August 9th, 2011
By Theresa L. Jones, MSEd, RHIA
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), “astechnology the US population ages and becomes more diverse, the social, medical and economic demands on the health and social care systems will grow.” “As such, critical questions remain regarding the best mechanisms for health system organization, delivery, access and healthcare financing (NIST, 2011).”
One viable solution (according to Glenn Laffel, MD, PhD) is “meaningful use.” Of the 25 activities required by providers to meet HITECH financial incentives, the clinical decision support (CDS) feature and the recording of patient demographics in the EHR may influence a reduction in health care disparities. The CDS will “include real-time access to evidence-based guidelines.” Guidelines written by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) include strategies for treatment of the minority population. Collection of demographics will reveal the prevalence of disease by ethnicity (Laffel, 2010).
Other Health IT tools like “EHR systems, e-mail, e-consultation, e-prescribing and CPOE systems” (as stated by NIST) function as connectors among the healthcare team and patients. These channels allow access to clinical information needed in the interest of delivering quality patient care. Adding to this list of Health IT tools includes “telemedicine, remote monitors and sensors, patient e-mail and social media connections.” These tools allow the healthcare team another means of reaching patients and care takers to provide education and support. (NIST, 2011).
Another tool (according to NIST) is smart technology (“remote monitoring via patient sensor”). This technology has the capacity to delivery vital health information (i.e. glucose levels, vital signs, etc.) to an EHR. As a result, it aids in management of disease and the possibilities of enhancing systems structured in the interest of disease prevention.
NIST states that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) advocate the use of technology to improve access, engagement, patient-centered care and the healing relationship to facilitate proper management of chronically ill patients.
Given the aforementioned, the continuous integration of technology into the delivery of healthcare services leads us to embrace an approach that significantly influences the healthcare teams’ ability to provide healthcare service to all walks of life. Worthy to note is how this approach can aid in the movement of preventive care.
Gibbons, M., Lowry, S., Quinn, M., Locke, G., Gallagher, P. (2011), Human Factors Guidance to Prevent Healthcare Disparities with the Adoption of EHRs, http://www.nist.gov/customcf/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=907991
Laffel, G. (2010), Healthcare Disparities and Electronic Health Records (II), EHR Bloggers by Practice Fusion, http://www.practicefusion.com/ehrbloggers/2010//04/healthcare-disparities-and-electronic.html