The healthcare industry has been undergoing tremendous changes in recent years. As technology advances and becomes more accessible, patients and health professionals have new opportunities to use their knowledge to improve care outcomes. One area of care where this technology is used extensively in the prescription drug area.
Nurses have been using electronic charting for some time now through electronic health records (EHRs) or hospital management systems (HMS). As new technologies emerge, nursing students must come prepared with a solid foundation in information technology as part of their basic education.
What is healthcare information technology?
Healthcare information technology (HIT) is the application of information processing involving computer hardware and software that deals with storing, retrieving, sharing, and using healthcare information, data, and knowledge for communication and decision-making.
HIT can be considered as any tool used to improve or facilitate the administration of patient care through electronic means. The healthcare industry has been using HIT since its inception in the 1970s. Still, it has only become widespread over the last few years due to technological advances at both a personal level (smartphones and other smart devices) and an institutional level (cloud computing).
The HITECH Act
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was signed into law in 2009. The act was created to encourage healthcare providers to adopt electronic health records (EHRs), allowing doctors to share information more efficiently and provide patients with greater access to their medical history.
The HITECH Act also provided financial incentives for providers that meet certain criteria, such as using certified EHRs, achieving meaningful use, or adopting certification programs such as the ONC HIT Certification Program. Below are the five goals of the HITECH Act.
- Improve quality
Improve quality by encouraging the adoption and meaningful use of EHRs and other HIT.
- Safety and efficiency
Improve safety by improving communication between providers, patients, and other caregivers to avoid medical errors, reduce hospital readmissions, and improve care coordination. Improve efficiency by reducing duplicative tests, referrals, and procedures.
- Engage patients in their care
Engage patients in their own care by providing them with access to their medical information through secure personal health records.
- Increase coordination of care
Improve coordination among providers by enabling them to share patient information electronically through EHRs or other HIT. This goal also includes promoting better public reporting on quality measures at the national and local levels to improve consumer awareness of possible problems with their healthcare provider’s performance on these measures.
- Improve the health status of the population
Improve the overall health status of Americans by using information technology systems that allow for better management, coordination, and delivery of patient-centered medical care across all settings of care. These include:
- Inpatient hospital care
- Outpatient medical/surgical care
- Skilled nursing facility care
- Home health agency care
- Long-term/post-acute institutionalization
This goal also includes reducing preventable hospital readmissions through improved patient transitions from one setting to another.
The HITECH Act was a game-changer in several ways.
Increased adoption of HIT
The HITECH Act required all physicians who bill Medicare to use an EHR by 2014. It also provided financial incentives for hospitals and physicians who adopted such technology. In addition, it increased funding for research into improving health IT.
This significantly increased the adoption and use of EHRs and other HIT in the US.
Privacy protection for patients
The HITECH Act included provisions that enhanced privacy protections for patients. It required covered entities to develop policies and procedures to protect patient privacy and breach notification requirements if there is a breach of electronically protected health information (ePHI).
Healthcare information technology services
HIT services are an integral part of the healthcare delivery system in the US and other parts of the world. Services provided by HIT include the following.
EHRs
EHRs are a set of HIT used to store, manage and share patients’ personal health information. EHRs enable healthcare professionals to access a patient’s health record to view past and current conditions, medications and allergies, test results, and other relevant data. Doctors can make more informed decisions about their care by having immediate access to a patient’s complete record.
EHRs may be stored on computers within a hospital, doctor’s office, or clinic. They may also be stored on an external server accessible through the internet by multiple providers at once. The benefits of using EHRs include the following:
- Improved quality of care – EHRs can help providers give better-quality care by allowing them to track crucial clinical information electronically. They also enable physicians to compare their treatment methods with those used by others across the country and around the world.
- Reduced medical errors – With access to each patient’s entire medical history at their fingertips, providers can avoid making mistakes when diagnosing or treating an illness because they know exactly what treatments have already been tried and what worked (or didn’t). This reduces medical errors that can lead to hospitalization or even death.
