HITECH Act and Meaningful Use
The American healthcare system is subject to undergo unprecedented reforms resulting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA). These changes have generated opportunities for firms across the healthcare landscape. Healthcare Information Technology (HITECH) is a crucial piece to various government reforms. As such, programs sponsored by the government have formulated enormous incentives to adopt information technology solutions. This has spurred much greater tailwinds in the healthcare industry. With the massive implementation of electronic medical records (EM), vast amounts of data can be gathered, stored, and used for improved decision-making.

The HITECH Act and Meaningful Use mandates help to drive and equalize change across all health care settings

The Health Information Technology and Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was endorsed into law on February 19, 2009 as a major aspect of the American ecovery and einvestment Act of 2009. The HITECH Act gives financial motivations for healthcare facilities and…...

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References

Grant, P.D.M., & Ballard, D.C. (2013). Fast facts about nursing and the law: Law for nurses in a nutshell. New York: Oxford University Press.

Hanson, A., & Levin, B.L. (2013). Mental health informatics. New York: Oxford University Press.

Hernandez, L.M. (2012). How can health care organizations become more health literate?: Workshop summary. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press.

In Grant, P.D.M., In Ballard, D.C., & Grant, P.D.M. (2011). Law for nurse leaders: A comprehensive reference. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

If a breach occurs a healthcare organization would have to send out first-class letters to any patients who might have been affected by the breach. Electronic mail can be used if the individual agrees to receive electronic notice and such agreement has not been withdrawn. If at least ten of the first-class letters come back for a bad address, the hospital must then post a notice of the breach on its home page and offer a toll-free breach information number for 90 days (Anderson, 2010).
To receive the financial incentives, eligible professionals and hospitals must achieve meaningful use of an electronic health record (EH). In December 2009 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an advanced copy of a notice of proposed rulemaking defining the requirements for meaningful use, the measures and the details of how eligible providers and hospitals will be paid the incentive dollars. The requirements…...

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References

Information Memorandum. (2010). Retrieved April 3, 2010, from Web site:

 http://www.ohi.ca.gov/calohi/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=2hNqHDe5ePE%3d&tabid=98 

Marietta, Cynthia S. (2010). Deadline Here to Comply with HITECH Act's Restrictions on Uses,

Disclosures, and Requests for Protected Health Information. Retrieved April 3, 2010,

HITECH Act
What organizations should do to ensure that the correct system is selected

Healthcare institutions across America have increased their efforts of implementing electronic medical records in order to conform to the requirements of the HITECH Act. The implementation process of electronic medical records begins with the selection of the correct system and its appropriateness for those using it. This process has proven to be overwhelming for new users because most of them do not know where to begin (Frances & Glaser, 2009). In addition, the selection of a poor system comes with implications that might become hard for an organization to get itself out of it. Obtaining the appropriate product is worthwhile because it is meant for a long-term relationship. Healthcare organizations must avoid and limit the possibilities of breaking the law besides tackling the costs and challenges of implementing electronic medical records, (Lang, 2010). The HITECH institute recommends…...

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References

Anderson, J.G., & Aydin, C.E. (2005). Evaluating the Organizational Impact of Healthcare Information Systems. New York, NY: Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

Carrin, G. (2009). Health systems policy, finance, and organization. Amsterdam: Academic Press.

Constantino, C.A., & Merchant, C.S. (2006). Designing conflict management: A guide to creating productive and healthy organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Frances W., & Glaser, John P. (2009). Health Care Information Systems: A Practical Approach for Health Care Management. Epub Edition. John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Policy Communication: HITECH ACT
Health policy communication: HITECH Act

Policy description

Part of the 2009 U.S. ecovery and einvestment Act (AA) are the provisions of HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health), a major overhaul of the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Under HITECH, monetary incentives are delivered to healthcare providers and schemes, for employing electronic health records (EHs); the target is to ensure EH implementation in every single U.S. health facility by the year 2014. Further, HITECH adds stricter privacy rules, which include overseeing business partners for healthcare plans, clearinghouses and providers, notification prerequisites and further penalties for noncompliance. The requirements take effect on different dates, further complicating the process of compliance (HITECH, 2009).

