Electronic Health Records are patients centered records which ensure secure and instant availability of information to the healthcare providers. Typically, the EHRs as patients’ paper chart digital version has led to some challenges to patient care. Although the EHR is easy to read than the past paper charts, it has led to some weaknesses in the entire patient care. Since the system grants access to evidence-based tools, when the information is interfered with, the providers may face challenges of making the right decisions about the patients’ care. The discussion below shows how the EHRs system has led to the suffering of patient care; lack of enough focus, on the patients; and restriction of the information provided by the patients through the box clicking format.
Lack of Focus on Patients
The healthcare providers are concentrating too much on the computer screens and losing their attention on the patients due to lack of skill or training. Although the use of EHRs is more comfortable than the past paper charts, most of the healthcare providers lack the qualified skills and better training on how to use the EHRs without interfering with their focus on the patients. Typically, if the healthcare providers had the required training, they would know when to have their attention on the EHRs and when to focus on the patients. The computer system design cannot be blamed as the cause they are losing their concentration from the patients since the design has smoothened their working style compared to the past paper charts. Also, their attention to the patients cannot be diverted to the computer screens and claim that it is natural since the behavior is acquired, and it can be changed through training. Thus, it is the lack of enough training on the healthcare system that the healthcare providers are unable to use the EHRs without losing their focus on their patients.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Implementation of EHRs
Healthcare is much suffering from the implementation of the EHRs system. The implementation of the EHRs has resulted in staff resistance to healthcare. The healthcare providers have faced a lot of challenges while accepting the change. Since the staff members have been used to the past paper charts, some of them have been against the implementation of the new EHRs system. Also, the patient care has been suffering from the implementations of the EHRs since it is time-consuming and tedious to transfer the data from the existing data to the new EHRs (Nguyen, Bellucci & Nguyen 2014). The EHRs system has facilitated to reduced concentration of the healthcare providers to their patients as they focus mostly on their computer screens and to the patients, unlike the period of past paper charts. Finally, the implementation of the new EHRs system has resulted in potential privacy risks to patient care. Typically, the EHR systems are very much vulnerable to hacking; thus, the information and patients records have a probability of falling into the wrong hands.
Clicking Boxes
Typically, if there was a lawsuit, I feel that the system of charting by clicking boxes in an EHR which does not provide enough detail about the patient. The clicking of boxes only provides the healthcare providers with the only information which they want to hear and not the information which the patients need to pass. This system of charting does not allow the patients to give any other information about their conditions apart from the little information through clicking of boxes. The patients might have a different problem from the one provided in the clicking boxes. The boxes generalize the needs of the patients in a limited perception in which is wrong since there is always a probability of emerging of new requirements which are not included in the form. If there were a lawsuit, the healthcare providers would have been found answerable for restricting the information which the patients pass about their conditions.
In a nutshell, the implementation of the EHRs has led suffering to patient care. Although there are important to modern healthcare, required procedures should be used to conquer its weaknesses. The users should be educated and trained on how to ensure they are meeting the needs of the patients while using the EHRs. Due to lack of skills, the healthcare providers have lost their focus on the patient, and instead, their focus has been so much concentrated on the computer screens. Consequently, the system of charting by clicking boxes on the EHRs has does not provide enough information about the patients since the information they provide is limited by the box clicking charting system.
Types of Data
First, the patient falls data is the data which the organizations are tracking. Typically, the NDNQI “National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators” is provided with the patient falls data by the hospitals voluntary. The “American Nurses Association” created this database. After the submission of the patient falls, the hospital can be able to compare its fall rates against each other. Secondly, a 30-day readmission rate data is another type of data which the organizations are currently tracking. In this sector, the hospital readmissions reduction programs provide hospitals with financial incentives so that they can reduce the patient readmissions with the 30 days of Medicare beneficiaries. Thirdly, according to Hebda, Hunter, and Czar, (2019), patients’ financial incentive has also emerged as a data which organizations are tracking to improve the healthcare services being provided to the patients.