- Improved access to patient records – EHRs can be accessed by physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals at any time without having to request a copy from another facility or office. This means that if a patient has an emergency while traveling out of town, doctors can have immediate access to their medical history without having to wait until they return home. This can save lives by helping medical professionals make quick decisions about what kind of care is needed in an emergency.
- Increased security and privacy for patients’ personal information – With an EHR system in place, all personal data about a patient is stored securely within one system and can only be accessed by authorized individuals who have been granted permission beforehand by the patient or their legal representative(s).
Improved efficiency – Doctors spend less time on paperwork now that they have EHRs than they did before. Using EHRs also means less time spent dealing with insurance companies, which can be time-consuming because each insurance company has its own set of rules and regulations regarding billing practices. When doctors don’t have to worry about how much time they spend on administrative tasks, they can focus more on providing quality patient care.
- Data collection and analysis – EHRs can be used to collect data about how sick people are and how well treatments work. This information can help doctors improve their practices and better serve their patients. It also allows researchers to compare different treatments and hospitals across the country and around the world, providing new insights into how medicine works best.
- Reduced costs – EHRs reduce costs by eliminating duplicate data entry and paper-based record management processes.
Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs)
CDSSs help clinicians make better decisions about patient care by providing relevant clinical evidence and advice when needed most. The aim of CDSSs is to improve the quality of care while reducing costs. They can be implemented in any setting where a clinician interacts with a patient electronically during an encounter or visit.
There are several types of CDSSs:
- Alert systems – Clinical alert systems provide clinicians with alerts regarding possible errors or other patient care problems. Some alert systems use artificial intelligence (AI) to make their recommendations. Others rely on the expertise of human experts to determine the best course of action in response to an alert.
- Order entry systems – Clinical order entry systems allow clinicians to enter orders electronically into electronic medical record (EMR) systems instead of using paper orders. EMRs can then automatically route these orders to clinical support staff for processing and ensure that they are completed accurately and efficiently.
- Patient portals – Patient portals allow patients to access their medical records online, make appointments with their physicians online, and receive information about their conditions from their healthcare provider’s office without having to call or visit in person for each request for information or appointment setting.
- AI – CDSSs that use AI algorithms can improve patient care by providing clinicians with recommendations based on evidence-based medicine data collected from the latest studies on best practices in treating specific conditions or symptoms.
Information exchange infrastructure
This provides the network for sharing data between facilities and across the internet. It could be as simple as an intranet or as complex as a national broadband network or wireless mesh network.
Administrative computing resources
These systems allow healthcare providers to manage their workforce, schedule appointments, calculate billing rates and perform other back-office tasks such as accounting and payroll. The administrative computing resources may also include support for EMR management applications such as electronic prescribing tools.
Patient monitoring devices (PMDs)
PMDs enable doctors to monitor patients remotely via cameras, sensors, and other devices attached directly to patients’ bodies. They are also known as telemedicine or telehealth systems because they combine telecommunications with medical equipment such as ECG devices or blood pressure monitors. These devices allow for real-time video conferencing with a doctor or other healthcare provider, enabling face-to-face interaction between doctor and patient.
Patients can also use PMDs to receive remote treatment from their healthcare providers. For example, a diabetic patient can track their blood sugar levels by using a PMD designed to measure glucose levels in the blood.
In addition to monitoring patients, PMDs may also be used for remote diagnosis. For example, an older adult who has dementia may forget how to take their medications on time. Their partner could use a PMD that automatically sends reminders to the patient’s cell phone when it’s time for them to take their next dose of medicine.
How different entities use healthcare information technology
Here is an overview of how different entities use healthcare information technology.
Hospitals and physicians
HIT is used in all health system sectors (acute care hospitals, ambulatory care, long-term care facilities, and physician’s offices). In addition to these direct uses in healthcare delivery organizations, HIT also supports ancillary functions such as medical billing and reimbursement.
