Implementation of technology

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Technology

Oluwaseun Banjo

Herzing University

NSG 421- Nursing Informatics

Jennifer Dremann

09/25/2021

Opening

Computerized provider ordering and electronic medical records play a critical role in ensuring efficient storage and safe retrieval of patients' information in the healthcare facility. Data safety is a requirement by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA is a strict assurance organization that can penalize a healthcare facility up to one million US dollars in case their patients' data is compromised by theft, cyber-attacks, damages, and other factors that create a vulnerability to patients' information. Therefore, data security is an important aspect in a health facility that can be enhanced through emerging technology.

Computerized provider ordering is a technological process that facilitates entering and transferring medical instructions such as radiology orders, laboratory tests, medications, and treatment instructions to other healthcare professionals and key stakeholders through technological applications rather than telephone, fax, and paper. Computerized provider ordering prohibits healthcare personnel to share patient’s information with any third party. On the other hand, Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are referred to as digitalized paper charts that contain reliable information and notes that assist healthcare providers to get more information during treatment and diagnosis (Hydari, Telang & Marella, 2019). The technology provides the medical history of a patient thus allowing the healthcare personnel to provide evidence-based care.

Ethical consideration

Computerized provider ordering and electronic medical records cannot be effective in monitoring the patient's health and ensuring safe storage and retrieval of information if the key stakeholders such as nurses and doctors fail to conduct themselves in a ethical manner. Nurses and doctors should be exposed to training to ensure they are storing accurate information appropriately to the right patients (Kurnat-Thoma, 2020). It will be unethical to store wrong information to a patient since it can lead to wrong diagnosis and treatments thus contributing to complications and sometimes may lead to death. A healthcare worker should consult the experts in case they are not aware of what to record instead of recording wrong information in records.

The other consideration is the aspects of healthcare personnel sharing information to third parties without the consent of the patient. Patients may suffer psychologically when they realized that their medical information which may be critical has been shared with a third party. The other consideration is that healthcare personnel should not provide medication to patients with critical conditions without reviewing the medical history of the patients. Secondly, if the healthcare worker does not understand the information in the EMR they should consult the previous doctor, nurse or institution who offered the medication or referred the patient previously.

Legal consideration

Based on the regal aspects patient data safety is critical in the healthcare facility. Based on HIPAA, healthcare facility is required to provide confidentiality and integrity to patients' data. HIPAA rules and regulations provide a framework where the law can penalize a health organization up to one million USA dollars for compromising the critical information of a patient. Therefore, based on the law a healthcare facility should consider using the most effective technology to store patients' information.

Additionally, during a major medical errors patients are protected by law and have a right to file a lawsuit against a healthcare provider or the entire organization (Nittari, Khuman, Baldoni, Pallotta, Battineni, Sirignano & Ricci, 2020). Before a judge imposes charges to a healthcare facility or a provider healthcare technology such as computerized provider ordering and EMR are used to obtain reliable and credible information of what might have transpired. Therefore, it is critical to consider the type of data and whether it is accurate or not before such information is stored in the EMR for future review. The information enables the law enforcer to decide whether the medical error was a result of negligence or natural cause.

Safety consideration

Based on the safety of using computerized provider ordering and EMR, not everyone should access to medical information in the system of various institutions if not needed. Additionally, there should be a specific person assigned the duty to convey relevant information through computerized provider ordering to ensure that only specific people are responsible and accountable for linkages of healthcare information to a third party. The healthcare organization should minimize insider threats by implementing safety measures such as two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized employees from accessing critical information of patients and the entire organization.

Additionally, implementing safety technology such as iris and face scanning biometric technology will enhance the physical security of the rooms storing computerized provider ordering and EMR rooms thus restricting suspicious employees from accessing any critical information. The other consideration is backup for the critical data in case there is a data breach. A healthcare organization should use emerging technology such as the hybrid cloud in the cloud computing technology. The technology is less vulnerable to attacks and less costly. The cloud computing technology is monitored and managed by a third party and hence an organization does not require to employ additional computer personnel to manage the technology. The healthcare organization will also get additional advantages from the cloud computing technology since it will be able to obtain other safety software which is regularly updated in the cloud.

Two challenges in protecting patient privacy

The main challenge of ensuring the safety of patients' data is insider threats. Various research indicates that the employees in an organization are the main threats to patients' data security. Most of the employees are hired for a fee either by the black hat hackers or the main competitors to reveal some of the critical information of the organization. Competitors are more concerned with other firms' data to destroy their reputation and obtain unfair competitive advantages. Although an organization might restrict some suspicious employees from accessing technical rooms and sensitive information concerning the health organization, some few employees given access might compromise the security of patient data.

Failure to updated security software is another challenge that occurs in a healthcare facilities. Some of the computer experts are not well updated and trained to identify and advise the senior management to use updated software to safeguard computerized provider ordering and EMR systems. Technology is an ever-changing field and computer experts need a regular training forum to keep them updated with the newest market. Additionally, a healthcare facility should ensure regular monitoring and identification of vulnerability in the computerized provider ordering and EMR system to fix any challenge in time.

Conclusion

Computerized provider ordering and EMR system in the healthcare system is an effective technological tool to enhance service delivery and efficiency in the healthcare system. Doctors can provide quality services since they can be able to consult their colleagues through the internet and provide a mitigating platform when there is a medical error in a facility. Unlike some few decades when files were misplaced and doctors could duplicate medication and laboratory testing, today all the medications and medical procedures are stored in the EMR with the doctors' contact information and thus easier to make a follow-up.

Computerized provider ordering doctors can convey critical information to the relevant key stakeholders to fast delivery of services. Through technology, healthcare workers can serve many clients within the shortest time. The other advantage of using the technological system is that it assists in analyzing massive information. An organization does not need to incur more cost of employing internal and external analysts since the system can automatically analyze massive information and provide the relevant information of demand. I recommend all healthcare organizations implement computerized provider ordering and MHR to promote their quality services.

References

Hydari, M. Z., Telang, R., & Marella, W. M. (2019). Saving patient Ryan—can advanced electronic medical records make patient care safer?. Management Science, 65(5), 2041-2059.

Kurnat-Thoma, E. (2020). Educational and Ethical Considerations for Genetic Test Implementation within Health Care Systems. Network and Systems Medicine, 3(1), 58-66.

Nittari, G., Khuman, R., Baldoni, S., Pallotta, G., Battineni, G., Sirignano, A., ... & Ricci, G. (2020). Telemedicine practice: a review of the current ethical and legal challenges. Telemedicine and e-Health, 26(12), 1427-1437.