The meaningful use of HIT (Health Information Technology) is to improve the safety, quality, efficiency, and reduce health disparities. The changes in medical care have changed drastically since this inception. The HIT allows for all of the patient data to be located in the provider network for proper diagnosing procedures.
The benefits of widespread HIT can bring to the healthcare system are to enable faster access to patient records to improve patient care. Having a secure electronic information system with patients and other clinicians in the more effective diagnosing of patients. Since the HIT has been around for an awhile the research contained in them is starting to help researchers gather meaningful data.
The benefits are negated once the data is not correct. The input of correct information leads to correct information being provided to all users of the system. With this issue on the side the HIT gives the payers a large amount of data with which to appropriate payment to the hospital and physicians providing front line care. Quicker and accurate payment processing aids in the continuation of healthcare services in each area.
The ARRA and the HITECH Act promote the use of HIT The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Since they are related programs they combined to enhance the development of health care information technology. Accelerating the adoption of electronic health record EHR systems among providers is one of the combined goals.
This Act has increased patient access to healthcare as the storing of data electronically allows providers to Categories of HIT applications save the expenses that is involved in paper transactions. The cost savings are derived from on input of data that is transmitted into the patient record and then transmitted to many service providers. This completely eliminates the redundant input of information at each point of the process from the patent complaint to the payment to the providers. Of course, the data has to be accurate or else everyone gets bad data. The individual does however have the ability to check the data throughout the process and have corrected any information that is incorrect.
Categories of HIT applications are:
Care management software documents and allows for nurses to indicate the patients progress, medications, schedules and other pertinent information.
Data Warehouse solutions-the necessary information for the collection of the health data from all of the various feeder systems is consolidated into the warehouse. Often additional storage is off site.
Electronic Health Records contains information about individual patients. The medical records of the physician, diagnostic testing, and all notes of professionals
Payer Based Records claims for services from patient services and healthcare transactions. They can contain provider information, payment data, and diagnostic and lab payments. PBR's contain the most information of all the apps so far.
Personal Health Record- a patient set of data concerning medical encounters with a health care professional. As a matter of confidentiality the patient allows or denies access to any of the information.