HITECH laid down civil financial penalties, criminal penalties, and mandatory federal reporting requirements for security breach that caused patient privacy loss. Additionally, it offered financial support to compliance audits. The Office of Civil ights…...

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References

Ellis, E. M. (2009). Should a psychotherapist be compelled to release an adolescent's treatment records to a parent in a contested custody case? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40(6), 557-563. doi:10.1037/a0017419

Hecker, L. L., & Edwards, A. B. (2014). The Impact of HIPAA and HITECH: New Standards for Confidentiality, Security, and Documentation for Marriage and Family Therapists. American Journal Of Family Therapy, 42(2), 95-113. doi:10.1080/01926187.2013.792711

HITECH: HIPAA Gets a Facelift. (2009). Benefits Quarterly, 25(4), 60.

Horowitz, B. T. (2011). HIPAA at 15: HITECH Tightens Health Care Privacy Laws. Eweek, 28(15), 12-13.

HITECH Legislation
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act is something that gives the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) with the power to create programs that will improve health care quality, security, and competence through the advertising of health Information Technology, which comprises of electronic health records and secure and private electronic health information exchange. However, under HITECH, qualified health care specialists and hospitals are able to qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments when they accept certified EH technology and utilize it to attain quantified purposes (Brokel, 2010). With that said, this paper will discuss the impact of the meaningful use criteria of the HITECH legislation on the adoption of health information technology.

Positive and Negative Impact at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital

The HITECH Legislation had a positive and negative impact on the researcher's organization which is Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. One of the positive things…...

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References:

Blumenthal, D. (2010). Launching HITECH. The New England Journal of Medicine, 362(5), 382-5. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp0912825 

Brokel, J. (2010). Moving forward with NANDA-I nursing diagnoses with health information technology for economic and clinical health (HITECH) act legislation: News updates. International Journal of Nursing Terminologies and Classifications, 21(4), 182-5.

Buntin, M.B., Jain, S.H., & Blumenthal, D. (2010). Health information technology: Laying the infrastructure for national health reform. Health Affairs, 29(6), 1214-9.

Gold, M.R., McLaughlin, C.G., Devers, K.J., Berenson, R.A., & Bovbjerg, R.R. (2012). Obtaining providers' 'buy-in' and establishing effective means of information exchange will be critical to HITECH's success. Health Affairs, 31(3), 514-26.

Lost medical records are process errors that can cause significant medical issues affecting patient privacy, care and safety. Furthermore, Federal laws mandate the secure creation, retention and use of medical records to ensure the highest quality of care, security and privacy for patients. Consequently, health care providers, often under severe budgetary limitations, struggle to comply with these legal, medical and ethical mandates. Research appears to show that medical records issues, including but not limited to lost medical records, can best be handled through exclusively electronic medical records, provided certain requirements are met.
According to the Bureau of Primary Health Care, lost medical records constitute one of the common "process errors" that could cause medical issues such as incorrect diagnosis, delay in diagnosis and delay in treatment (BPHC Task Force on Patient Safety, January 2001, p. 19). Furthermore, using studies from Colorado, Utah and New York, the report estimates that 44,000 --…...

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Works Cited

Axway. (2010). The Hitech Act: 5 things you can do right now to pave the road to compliance. Phoenix, AZ: Axway.

