First Topic
a a Clinical information systems (CIS) are integral to the day-to-day
operations of providers (Shi, 2019). The HITECH act of 2009 mandated
providers utilize electronic medical records for their patients (Shi, 2019).
CIS have been proven to reduce medical errors and provide work-flow
efficiency for providers (Islam, 2018). One way CIS reduce medical errors is by
increasing legibility by removing the need for writing by hand (Islam, 2018). CIS
can also quickly highlight pharmacy dispensing or prescribing errors (Islam,
2018).
Second Topic
a a There will always be some inherent risk accompanying new technology.
Federal safety regulations aim to mitigate that as much as possible when
certifying new products for the market (Shi, 2019). I think the most
contentious area and unregulated area of new tech in the medical space
concerns consumer/patient data rights.
HIPPA protects a patient’s health information in the healthcare setting,
but does not extend to direct to consumer medical products (Shi, 2019). More
and more direct to consumer medical products like DNA testing, biometric
tracking products like fitness watches, or medical tracking services like period
tracking apps are not bound by HIPPA (Gerke, 2018). They treat this data just
like any other digital consumer data (Gerke, 2018). Right now, there is a
patchwork of supplemental laws by state connected to HIPPA that attempt to
bring this gap (Gerke, 2018). What is needed is unified clarity on what rights a
consumer has to their health data outside of medical contexts.
References:
Islam, M. (2018, August 27). NCBI - Recent Advancement of Clinical Information
Systems: Opportunities and Challenges. National Library of Medicine.
Retrieved May 20, 2022, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6115226/
Shi, L. & Singh, D. A. (2019). Essentials of the U.S. Health Care System (5th ed.).
Jones & Bartlett Learning. Burlington, MA.
Gerke, S. (2021, August 18). Perspectives on Data Privacy for Direct-to-
Consumer Health Apps. Bill of Health. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from
https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2021/08/18/data-privacy-direct-
to-consumer-health-apps/
