Consider the following scenario:
The radiologist at your hospital reports to the administrator that 30 patients have been diagnosed with brain tumors during the past 2 months. The administrator requests a report detailing the number of patients diagnosed with brain tumors during the past 6 months. However, the radiology department uses a free-text entry for their diagnoses, and their system does not communicate with the larger electronic health record (EHR) system installed at the hospital. You recognize an opportunity to address challenges with the EHR system in your hospital and decide to also write a proposal for a solution to improve your hospital’s EHR system.
· Based on this scenario, analyze each of the challenges described below that the hospital may need to address:
o Vocabulary standards
o Interoperability
o Workarounds
o Patient safety
o Patient privacy and security when pulling reports
· Reflect on potential solutions to each of the challenges described.
· Research change theories in the Walden Library (or other academic sources) that might assist in your convincing the institution to implement potential solutions.
· The Walden Library recommends the following resources:
o SAGE Knowledge Links to an external site.: a collection of specialized encyclopedias in several subject areas that includes many types of theories.
o Computers and Applied Sciences Complete Links to an external site.: journals covering engineering, computer theory and systems, new technologies, and social and professional contexts.
· Reflect on how an electronic health record system analytic API could help interpret the data found in the scenario.
THE ASSIGNMENT
- Write a proposal for how the hospital in the scenario might overcome each of the following challenges related to the scenario:
- Vocabulary standards
- Interoperability
- Workarounds
- Patient safety
- Patient privacy and security when pulling reports
- Recommend a change theory that might assist in your convincing the hospital administration to implement the EHR solution and improvements you propose. Be specific and provide examples.
- Support your proposal by explaining how the EHR solution might benefit data analysis for the promotion of improved health outcomes.
- Note: The title page, introduction, summary, and references are in addition to the required page count.
Required Readings
- McBride, S., & Tietze, M. (2019). Nursing informatics for the advanced practice nurse: Patient safety, quality, outcomes, and interprofessionalism (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing.
- Chapter 12, “National Standards for Health Information Technology” (pp. 272–295)
- Chapter 14, “Privacy and Security in a Ubiquitous Health Information Technology World” (pp. 332–353)
- Chapter 20, “Health Information Technology and Implications for Patient Safety” (pp. 486–517)
- Chapter 21, “Quality-Improvement Strategies and Essential Tools” (pp. 518–531)
Note: Chapters 12, 14, and 20, which were assigned in the previous week, may be applicable to the Module Assignment and are listed here for review purposes.
- Barrett, A. K., & Stephens, K. K. (2017). Making electronic health records (EHRs) work: Informal talk and workarounds in healthcare organizations Links to an external site.. Health Communication, 32(8), 1004–1013.
- Fry, E., & Shulte, F. (2019, March 18). Death by a thousand clicks Links to an external site.: Where electronic health records went wrong. Fortune. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/longform/medical-records/
- Kroning, M. (2017). 59 clicks in the EHR Links to an external site.. Nursing, 47(12), 1–3.
- Vazirani, A. A., O’Donoghue, O., Brindley, D., & Meinert, E. (2019). Implementing blockchains for efficient health care: Systematic review Links to an external site.. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(2), e12439.
