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Digital Health Tools in Healthcare

Dana Weisbrot

NR512-Fundamentals of Nursing Informatics

February 10th, 2019

Digital Health Tools in Healthcare

A patent application by Google Incorporation at the United States Patent and Trademark Office shows that the organization is currently developing an electronic health record. Healthcare providers will use the electronic health record to gather patients’ medical records and to leverage the machine results to predict clinical outcomes. The application describes a system comprising of three components. First, there is a computer system that can execute deep learning models on health records. Then there is a computer memory that can store aggregated health records from patients. Finally, there is an interface that can display predictions for the future clinical events as well as past medical events for a patient (Landi, 2019).

With the help of the computer system, clinicians would store aggregated electronic health record data from patients of diverse health conditions, age as well as demographics. In particular, the application indicates that computer system would store laboratory values, medical notes, and medications as well as diagnoses vital signs. Google indicates that there is need for systems to help healthcare providers focus efficiently in this age of too much information from diverse sources (Landi, 2019). This invention addresses the growing need for quality patient care in healthcare systems.

Rationale for Choosing the Topic Digital Health Tools

There is no doubt that the healthcare industry is undergoing tremendous digital transformations that people could not have imagined two decades ago. Payne (2016) indicates that many healthcare systems are now using electronic health records, after many years of development and incentive programs for their adoption. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (2014) indicates that meaningful use initiatives, courtesy of financial assistance from the HiTech Act, have accelerated the use of electronic health records in acute healthcare settings and outpatient settings. The number of healthcare organizations with electronic health records quadrupled between 2010 and 2013. The number of physicians adopting electronic health records also doubled between 2009 and 2013. As a result of the increasing adoption of information technology in healthcare activities, the United States Department of Health and Human Services asserts that consumers are not only actively involved in monitoring their personal health, but are also well positioned to engage with healthcare providers.

Electronic health records have demonstrated, through use of electronic order sets and use of reminders, to improve the reliability of performance of various basic tasks in preventive, acute as well as chronic care. They help in gathering, summarizing and displaying of large volumes of patient information. The broad use of electronic health records has brought into limelight the limitations of the current generation of electronic health records. Some of the common weaknesses include user interface, time required to use them and implementation difficulties (Payne, 2016). Addressing these limitations and adopting new technologies is necessary for electronic health records to achieve their full potential.

The Impact of Electronic Health Records on Healthcare

Increased Patient Participation

Non attendance at the scheduled appointments is one of the major hindrances to patients obtaining timely evidence based care. In addition, it leads to under utilization of resources and clinician time. Consumers at risk of non attendance include men, those from low socioeconomic status and those less than 40 years of age. Medication non adherence is also strongly associated with increased costs to healthcare systems as well as poor health outcomes (Stubbs, Sanders, Jones, Geraci & Stephenson 2012). Nonetheless, clinicians and patients can collaborate in decision making if they share access to electronic health information. Patient participation is essential in managing and treating chronic illnesses like asthma, obesity and diabetes.

Electronic health records can help providers ensure high quality care. With electronic health records, clinicians can give patients complete and accurate information regarding their medical evaluation. Moreover, providers can offer follow up information after a hospital stay like self care instructions, links to web resources as well as reminders for other follow up care (Payne, 2016). Appropriate delivery of reminder messages may support adoption of patient messaging efforts or interventions. Two way interactions may promote successful healthcare outcomes by generating personalized interaction between care providers and patients (Stubbs et al., 2012).

Improved Patient Care

Electronic health records can improve information availability. They lead to storage of information in a single location, resulting in easy accessibility of patient information when and where needed. Clinicians have access to the vital information they require, at the time required for effective decision making. Electronic health records can also be basis for quality improvement. Reliable access to full patient health information is vital for safe and effective care. These systems place full and accurate patient health information at a clinician’s fingertips to provide the best possible care. This can result in better patient experience and outcome (Ammenwerth, Schnell-Inderst & Hoerbst, 2012).

Electronic health records can also support clinician decision making. In particular, these systems can help care providers make efficient and effective decisions about care, through: provision of clinical alerts and reminders as well as improved aggregation and analysis of patient information. Also, electronic health records can support diagnostic and treatment decisions as well as safeguard against potential risks. Apart from supporting clinical decision making, these systems can lead to convenient healthcare transactions. They help with e-prescription, faster filing of insurance claims and remote accessibility to patient files (Ammenwerth, Schnell-Inderst & Hoerbst, 2012).

Improved Care Coordination

With the advancement of medical practices and technologies, the delivery of high quality patient care requires a team of healthcare providers such as primary care physicians, nurses, pharmacists and specialists. Each member tends to have limited interaction with patients and based on the member’s area of specialization, a different view of patients. As such, the healthcare team’s opinion of the patients may be fragmented into disconnected facts as well as clusters of symptoms. Care providers do not need fragmented facts of a patient and electronic health records can improve care coordination (O’malley, Grossman, Choen, Kemper & Pham, 2010).