Hospitals use IT to manage patient admissions and discharges, track inventory, manage patient financial accounts, maintain compliance with government regulations, support quality improvement initiatives, and provide clinical decision support tools to providers.
Physicians use IT to:
- Manage schedules
- Communicate with colleagues and staff members
- Conduct research
- Order tests and prescriptions
- Access clinical guidelines/best practices/evidence-based medicine information
- Track outcomes/quality measures for patients
- Monitor adherence to protocols/orders by patients or providers (for example, immunizations)
- Access health information exchanges (HIEs) for remote consultations with other specialists or institutions
Doctors and nurses
Doctors and nurses are the most obvious users of healthcare IT. Doctors use EHRs to keep track of their patients’ current and past medical history, as well as test results and other information. They also often use electronic prescriptions to send orders to pharmacies.
Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare industry. They play an essential role in taking care of patients, but they also have to manage the administrative aspects of their job. The administrative tasks can be overwhelming and time-consuming for nurses who are already stretched thin with their clinical responsibilities.
Nurses must spend time on non-clinical tasks such as updating patient records, billing insurance companies, and managing admissions. These administrative tasks used to frustrate nurses because they were often done manually, which meant that it was easy for mistakes to happen. The result was a lot of wasted time for nurses who could not keep up with all of the administrative work needed at their facility.
HIT tools help streamline the process by automating some of these administrative duties so that nurses have more time to focus on caring for patients.
Nurses must be familiar with these systems to effectively communicate with other healthcare providers and ensure that all aspects of a patient’s care are correctly documented for future reference by other healthcare professionals or family members who need additional information about that patient’s condition.
Online MSN FNP programs are a good way to equip nurses with the necessary skills to interpret the data provided by HIT and know how to use it for patient care.
Pharmacies
Pharmacies use EHRs to fill prescriptions, keep track of patients’ medical histories, and manage drug interactions. They also use them to manage inventory levels and check for drug recalls. Pharmacists can also use the systems to communicate with doctors or patients about specific medications.
Patients
Patients are one of the biggest beneficiaries of healthcare IT systems because they help people manage their own healthcare. Patients can log into their systems to see their current medications or request refills on medications they’re running low on. They can also use their systems to check for any drug interactions that could be harmful if taken with other medications in their system.
Insurance companies
As more hospitals adopt EHRs and other kinds of healthcare IT, insurance companies are also starting to see benefits from using HIT in their business processes.
For example, insurance companies can reduce the claims processing time by using real-time data feeds from doctor’s offices and hospitals, rather than waiting for paper claims forms to be mailed or faxed in by providers.
Insurance companies can better manage risk because they can access more information about their customers than ever before – including their health status, age, and location. This enables them to identify potential risks before they become problems, allowing them to offer lower premiums.
Government
HIT is an important area for government agencies, including the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS has been providing funding to support HIT since 2003 when it established its Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The agency also oversees certification and standards for EHRs and other types of technology used in healthcare settings.
Medical researchers
Researchers collect data from patients, physicians, insurance companies, and hospitals to learn more about diseases, treatment options, and outcomes. Many medical researchers rely heavily on computer systems to store patient data and run tests on them using AI algorithms.
AI algorithms allow doctors to conduct large-scale studies with minimal human intervention or oversight, which helps eliminate some of the biases associated with traditional research methods, such as human error and bias when conducting experiments on people’s lives.
Pharmaceutical companies
Pharmaceutical companies have been using healthcare information technology for decades. From the development of new drugs and devices to the clinical trials that test them, pharmaceutical companies rely on IT systems to manage these processes.
Pharmaceutical companies are often at the forefront of innovation when it comes to healthcare IT. They invest heavily in this area to ensure that their products meet regulatory requirements and maintain quality control standards.
Final thoughts
The healthcare industry is undergoing a massive transformation as new technologies such as telemedicine and wearable sensors become more widely available.
HIT will play an ever-increasing role as healthcare professionals work to improve patient outcomes. Nurses will always be needed to interpret HIT data and ensure that patients are receiving the best possible care.