BPHC Task Force on Patient Safety. (January 2001). Report of the BPHC Task Force on patient safety. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Practice Fusion. (2009, January 6). HITECH Act. Retrieved on June 16, 2012 from www.hipaasurvivalguide.com Web site:  http://www.hipaasurvivalguide.com/hitech-act-text.php 

Torrey, T. (2008, February 10). Limitations of elecronic patient record keeping: Lack of standardization. Retrieved on June 16, 2012 from patients.about.com Web site:  http://patients.about.com/od/electronicpatientrecords/a/limit-standards.htm

Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was enacted as part of the 2009 bailout. The focus of the act is initiating "incentives related to health care information technology…and specific incentives designed to accelerate the adoption of electronic health record systems among providers (No author, 2013).
There has been a longstanding push to implement electronic health records in the U.S. health care system, for a variety of reasons. The Obama Administration has placed special emphasis on EHR, not only with HITECH but also in the Affordable Care Act as well. Arlotto (2010) outlines seven strategies for improving HITECH readiness in health care organizations. These are to invest in transformational infrastructure; build clinical information expertise; develop a business intelligence strategy; invest in physician business services infrastructure; explore a medical trading area health information exchange; and develop an e-strategy for engaging patients.

These tactics are designed to help health care…...

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Works Cited:

Arlotto, P. (2010). 7 strategies for improving HITECH readiness. Healthcare Financial Management. Vol. 64 (11) 90-96.

HHS Press Office. (2010). Secretary Sebelius announces final rules to support meaningful use of electronic health records. HHS.gov. Retrieved April 29, 2013 from  http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/07/20100713a.html 

No author. (2013). The HITECH Act. HIPAA Survival Guide. Retrieved April 29, 2013 from  http://www.hipaasurvivalguide.com/hitech-act-summary.php

Electronic Health Information
Successful Implementation of Electronic Health Information Technology

Over the last several years, the federal government has been encouraging health care organizations to embrace the adoption of electronic information technology. This is taking place through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). At the heart of these provisions, is to provide a variety of organizations with the resources they need to update medical records and other data. This is designed to make health care facilities more responsive to stakeholders through utilizing the most state of the art technology. ("The HITECH Act," 2013)

However, the upfront costs of implementing these systems are a major factor impacting the kinds of investments which is taking place. This requires ensuring that a correct system is selected. In order to address the long-term needs of the organization. At the same time, there must be an emphasis on who should be involved in…...

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References

The HITECH Act. (2013). HIPPA Survival Guide. Retrieved from:  http://www.hipaasurvivalguide.com/hitech-act-summary.php 

Berkowitz, L. (2013). Innovation with Information Technologies in Healthcare. New York, NY: Springer.

Swab, J. (2010). At a Glance.

Triple Constraints
Health care informatics and how that field interacts and is affected by triple constraints is the subject of this brief report. Further complicating this paradigm is thre passage and enforcement of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Specifically, the meaningful use objectives that are mandated by that act have simply added more hoops for informatics project personnel to jump through. While the HITECH act and the general topic of triple constraints has made the proverbial playing field more treacherous, it is possible to navigate the project landmine that exist and the requirements posed are not without merit and purpose in the grand scheme of things.

Questions Answered

Since the HITECH Act has been the bigger and more recent development relative to triple constraints, that will be covered first. There are four initial definitions and parameters for meaningful use that are required and five more that are…...

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References

HIMSS. (2014, February 12). Meaningful Use OneSource | Health IT Topics | HIMSS. Meaningful Use OneSource | Health IT Topics | HIMSS. Retrieved February 12, 2014, from  http://www.himss.org/meaningfuluse?navItemNumber=13303 

HealthIT.gov. (2014, February 12). HealthIT.gov. Meaningful Use Definition and Meaningful Use Objectives of EHRs. Retrieved February 12, 2014, from  http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/meaningful-use-definition-objectives 

Houry, D. (2012, November 3). Why health reform is key for minorities. CNN. Retrieved February 12, 2014, from  http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/02/opinion/houry-heron-health-care/ 

KFF. (2014, February 10). Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: What are the Options? -- The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care What are the Options Comments. Retrieved February 10, 2014, from  http://kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/eliminating-racialethnic-disparities-in-health-care-what/

, 2005). In addition, the workload on clinicians is often increased past the point of reasonable because it is too intrusive and time consuming to document patient encounters during clinic time (Grabenbauer, Skinner, and Windle, 2011). The amount of information that can accumulate in a patient's record from multiple sources can be daunting and lead to information overload. CDS alerts can be so common that clinicians begin to ignore them. The negative impact that EH systems can have on clinician communications is also troubling, because in-person observations by nurses can provide invaluable insights into the treatment needs of a patients that cannot be communicated effectively electronically. Systems have been observed to be slow during peak use periods and in some cases crash (Fernandopulle and Neil, 2010). Vendor support during such crises may be slow or absent, which can lead to seeing and treating patients 'blind.'
Many of the EH-associated complaints are…...