Electronic health record systems can reduce the fragmentation of facts by improving care coordination. Electronic health records can integrate and organize patients’ health information. Also, they can facilitate the instant distribution of such information among the authorized clinicians involved in a patient’s care. For instance, clinicians can use electronic health alerts to determine the duration that a patient has spent in the healthcare facility. By doing so, the clinicians can proactively follow up with such a patient (O’malley et al., 2010).

Improved Diagnostic and Patient Outcome

The increasing use of digital health tools like electronic health record in healthcare reflects an increasing concern for patient centered care. Castaneda, Nalley, Mannion, Bhattacharyya, Blake, Pecora, and Suh (2015) indicate that providers can provide better medical care if they have access to complete as well as accurate patient information. Electronic health records can improve a provider’s ability to diagnose diseases and prevent medical errors, thereby improving patient outcomes. With electronic health records, clinicians can have reliable access to a client’s complete health information. They can use the complete picture to quickly diagnosis a patient’s problems.

Electronic health records can reduce errors and improve patient safety as well as support better patient outcomes. This is because electronic health records do not only contain or transmit patient information, but also manipulate it in ways that can help improve patient health outcomes. For instance, a qualified electronic health record does not only store a record of patients’ medications, but also checks for medical problems whenever a provider prescribes a new medication and informs him or her. In addition, electronic health records can expose potential safety concerns whenever they arise, helping clinicians avoid serious consequences for the patients and resulting in better patient outcomes (Hibbard & Greene, 2013).

Application of Informatics Skills and Knowledge in Preparing this Assignment

Various informatics knowledge and skills have been used to facilitate the preparation of this assignment. With regards to informatics knowledge, the recognition of the importance of nursing data for practice improvement played a major role in preparation of this assignment. The other informatics knowledge that played a major role in the preparation of this assignment is the recognition of the fact that computers can only enhance or facilitate nursing care and the computers cannot perform some human functions. The recognition of the importance of clinicians’ involvement in designing, selecting, implementing and evaluating digital health systems also played a major role in preparation of this work.

The major informatics skills that played a major role in the preparation of this assignment include: the ability to interpret information flow within healthcare organization, the ability to develop standards as well as database structures needed for the facilitation of clinical care, research and patient education. Another important informatics skill that helped in the preparation of this assignment is the ability to develop innovative as well as analytical techniques for scientific inquiry in health informatics with the aim of assessing the impact of information technology on nursing.

Conclusion

Electronic health records may play a major role in re-engineering the role of care providers and swing the pendulum toward patients by allowing care providers to assume teaching and counseling roles and to become empathetic observers. Because of the increasing adoption of information technology in healthcare activities, consumers are not only actively involved in monitoring their personal health, but also well positioned to engage with healthcare providers. Electronic health records may help improve the quality of care by increasing patient participation in their care.

Clinicians and patients can coordinate in decision making if they share access to electronic health information. Electronic health records can also reduce the fragmentation of facts by improving care coordination. Also, they can improve information availability and support clinician decision making for improved patient care. Moreover, electronic health records can reduce errors, improve patient safety and support better patient outcomes. Various informatics knowledge and skills were applied in preparing this assignment.

References

Ammenwerth, E., Schnell-Inderst, P., & Hoerbst, A. (2012). The impact of electronic patient portals on patient care: A systematic review of controlled trials. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 14(6), 1-13

Castaneda, C., Nalley, K., Mannion, C., Bhattacharyya, P., Blake, P., Pecora, A. & Suh, K. S. (2015). Clinical decision support systems for improving diagnostic accuracy and achieving precision medicine. Journal of Clinical Bioinformatics, 5(4), 1-16.

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.

Landi, H. (2019, February). Google patent indicates plans to develop EHR to predict patients' clinical outcomes. Fierce HealthIt. www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/google-patent-indicates-work-doctor-facing- interface-to-provide-predictions-clinical-outcomes

O’malley, A. S., Grossman, J. M., Cohen, G. R., Kemper, N. M., & Pham, H. H. (2010). Are electronic medical records helpful for care coordination? Experiences of physician practices. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25(3), 177-185.

Payne, T. H. (2016). The electronic health record as a catalyst for quality improvement in patient care. Heart, 102(22), 1782-1787.

Stubbs, N. D., Sanders, S., Jones, D. B., Geraci, S. A., & Stephenson, P. L. (2012). Methods to reduce outpatient non-attendance. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 344(3), 211-219.

United States Department of Health and Human Services. (2014). More physicians and hospitals are using EHRs than before. https://www.healthit.gov/news/2014/8/7/more-physicians-and-hospitals-are-using- ehrs

DIGITAL HEALTH TOOLS IN HEALTHCARE

Running head: DIGITAL TOOLS IN HEALTHCARE

DIGITAL TOOLS IN HEALTHCARE