Thursday, July 9, 2015

Blog Journal Entry #1

Meesha Carey- Module 1
3 Technology Trends Transforming Health Care. By Mahek Shah, MD (2015). Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/athenahealth/2015/04/13/3-technology-trends-transforming-health-care/ 

Why was this article, blog, post, or multimedia chosen?

This article was chosen because it discusses the many changes in the health care industry and some technology trends underlying many of the change occurring. It discusses the demands of access and portability of information, adoption of Electronic Health Record (HER) and how data analytics gives insight into revising, improving and streamlining workflows in order to reduce costs to an organization.

What makes it interesting, appropriate, or reputable?

The article is interesting and appropriate because it discusses current issues in the healthcare industry. Organizations are losing money each year due to patients being rehospitalized soon after being discharged from a facility. The use of technology has been used to help with some of the issues related to these rehospitalizations. The article is reputable because it was written by a MD, it is posted on the Forbes website, which is a pretty reliable source and it was written this year so the information is current and applicable to current health care concerns.

Is it an opinion? Case study? Research study? Product review?

The article was written based on Dr Shah’s experience and knowledge of healthcare trends.

What was the need, problem, issue or trend addressed in the article, blog, post, or multimedia?

The issue in this article was the pace at which the health care industry is changing as well as trying to keep up with these changes with the use of technology. The growing demand for greater access to health information was also a problem. The trend of cloud-based EHR adoption is expected to grow as it is more adaptable and flexible for the consumers and health care providers. Another issue identified is that traditional software implementations aren’t capable of providing real-time updates like with cloud-based EHRs.

What was the solution for which technology had an answer?

The solution was adopting cloud-based HER. It is stated that some cloud-based HER providers wrap ancillary business and information services around their software in order to allow doctors to focus more on practicing medicine and improving quality of life for their patients. Another solution is to have data analysts to provide valuable insights in operations at the point of care.  

What implications might this have in healthcare delivery?
The implications in healthcare are to reduce organizational costs, improve patient access to and portability of information, improve quality of care and reduce rehospitalizations.

What did you learn from it that might have application for your practice?

The biggest lesson to learn from this article is that as health care professionals we need to keep aware of changes in the industry and be adaptably to those changes. In my practice in home care we rely on electronic documentation to help us provide safe, effective, quality patient care as well as to evaluate our outcomes. Staying abreast of new technology trends will be beneficial to the success of my practice.


4 comments:

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  2. An interesting article, and certainly validates our existences in nursing informatics, this field has such a growth opportunities.
    For me, one of the largest drivers towards our innovation needs will be the payer systems migrating more and more toward the value based reimbursement models. The high volume chronic illnesses being tackled with the goal of improving outcomes, getting patient's and caregivers engaged, and providing clinicians the tools needed for quality and efficient care in all settings is paramount.

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  3. Meesha and Kim

    There are a number of innovations and trends in healthcare but I would agree that engaging the right people in the right way at the right time as Kim has noted is one of the more pressing issues...Shah (2015) points out that he reflects on the data provided by the device he uses ... in the early days of process improvement, control charts were suggested as a way to empower patients to monitor specific parameters like blood sugar...I still see physicians reluctant to encourage diabetic patients to monitor their blood sugars if they are Type II diabetics...this amazes me because I know have almost 10 years of FSBS data and am able to adjust food and exercise more easily...I am now adding data from a pedometer to the collection (I am such a couch potato) to see what happens as I try to increase my activity...

    Donna

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    1. You have a good example of DIKW continuum at its core...I can't wait to see where innovation takes us 5...10 years from now. Although there is plenty of ground work for us to do related health literacy and computer literacy with our patients. One of things I like about this field are all the moving parts of the DIKW, IT, evidence based practice, and business strategies.

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