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References

Abramson, Erika L., Patel, Vaishali, Malhotra, Sameer, Pfoh, Elizabeth R., Osorio, S. Nena,

Cheriff, Adam et al. (2012). Physician experiences transitioning between and older vs. newer electronic health record for electronic prescribing. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 81, 539-548.

Adler-Milstein, Julia, Green, Carol E., and Bates, David W. (2013). A survey analysis suggests that electronic health records will yield revenue gains for some practices and losses for many. Health Affairs, 32, 562-570.

Ahmed, a., Chandras, S., Herasevich, V., Gajic, O., and Pickering, B.W. (2011). The effect of two different electronic health record user interfaces on intensive care provider task load, errors of cognition, and performance. Critical Care Medicine, 39(7), 1626-1634.

Evolution of Health Care Information Systems Physician's Office Operation
Filling in the hole of health care information technology will endorse safe, capable, patient-centered, and patient care that is fruitful in a timely way. In this essay, the theme is to look into two modern health

care organizations and then compare and contrast many characteristics that will involve the kind of evidence systems are using at the moment, investigate the transmission of information 20 years ago and how the substitute of data today. Furthermore, this essay will cover two major events and technology developments that have inclined present Health Care Informational Services practices.

Compare and Contrast Doctor's Workplace Operation

These day's doctor's office operation is familiarizing to the health care reform that was sanctioned in 2010 by the Obama organization. During sometime in October of 2013, the exchanges in health insurance was available on the market for customers on order to buy health insurance placed…...

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References

Burke, D., Wang, B., & Wan T.T.H. & Diana, M. (2009). Exploring Hospitals' Adoptionof IT. Journal of Medical Systems, 21(9), 349 -- 355.

Callen, J., & Braithwaite, J. & . (2008). Cultures in Hospitals and TheirInfluence on Attitudes to, and Satisfaction with, the Use of Clinical InformationSystems. Social Science and Medicine, 65(4), 635-639.

Finchman, R., & Kohli, R. & . (2011). Editorial Overview -- The role of IS inHealthcare. Information Systems Research, 22(3), 419-428.

Healthcare: Clinical Integration
Item Page

What is clinical integration

History of clinical integration

Goals of clinical integration

Importance of clinical integration

Health reform

New payment models

IT advancement

Barriers to clinical integration

Legal barriers

Lack of practitioner alignment

Lack of interoperability

How to achieve success in clinical integration

Incentive alignment

Knowledge alignment

Behavioral alignment

The future of health care systems

Physician acquisitions vs. clinical integration

HIEs -- solution to clinical integration?

Policy makers are beginning to appreciate the fact that only systemic change can effectively change, for the better, the manner of health care delivery in the U.S.; and that anything less would only alter the system's edges - with little or no substantial effect on cost-control, innovation-promotion, effectiveness of reward incentive schemes, coordination and coverage (AHA, 2010). Clinical integration has been found to be crucial to the change needed for the achievement of the aforementioned goals (AHA, 2010). Despite the challenges (legal and otherwise) clinical integration faces, it still is key to health sector reforms.

What is Clinical Integration?

Clinical integration…...

