene, J. (2013). What the evidence shows about patient activation: better health outcomes and care experiences; fewer data on costs. Health affairs, 32, (2), 207-214. Hsiao, C. J., Hing, E., Socey, T. C., & Cai, B. (2012). Electronic health record systems and intent to apply for meaningful use incentives among office-based physician practices: United States, 2001–2011. system, 18, (17.3), 17-3. Jha, A. K. (2010). Meaningful use of electronic health records: the road ahead.JAMA, 304(15), 1709-1710. Marcotte, L., Seidman, J., Trudel, K., Berwick, D. M., Blumenthal, D., Mostashari, F., & Jain, S. H. (2012). Achieving meaningful use of health information technology: a guide for physicians to the EHR incentive programs. Archives of internal medicine, 172, (9), 731-736. Read More