2
ePatient, Social Networking, and Personal Health Record
Although health IT governance is a relatively "new" concept, the demands for this
expertise are vast and the needs are immediate. Healthcare reform is one example. How is
health IT governance being used to ensure that the requirements of the Affordable Care
Act are being met, implemented, monitored, and maintained?
Health care reform has always been a major controversial topic within the media and
within politics. “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also called Affordable
Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare, in the United States, health care reform legislation signed into
law by U.S. Pres. Barack Obama in March 2010, which included provisions that required most
individuals to secure health insurance or pay fines, made coverage easier and less costly to
obtain, cracked down on abusive insurance practices, and attempted to rein in the rising costs of
health care. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also called the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) or “Obamacare,” was widely considered the most far-reaching health care
reform act since the passage of Medicare, the U.S. government program guaranteeing health
insurance for the elderly, in 1965” (Patient Protection and ACA, 2020). Health care reform will
always be a controversial topic for years to come and it may never be settled or at least agreed
upon by all sides of the issue.
“The role of health IT governance is to help clarify priorities, allocate resources and, if
necessary, approve the funding to support the expansion of available health IT resources. Health
IT governance should also be accountable to track and monitor the benefits of these investments”
(Nelson & Staggers, 2018). Health IT is a relatively new concept that has perforated the health
industry. The technology that has been developed for use within the industry has had many
positive effects and outcomes. It has also brought many new challenges to health care when it
comes to reform and governance of the systems. With the evolution of health IT, it has become
an integral part of the ACA and how it is implemented, monitored, and maintained. The first and
3
foremost reasoning for the ACA was to ensure improved quality of care, health care access, and
make it more affordable. This opened a whole new set of standards that health care organizations
would be expected to meet.
“The HITECH Act program focuses on attaining meaningful use of EHRs as a pathway
toward improved health system performance. The attainment of meaningful use depends, in turn,
on adoption of EHRs and the development of security and private pathways for exchanging
health information. Adoption and exchange will be supported by a variety of HITECH Act
initiatives” (Blumenthal, 2010). Congress and the Obama administration organized this act to
make it more appealing to health care organizations to implement the electronic health care
records and to provide meaningful use initiatives. Health care organizations that did implement
health IT would also receive grants and payments for doing so. Without the meaningful use
initiatives than organizations would have no reason or incentives to keep their EHR systems
maintained and able to produce the best possible outcomes for their patients.
The American people wanted an improved health care system that was affordable because
many Americans did not have health care because they could not afford it. They also wanted the
quality of health care to be better. This is one of the main focuses of the ACA is to make health
care more affordable while increasing the quality of care. The advancements in health IT and
increased governance will continue to play a big role in health care reform. Philippians 2:3-4,
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above
yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others”
(Zondervan, 2011). Health care professionals should always put the patient first and want to
deliver the utmost quality of care.
4
References
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). (2020). In Encyclopædia Britannica.
Retrieved from https://academic-eb-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Patient-Protection-and-Affordable-Care-
Act/488663
Nelson, R., & Staggers, N. (2018). Health informatics: An interprofessional approach (2nd ed.).
St. Louis, MO: Elsevier. ISBN: 9780323402316.
Blumenthal, D. (2010). launching hitech. The New England Journal of Medicine, 362(5), 382-
385. doi:10.1056/NEJMp0912825
Zondervan. (2011). The Holy Bible. New International Version.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