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References

AHA. Clinical Integration -- the Key to Real Reform. Trend Watch. Retrieved from [HIDDEN]

Athena Health. (2014). History of the Clinical Integration Model. Athena Health. Retrieved from https://www.athenahealth.com/knowledge-hub/clinical-integration/clinical-integration-model.php

eHealth Initiative. (2012). The Rise of the Private Health Information Exchange and Changing Role of Public Exchanges. eHealth Initiative. Retrieved from [HIDDEN]

Fridsma, D. (2013). Interoperability Vs Health Information Exchange: Setting the Record Straight. Health IT Buzz. Retrieved from  http://www.healthit.gov/buzz-blog/meaningful-use/interoperability-health-information-exchange-setting-record-straight/

Controlling Benefit Costs
One of the most serious dilemmas facing organizations today is how to maximize profits in an extremely competitive global environment. Of course, organizations need employees, and there is a cycle that has been growing over the past three decades or so in which employees and other stakeholders are expecting greater benefit packages in order to stay with their employer. The reality of 21st century organizational environments is so competitive for some positions that employers are faced with the issue of having to increase benefits or lose top employees. Governmental regulations are now encroaching into this paradigm as well, and employee costs are now almost always one of the top two expenses for the organization. For most employers, managing these costs has a direct relationship to profitability, the ability to remain competitive in the marketplace and even new business development. However, over the last few years these benefit costs…...

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REFERENCES

Effron, M., & Goldsmith, M. (2008). Human Resources in the 21st Century. New York: Wiley.

Harrison, J.D. (2013). Health care law's aggregation rules pose a compliance nightmare. The Washington Post. Retrieved from:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/health-care-laws-aggregation-rules-pose-a-compliance-nightmare-for-small-businesses/2013/12/09/87b2dcc6-611d-11e3-bf45-61f69f54fc5f_story.html 

Nather, D. (2013). How Obamacare affects businesses -- large and small. Politico. Retrieved from:  http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/how-obamacare-affects-businesses-large-and-small-97460.html 

Walker, J. (2004). What's a Strategic HR Leader to Do? Human Resource Planning. 27(4): 61-9.

Coffee egional Medical Center, Inc. CMC") is a non-profit, 88-bed hospital located in Douglas, Georgia. Since 1953, CMC has served the healthcare needs of the community as the sole hospital-provider in Douglas, Georgia and surrounding Coffee County. CMC's mission is to provide the highest-quality healthcare, in a safe and caring environment, for both patients and families (Coffee egional Medical Center, N.d.).
CMC is an acute care hospital for adults and children in southern Georgia whose primary and secondary markets extend from Coffee to Jeff Davis and Bacon counties to Ben Hill and Atkinson counties.

Technological

Healthcare is miles behind the curve when it comes to technological innovation, an industry that historically has not been easy to innovate for. There are two key trends that have changed the game just in the last few months, explains Zoe Barry, CEO and Founder of Zappx, "opening up what could be a landgrab for ambitious startups who…...

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References

Coffee Regional Medical Center. (N.d.). 2013 Community Health Needs Assessment.

Pozin, I. (2013, October 17). Industry to Watch in 2014: Healthcare Tech. Retrieved from Forbes:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyapozin/2013/10/17/industry-to-watch-in-2014-healthcare-tech/

Breach Notification
The confidentiality of medical and personal information of every patients or other individual is a serious issue in the health sector. However, governments such the United States and European Union have put into operation data breach notification rules that cover the health care fraternity. Therefore, breach notification can be defined as rules and regulation which protects or control the unlawful access to data of an individual (Jim Tiller, 2011).

Mostly data breach normally occurs when there is a loss or theft of or access to unauthorized information with sensitive private information which might result to comprise of confidentiality or integrity of the data. Therefore, the United States (U.S.) and the European Union (EU) enacted laws to regulate the breach of personal data of patients. (Gina Stevens, 2012). For example, in the United States, "HITECH Act, Pub L. 111-5 Title XIII," was the first federal health breach notification law to be…...

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Reference

Patrick Kierkegaard (23 March 2012) Medical data breaches: Notification delayed is notification

Denied  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0267364912000209 

Gina Stevens (2012)Data Security Breach Notification Laws

 http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42475.pdf