Type of Data being tracked by an Organization
The quality of the patients’ care data another type of data, specific to my practice, which AHRQ organization is tracking. Typically, this type of data is being tracked to determine the quality of healthcare, which is being provided to the patients. This data depends on the perception of the patients about their healthcare providers. It contains judgments about the quality of care and services being given at the health centers. This information reveals the weaknesses of the health centers in which they should improve on to make sure that the needs of the patients are met. Through the collected data, the organization can compare different healthcare providers on the quality of services they provide to their patients. Explicitly, to my practice, have tracked this data on every healthcare centers have gone and compared the quality of services they have provided to me to determine which hospital is better and am satisfied with the services offered.
Importance of the Data Tracking
I feel that tracking the quality of patients’ care data is crucial since it helps the hospitals to improve on their weaknesses, thus improving the general health quality in society. The organization tracking this type of data can process the data to know the reasons why the patients need are not met and how they can be met. Thus through this data, strategies can be developed towards achieving specified goals of maximizing their quality of services to the patients. Once this data is tracked, there is an increased probability of enhancing the accountability of the hospital's managers and health practitioners. The medical errors are identified, thus increasing the capability of minimizing the mistakes and maximizing effective care. Eventually, through this type of data, the healthcare outcomes are improved, and the concern is aligned to the patient's expectations.
Organization that is tracking the Data
The organization which is tracking the quality of patients’ care data is a government organization called AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). “AHRQ was developed as (AHCPR) Agency Health Care Policy and Research as the (PHS) Public Health Service constituent union” (Soffin et al. 2019, p. 457). It was under the 1989 (103 Stat. 2159), Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. The organization assesses care by supporting and conducting research. It disseminates and develops guidelines information about healthcare services and delivery systems. This organization has funded a qualified vendor administers “Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems” (CAHPS) surveys in which after the survey are conducted. The AHRQ produces data and measures, training and tools, and researches which facilitate close collaboration with the United States “Health and Human Services” (HHS) Department agencies and other partners to make sure that the evidence which is provided is good and reliable.
Ethical Concerns with an Outside Organization tracking this Data
There are several ethical concerns with AHRQ tracking the data on the quality of the patients’ care. The organization is concerned about the quality of the health services which are provided by the healthcare providers to the citizens. It needs to check whether the services are being done in the right way. For instance, the organization is concerned about the balance of care quality and efficiency. It this sector, it focuses on whether the right values are the attention in the healthcare system. The organization needs to improve the access of people to health care as it is their rights. The organization is also concerned whether, in the future, there will be enough medications which will meet the patients’ expectations, and if not, what is the possible solution to the weakness.
In conclusion, the data which are being tracked by organizations are the patient falls data, a 30-day readmission rate data, and patients’ financial incentive data. All these data are tracked by the organization to improve healthcare services. The other data which being tracked by AHRQ organization is the quality of the patients’ care data. There are ethical concerns about AHRQ, which facilitates data tracking. These concerns are to ensure that the patients’ needs are being met in the right way with equality. The data is tracked to enhance the effectiveness, appropriateness, and quality of the healthcare services. The tracking organizations ensure that the data is analyzed and understood to facilitate its use on achieving the objectives of better healthcare to the American people.
References
Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2019). Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (6th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson. ISBN: 978-0134711010.
Nguyen, L., Bellucci, E., & Nguyen, L. T. (2014). Electronic health records implementation: an evaluation of information system impact and contingency factors. International journal of medical informatics , 83 (11), 779-796.
Soffin, E. M., Gibbons, M. M., Ko, C. Y., Kates, S. L., Wick, E. C., Cannesson, M., ... & Wu, C. L. (2019). Evidence Review Conducted for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery: focus on anesthesiology for total hip arthroplasty. Anesthesia & Analgesia , 128 (3), 454-465.
