Define the function of health records. How are they used in hospital, clinical and human service settings?
Among the changes that have infiltrated the healthcare system is the adoption and use of health records. Health records can be described as the electronic and systematic collection and storage of data of patients and populations over and across time in a digitalized format (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). The collected and stored information replaces the traditional storage of data in paper format which has essentially proved difficult to manage, update and retrieve. The electronic storage of information offers timely and easy retrieval as well as sharing of the data across healthcare facilities and government agencies as well as insurance companies to help in the dispensation of services are stipulated (Menachemi & Collum, 2011).
Identify and demonstrate three ways in which regulatory constraints impact health and human service organizations.
The collection and storage of data has been enhanced by the new technologies. The general expectation is that this information should be shared and utilized in the stipulated manner and for purposes only approved by law and those that do not infringe on the privacy and confidentiality of the patient. However, there have been several barriers and hindrances to this expectation most of which are related to regulatory constraints. Among the major constraints include the limitation that the collected information should only be used for purposes approved by the client and should not be shared without the approval and consent of the client (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). This has led to a situation where data duplication for the same individual occurs across each organization. Secondly, the same laws and regulations have limited the sharing of information such that organizations are only willing to share the ‘read-only’ copies of data as opposed to editable data records (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). On the other hand, with the regulatory bodies demanding the efficient transmission of the data, technology vendors have become powerful and in their bid to earn more, they are willing to pit organizations against each other to help create a level of competition for their products (Menachemi & Collum, 2011).
Describe, in your own words, the impact that the electronic exchange of health information has on health care providers, insurance companies, and society.
The emergence of the healthcare technologies and their application within the exchange of health information has come as a blessing to the sector and its benefits far outweigh any potential loopholes and the current overheads. On one hand, at a time when the cost of care stands out as a vital determinant of patient outcomes, and as the authorities seek to optimize the utilization of resources, healthcare records have enhanced transparency and accountability (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). For instance an audit of the reimbursements to each healthcare facility can be accounted and the services offered for the same reimbursements retrieved. For healthcare providers, the easy storage and retrieval of data has helped optimize the labor that could have otherwise been used to work manually in such circumstances (Menachemi & Collum, 2011). At the social level, the availability of primary data has significantly enhanced the research sector since the costs of data collection which is essentially the most difficult aspects of research has been solved in a rather indirect aspect (Menachemi & Collum, 2011).
References
Menachemi, N., & Collum, T. H. (2011). Benefits and drawbacks of electronic health record systems. Risk Manag Healthc Policy, 4, 47-55.
