NUR 621 Topic 4 Assignment: Implementing Meaningful Use
The meaningful use is associated with the electronic health record, which is a systemized collection of population and patient electronically-stored clinical or healthcare information or data in the digital format. The stored records may be shared among different healthcare professionals and in various clinical settings to enhance efficiency and clarity in the medical services. The data or information are sharable in a connected network, the enterprise information system and other information exchanges and networks. The Electronic health records consists of a wide range of data including medical history, diagnosis, medication, radiology images, individual statistics including weight, insurance information, and age. The EHR is designed to automate access to the information; also, it has the capability of streamlining the client’s workflow. In some cases, the electronic health records have possessed the ability to support or enhance care-related activities indirectly or directly through different interfaces such as quality management, evidence-based decision support, as well as outcomes reporting. The paper discusses the ideals and the implementation processes of the “Meaningful Use.”
Ensuring privacy for personal health information is one of the main pillars of “meaningful use.” The idea of meaningful use often offers financial incentives that tend to ensure safety, improve quality, and maintain the efficiency of care through the application of electronic health records. With meaningful use, physicians and other medical practitioners have been able to access different medical records and give treatment in line with medical history (White, 2015). Also, as a result of meaningful use, physicians have increasingly been able to provide the right treatment and diagnosis, a situation that has led to the increased efficiency and speed when it comes to the care delivery (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). Finally, the application of the idea of Meaningful Use has led to the increased coordination among the medical practitioners concerning the medical history and patterns of treatments. When meaningful use was developed, some of the priorities were to improve privacy and efficiency in healthcare delivery among the patients (Hickey & Brosnan, 2012). Also, there was a need to improve safety and quality in the treatment process and general care.
Stages of Meaningful Use and their Measures
Stage 1
Stage one of the meaningful use mainly focuses on electronic health records data and sharing. When being established, different healthcare organizations were required to concentrate on keeping health information or the patient’s information in an electronic format following a standardized form that can make it easier to access for patients and medical professionals. Also, in stage one, there was a focus on tracking clinical information or data through the application of electronic health records to effectively and efficiently coordinate care, utilizing information to start assessing and reporting both the public health information and clinical quality (Zaccagnini, 2019). Succinctly, stage one involved the application of electronic health records to better incorporate patients in the healthcare processes. The measurement of stage. The measures of stage one of meaningful use wholly depend on the security of information and the success in the sharing of patient information among different medical professionals and healthcare settings. The increasing sharing of secure information in electronic forms is one of the indicators of the success of meaningful use.
Challenges and Barriers Faced by Facilities in Implementation of Stage 1
The implementation of stage 1 of Meaningful use is associated with the temporary loss of productivity. The entire system of often interrupted with the new changes that come abruptly. For effective implementation in the data sharing processes, there is the need for training and workshops which come at a costs. In other words, there is always a financial barrier for different healthcare facilities in the implementation processes (Zaccagnini, 2019). Also, the lack of effective electronic facilities may prove to be one of the challenges. In most cases, to implement the use of electronic health records, there is the need for an organization to have a functioning technological network, which in most situations, is not the case.
Stage 2
Stage two of meaningful use enhanced or broadens the application of the electronic health record system for health information sharing among the hospitals and the clinical settings. Stage two further integrates the e-prescription as well the lab results and more extensive sharing of the patient care information. Within stage two, individuals seeking the meaningful use of different incentives may have to continue encouraging patients to become more active in their care (Mohamud & the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, 2014). The measurement in the success of stage two of meaningful use is based on the level or rate of information shared within the digital platform (Zaccagnini, 2019). Currently, the increase in the use of electronic systems in sharing the patient data among medical practitioners is one of the main indicators of the success of stage two of meaningful use. Alternatively, stage two introduces new objectives and measures in addition to higher thresholds, a scenario that requires providers to increase the electronic health records abilities to a larger portion of the patient population (Zaccagnini, 2019). The recent changes in the application of the Meaningful Use programs have stage one and two more closely aligned, whereby both are requiring nine core objectives and one public health objective for attestation.
Challenges and Barriers Faced by Facilities in Implementation of Stage 2
In stage two, the implementation or e-prescription and the integration of laboratory results often prove to be a challenge in the sharing of information and data. In some cases, the organization may experience a breach of data privacy and security (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). The system may also come at a cost that may be too expensive for a healthcare organization. The implementation of stage two may sometimes come at a cost due to the requirement in technology and the training processes. However, the adoption of stage two is essential as it will enhance or facilitate the processes of acquiring information among healthcare workers (Zaccagnini, 2019).
Stage 3
Stage three of the meaningful use incorporates the advancing clinical electronic health record practices in stage 2 and perfect them. The main goal of perfecting the electronic health record practices in stage two is to enhance the quality and efficiency of health information exchange, which should then lead to improved healthcare delivery to the patients on a large scale (DeNisco & Barker, 2016). For the hospitals and clinical settings i.e. medical providers, access to the comprehensive patient data and information may become efficient an easier after the implementation of stage three. Successful implantation of stage three may aid in the general improvement of public health, from chronic diseases to flu (Hickey & Brosnan, 2012). The main goal of stage three involves a more collated information network, from the laboratory reports to the immunization systems. The success of stage three is measured in terms of the increase in the use of electronic health records with efficiency and accuracy. Succinctly, the Meaningful Use stage 3 aims at simplifying the program, driving interoperability within different health records, as well as improving patient outcomes. Depending on the current timeline, medical providers were supposed to start applying stage three of Meaningful Use in the year 2017; however, most healthcare settings did not embrace it until the year 2018 (Hickey & Brosnan, 2012).
Challenges and Barriers Faced by Facilities in Implementation of Stage 3
The challenges in stages one and two may impact the implementation process of stage three. Also, there is a need for advancement in the electronic health system records or the EHR (Hickey & Brosnan, 2012). There are cases when healthcare facilities fail to upgrade or provide advanced electronic health record system. In such cases, there may be a lack of full implementation of stage three. On the other hand, just like stage one and two, with the adoption of EHR, there is always a temporary loss in productivity.
Conclusion
The implementation of “Meaningful Use” often take three major stages that involves the incorporation of different approaches and ideas. Usually, the “meaningful way” ensures that health information is exchanged and shared to improve patient care and outcome. According to the Center for Disease Control, there are five major pillars of health outcomes that support the idea or concept of Meaningful Use. Improving care coordination, public health, and engaging families and patients are some of the pillars. Also, improving safety, quality, and efficiency while decreasing health disparities is a component of meaningful use.
References
Hickey, J. V., & Brosnan, C. A. (2012). Evaluation of health care quality in advanced practice nursing. New York, NY: Springer Pub. Co.
DeNisco, S. M., & Barker, A. M. (2016). Advanced practice nursing: Essential knowledge for the profession. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Mohamud, K., & the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. (2014). Electronic health records in Trinidad and Tobago. Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
White, K. (2015). Doctor of nursing practice essentials. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Zaccagnini, M. A. R. Y. (2019). Doctor of nursing practice essentials: A new model for advanced practice nursing. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
