Compilation of papers

History of Healthcare information management

Healthcare information management in United states has witnessed great development since the start of healthcare information management. Healthcare information management can be traced from the early 19th century when it was realized that keeping healthcare information was important in the healthcare sector. The need to improve health records necessitated the need to develop healthcare information management systems and the pioneer was the American College of Surgeon. Considering the case of Featherfall medical centre, the current health information management has to be in consideration with current laws governing the Electronic Records management.

Historical Events in Health Information Management

During the early 1920’s, professional healthcare providers discovered that documenting health information was relevant to both the healthcare providers and the patients. The American College of Surgeon started health information management by establishing a professional association that was named American Association of Record Librarians due to increasing number of medical and health record.

The information age was a period can be traced in early 1960’s and 1970’s. This period was characterised by development of computer technology. Healthcare information management took a different dimension during this period. Development of computers necessitated the need to associate health records with computers. Electronic health records made advancement in storage of medical information efficiency in terms of healthcare provision (Ludwick & Doucette, 2009) Institutions of higher learning and in most cases universities, coordinated with health facilities to record and generate patient information electronically. Health information electronically recorded was only accessible at the health facilities only.

The major concern during this period was establishment of single software to perform different health activities in 1980’s and 1990’s. The development of different software enabled use of computerised services in pharmaceutical activities, laboratory activities and patient registration. Smaller computers were developed and each health department had access to computer facilities in managing and recording patient information. The development of master patient index was an important success as it was a database for all the information from different departments of health facilities.

The previous versions of software were not accurate and errors led to medical problems. In the Millennium Medical Records Management, challenges made health professionals to seek sophisticated software to address the challenges. The aim was to provide viable healthcare and search for new electronic health record was invaded. President George Bush called to computerized health record management in the state of union address in 2004. Barrack Obama in 2009 passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) (Honek, Azar & Menassa, 2011). The act advocated for implementation of electronic health management.

Standard Technology at Featherfall

The current standard technologies encompass electronic health records, chronic disease management systems, and other systems that generate patient information electronically. This technology plays important roles in healthcare improvements. Considering the case of Feather fall medical centre, advancement in health information is still not fully recognized. Feather fall medical centre should have the focus on implementing and training health professionals on application of electronic health records management system. The systems implemented should have concerns for management of patients’ data with concerns on privacy of the data stored electronically. Electronic health information management has developed to include systems that can communicate and share patient’s information regionally thus improving information sharing in different health facilities (Angst & Agarwal, 2009). Electronic Health Record systems are already in used as opposed to the past use of paper documentation. Struggles are still made to realize reliable and accurate electronic health record systems in order to efficiently manage health information.

Technology Guidelines

Featherfall medical centre will require to implement electronic health records to enable record management, sharing of patient’s data nationwide among other health facilities in order to realize relevant healthcare treatments.

Overview of Roles at Featherfall

In a medical facility, the roles and duties of every staff should be clearly outlined. Nurse and the administrative staffs should have their roles outlined in order to avoid lapse in the operation of the featherfall medical centre. Consultants will have the role of training the staff on the usage of electronic medical devices to manage all activities of the medical facility.

Evaluation of The New Health Information Technology Systems.

Additionally, an evaluation of the current health information systems could be done by testing the existing systems to see if they function as expected. Several agencies are involved in evaluating health information systems. Department of Health and Human Services and Agency for Healthcare Research provide guideline in evaluation of health information systems. Evaluations Testing may be based on efficiency, accuracy and security of information as per the law requirements concerning electronic information.

Conclusion.

Health information management has come a long way with notable changes and advancements. From paper documentation to electronic documentation, health records management is still a focus to many health professionals. The concern for reliable healthcare information management necessitates dynamic nature of the electronic health records management in United States and the entire world.

References

Angst, C. M., & Agarwal, R. (2009). Adoption of electronic health records in the presence of privacy concerns: The elaboration likelihood model and individual persuasion. MIS quarterly, 33(2), 339-370.

Honek, K., Azar, E., & Menassa, C. C. (2011). Recession effects in United States public sector construction contracting: Focus on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Journal of Management in Engineering, 28(4), 354-361.

Ludwick, D. A., & Doucette, J. (2009). Adopting electronic medical records in primary care: lessons learned from health information systems implementation experience in seven countries. International journal of medical informatics, 78(1), 22-31.