An electronic health record (EHR) refers to a digital version of patients’ medical records. They give real-time, records that are based on an individual patient, which are made availed securely and instantly to medical practitioners with authorization. It presents different tools that can be used by health care providers to make decisions about a patient’s health (Harvey, 2011).
EHR has several advantages and disadvantages; the advantages include enhancing patient data security and privacy. It also provides up-to-date, accurate and meaningful information on a patient at the point of care. Lastly, it facilitates efficient and coordinated care. For example, patient’s medical records can be accessed whenever needed. On the other hand, the disadvantages include high cost of implementation, because it is not a simple project for a health facility to start. The next disadvantage is the lack of common terminologies. For example, the terminologies will depend on the system designer. Finally, it is hard for the medical providers from different hospitals to synchronize medical records.
mHealth refers to the use of wireless and mobile technology to sustain the achievement of better health. It uses a portable electronic device, which have software application that assist in the provision of health services and manage patients’ medical records or information.
The introduction of new Apps and software in the medical field will change the proactive of medicine in the next five years to a different age and level. Technology is constantly changing, and it will soon change the medical scene (Bamford, 2010). For example in the next five years people will not have to go the hospital for treatment but will just describe symptoms through a system a prescription will be given, and only server cases will be referred to medical facilities for further treatment.
Health information technology (HIT) describes an area of IT, which involves the development, design, creation, maintenance and use of information system in the healthcare facilities. It is designed in order to achieve efficiency, lower the costs, and reduce healthcare provision and services. While Heath Information Management (HIM) refers to a blend of science, business and information technology, which is aimed at processing, managing, analyzing and reporting crucial information to the health care industry (Harvey, 2011). The information is used to help clinical and administrative staff achieve better healthcare provision.
Quality assurance and quality control relate to HIT in many ways. Health information technology provides room for analysis of the information and data before it is used to determine any medical actions, therefore, ensuring both quality assurance and quality control (Bamford, 2010).
Securing patients’ health records involve different activities, which include disaster planning. Disaster planning is a recovery plan that is used in the healthcare system to protect and reinstate healthcare data in the event of natural disaster, system failure, vandalism or fire.
The plan is used as a backup preparation. For example, in case where a hospital is burnt down to the ground and nothing could be salvaged from the inferno; the disaster plan would ensure that the patients’ is available even after the fire (Bamford, 2010).
Finally, meaning use (MU) is defined as the application of electronic health records and other forms of medical technology in a healthcare facility or organization. It is a way that is used by the federal government to give funds to organizations through the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program or the Medicare EHR Incentive Program (Harvey, 2011).
The Meaning Use will affect Healthcare from both the patient and physician standpoints because it is through it that the federal government determines whether the healthcare can get funding or not. When a healthcare is not funded, there will be reduced service provision and the patients will suffer from not having some medication available at the time of treatment. Medical doctors will lack some essential equipment that they use in their daily activities, which will affect their mode of service delivery (Bamford, 2010).
Reference
Bamford, S. (2010) A Case Study of Information Management Effectiveness within the NHS’, Journal of Change Management, Vol: 5, No (4), pp.391-406
Harvey G., (2011). Regulatory Fulfilment: Compliance Plan Development and Realization, (2nd Ed.) New York: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge
