The Role of Health Information Technology in Health Information Exchange - Research Paper Example

The Role of Health Information Technology in HIE The importance of technological advancements can also be seen in the health sector. The Health information technology is an emerging technology that can be of high significance for the both individual patients and the health providers. It allows the providers to deliver quality and low cost services quite quickly, and the patients can improve their health issues by participating more with their very own health[BCh06]. In the recent years, there is seen much of the Federal struggle to increase the use of health information technology or electronic health information implementation to prompt innovation in Healthcare Delivery by health service providers[Bun11]. The Health Information Technology has been used in a number of health areas, where its role is worth highlighting, such as ACO’s, PCMHs (Patient Centered Medical Homes), and HIEs or RHIOs etc. This paper is aimed at evaluating the role of the Health Information Technology in its one of important areas of Health Information Exchange. The health information exchange is quite a recent technology that is developed and implemented as a result of Federal efforts in order to employ the innovative technology for more advantages regarding health and providers. Within the United States, the utilization of health information exchange systems was profoundly established by the management through the channel of the American Recovery as well as Investment Act of 2009. Especially, the American and Recovery Investment Act integrated the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) that encouraged associations to implement EHRs and health information exchanges by means of optimistic and pessimistic rationales. Additional countries have as well approved rules and regulations encompassing the extensive implementation of EHRs, together with Canada, England and Australia [Blu09]. On the whole, electronic health information exchange is analyzed like a healthy and needed aspect for health areas across the globe. In this scenario, latest innovative technology facilitates bulks of medical data and information to be processed as well as exchanged very quickly and resourcefully as compared to the obsolete paper-based manual structures (Brady, 2011; Buntin, Jain, & Blumenthal, 2010) Explanation of Health Information Exchange Health information exchange or HIE can be defined as, “the exchange of clinical data such as problem lists, clinicians’ notes, or other critical medical information from one provider organization (e.g., doctor’s office) to another (e.g., hospital)”[Ash]. In simple words, Health information exchange (or simply HIE), is the procedure of distributing electronic healthcare data and information over diverse health and legislative businesses. The health information exchanges are found in the appearance of electronic health records (EHR), which a variety of nations have implemented like an additional resourceful and when synchronized perfectly offers a secure method of processing and sharing patient details. In addition, the research associations and management units can also make use of health information exchanges to provide insight into health developments inside a community. In this scenario, health information exchanges could be launched separately otherwise on a domain basis. A local health information exchange is frequently known as a Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) (Brady, 2011). Benefits of HIEs Health Information Exchange frameworks offer a lot of capabilities regarding electronic management and for handling the patient’s details. Since electronic health reports are the duplicates of a patient’s medical history which is stored in electronic format. The medical information is able to comprise an extensive variety of features of the patient’s health since the information is stored in a layout which is simply manageable among health information suppliers. HIEs offers great advantage in a sense that the exploitation of electronic health reports usually convenes through much support, since it is promising to safely transmit the data files in fraction of minutes in case of any emergency or crisis [Tat11]. The health information exchanges promises that overall doctors giving much care to the ailing people, by abolishing the necessity to record lab and extra medical information, and it also encompasses the most advanced and complete information on the condition of their patients. They as well boost decision-making process through offering quicker access to patient related details; reduce unneeded testing by giving medical outcomes of the entire patient’s medical tests; and make sure patient security through allowing the entire care-givers recognize medicines a patient is taking along with the side effects [McG10]. Another benefit of HIEs is that it offers the patient record in case of emergency if the patient has met an accident, then his/her record is able to be easily found. The latest HIE system also offers an Improved performance and lessen medical faults. It facilitates in a way that the access to patient’s data regarding the treatment they obtain anywhere provides a health care supplier an enhanced, more entire depiction of our health aspects. HIEs offer augmented security by lessening the replication of data. Since health care suppliers are able to observe what medical tests we have had as well as the outcomes, in this way they don’t forever needs to enter the information over and over[Tan06]. There are also a number of cost and economic benefits associated with this technology, as [Hil05] have conducted a study to evaluate the costs and benefits of the health information exchange system, where they have concluded that there are more savings and cost-related benefits, as well as health and other social advantages with the adoption of HIE. However, there is need to modify the health care system in order to support this technology[Hil05]. This entails some regulatory requirements to be applied. Regulatory Requirements & Integration of Technology The Health Information Technology for Economic as well as Clinical Health Act are the main requirements to be followed, as accepted in 2009 by President of United States named Obama like fraction of the encouragement. This act is employed to support the implementation of HER’s with the help of encouragement expenses of doctors. The modification of HITECH act is that Health Information Exchange exploiting technology concerns about the exchanging records while HITECH is concerning the information control and responsibility. HITECH‘s 4 aspects is that health units have to establish many access controls to watch and standardize the distribution of information. It is not just mentioning the policies of data exchange on electronic health information, however the entire forms of technologies, which are exploited through health experts. Since more innovative technology emerges, as well as rules enforcement is accepted to facilitate this aspect, there will typically be ample lawful matters that appear due to this condition. In this scenario, the management of patient’s data privacy and security becomes the major issues of health information exchange immediately, however, it is a plain area for additional matters that will approach since the system progresses[Blu09]. Health information suppliers of the state are proficiently digitizing masses of patient’s data and information. However, the entire work will be in imperfect operation, when the medical data is not able to be exchanged simply and in a protected manner. The need here is to enter the worlds of Health Information Exchanges where associations which are building networks to allow hospitals, doctors' performance, lab results, and additional healthcare suppliers share data safely through the decisive aspire of offering doctors and further caregivers much advanced as well as inclusive patient information to develop care and reduce expenses. Several Health Information Exchanges have been working for a decade or an extensive period. However, over than 200 United States’ exchanges have been established in recent times, a lot of using funding as of the $547 million assigned inside the United States regime motivation policy to build HIEs across the state. In their implementation phase, lots of HIEs are adopting a hybrid method, where patient’s information is copied on a boundary machine. At the moment current systems support various functionalities. Furthermore, queries enter via a main patient directory or information finder service, as well as are aimed at the boundary machine holding the specific information prompted. There's no commingle of data in a central repository, and the provider that's the source of data doesn't give up control[Ash]. Issues, Challenges, and barriers in Implementation Though, there are a number of benefits with this implementation of HIE, but the adoption and implementation pose a number of challenges as well[Hal05]. Firstly, the concerns for privacy and security of patient information is the most important, as it is a major risk of losing control over the information providing by the Health Providers that may result in misuse of patient’s personal information[Pir08]. Another major challenge comes with the employment of HIEs is that the complications involved in the technological requirements of the HIEs, where there is need of a proper training and development of the users. In the healthcare sector, the complexity of such IT implementation has been the major issue as evidenced by [Ash]. In addition, the incompatibility of the system in accordance with the particular health care organization, along with the requirement of the centralized database act as a barrier, where the integration of such a system becomes quite tough[Pir08]. And the networking of the system poses another challenge to the implementation, as [Cla10] have argued that “when organizations are connected through a network and their professionals have developed different local practices, the challenge of bringing physicians and other health professionals on board becomes even more difficult”(p. 2). Apart from these, there are some other perspectives on the barriers to HIE implementation suggested by [Cla10], which are the human risk and integration challenge. The users can resist to use this new way that is called as human risk, which is important to manage with effective strategies, especially through training. While there can also be the issue of integrating all the processes, which are very important aspect in HIE implementation, as the integration of processes across the organization are necessary for successful information exchange. Moreover, the Health Information Exchanges experience diverse confronts since they attempt to acquire hundreds and still thousands of medical members distributing patient’s data. In this scenario a lot of security and privacy issues emerge those needs to be handled proficiently. Major issue between them is the necessity to support their works behind their preliminary funding capital expires[Ros07]. It can be concluded that though there are a number of benefits and advantages provided by HIEs, but these can only be realized by overcoming the challenges and barriers to its implementation. The major challenge is privacy and information security needed to address. 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