Healthcare Informatics Patient Portals
QUESTION
Assignment Description: PAITNT PORTALS*
Beginning in Module 1 of this course you have been researching a healthcare informatics topic of your choice (Patient Portals). Present the findings in a recorded presentation between 7 and 12 minutes in length. The presentation should include a PowerPoint and oral presentation of the slides. There is no slide number requirement. Answer all questions thoroughly with the allotted time. PowerPoint allows you to record directly to each slide. Be sure to include a title slide, objective slide, content slides, reference slide in APA format. Use the appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Include at least three (3) scholarly sources using APA citations to support your claims. This assignment uses a rubric for scoring. Please review it as part of your assignment preparation and again prior to submission to ensure you have addressed its criteria at the highest level. Use a recording platform of your choice and either upload as an mp4 or share the link directly to the video in the dropbox.
Discuss your topic (Patient Portals) and its relationship to your current (or future) practice. Discuss why the topic is important in healthcare informatics.
What research have you have found on the topic? Describe how each scholarly article relates to the topic and your current (or future) practice. Describe what conclusions you have drawn based on your research of the topic.
What ethical or legal issues does this topic present?
Create a plan for implementing a change (or justify the need for no change). Who needs to be involved? What training programs are needed? Is there a need for on-going training? Discuss how you would evaluate the success of the change (or the continued success of what you are currently doing). What is the cost to implement or maintain this change? Who will be financially responsible? How feasible is this change?
Finally, identify how changes in public policy and technological advances in the future could impact this topic. What would those changes mean to the healthcare industry?
*The following specifications are required for this assignment:
Length: 7 to 12 minute video; answers must thoroughly address the questions in a clear, concise manner
Structure: Include a title slide, objective slide, content slides, reference slide in APA format.
References: Use the appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Include at least three (3) scholarly sources to support your claims.
Format: Save your assignment as an mp4 document (.mp4) or share the link to the recording
Filename: Name your saved file according to your first initial, last name, and the module number (for example, “RHall Module 1.mp4”)
**For this assignment it is a voice recording of certain information, that information that would be spoken will be the speaker notes. I had reached out before hand and i was told that is how the presentation that has voice is completed. Thank you!
Healthcare Informatics Patient Portals
ANSWER
Healthcare Informatics
Rebecca Moitoza
Aspen University
SJL8 – Informatics in Healthcare
Professor Lease RN, MSN/Ed
April 3rd, 20222
Healthcare Informatics
This paper will discuss the Electronic Health Records, also known as the EHR’s and how we as nurses and health care workers use it. As well as positive and negatives with this system and how it relates to our patient care. It will also touch base on our informatics health care book and types of data they identified that we use in our own organization. Plus, discuss the importance of that data and why we feel it is important to track. Lastly, this paper will review our week eight assignment for selecting a topic and reviewing it in a PowerPoint. This paper will briefly touch base on the idea how I came to select it. As well why it is important to me as a nurse and how it relates to informatics theory in our textbook.
Electronic Health Record
“An electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. EHRs are real-time, patient-centered records that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users.” (USA.gov.,2019, p.1). It contains the patients past medical history (PMH), medications they are currently on or were previously, diagnosis, plan of care, laboratory results, diagnostic imaging, immunization records, allergies, and test that were run and the results. Unlike paper charts this can be seen by many other providers and even patients can access certain types.
There are many helpful uses by using the Electronic Health Record but there are patients who complain regarding the focus the health care personal has on the screen. Some patients feel as though health care workers are focusing more on the screen rather than the patients. This can be a problem especially when the system is slow or freezing, which can happen often. We are focused on trying to get the system back up and working and maybe not fully listening to what the patient may be telling us. A lack of computer skills is also part of the problem. It can make it hard for health care workers to learn a new system or updates without any proper training. If there was training for the Electronic Health Records, it could in turn cut down the time spent on focused on the computer and more time with the patient.
Just like any other computer systems there are advantages and disadvantages to it, just like the Electronic Health Record. I believe it overall is an advantage to health care workers and patients. It can help reduce medical errors. It made it possible to look up the medication the patient needs, scan the patient and then the medication. Making sure it is the right patient and medication. It also can help providers and patient’s follow-up on their care they received. They can also communicate through the system making it easier for some patients to get help without having to travel to a facility.
When charting in the Electronic Health Record there are many pages to go through and boxes to click. I do believe this provides us with enough detail to chart in case there was ever a lawsuit or even the oncoming nurse can read about the patient. There are areas in the system where you can adda comment or even a note. As nurses we all know that “if it wasn’t charted it was not done.” one of the first things we learn in nursing school. While preforming patient care in the Emergency Room, any detail or something the patient states or even the provider I chart in down in the “notes” section.
Types of Data Tracked by Organizations
There are currently a handful of data that is being tracked by organizations. They include goal-oriented data, target driven data, and impacted focused data. (Hebda et al, 2019, p.46). One other type of data that is specific to my own practice is Recruitment and Retention Data. Being a travel nurse and having a recruiter that I am frequently in contact with as well as helping them find nurses as well, this is something that we in my group use. This organization can track the number of applications, interviews, number of nurses hired, the interview process, and the outcomes.
I feel as though this data is important to track as it helps organizations and facilities be able to see the positive and negatives. It will help make better outcomes and help nurses make the right decision on a job. It can give other nurses a better understanding on what is the job expectations and help make sure the right person is hired for the job. When hiring nurses in certain positions you want to make sure the right nurse is getting hired, you want to look at experience and if there are any marks on their license. For example, when a job is hiring for a Level One Trauma Center Intensive Care Unit, you want to make sure that nurse is qualified and has the right experience. It can help prevent medical errors and misdiagnosis. This can also help determine the employees who stays at the facilities or leave and the timing for both. Knowing how long employees stay at the facility can help determine if things need improvement. We can see why they left or why they decided to stay there. All of these reasons can help make patient experience better and decrease the likelihood of errors in the patient care. “An engaged employee is more committed and enthusiastic about working for their employer. Such a medical professional can go the extra mile to provide the best patient care possible. On the other hand, a disengaged worker may do the bare minimum, and they won’t hesitate to pursue an opportunity they consider more attractive.” (NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc., 2021, p.2)
An example of an organization that is tracking this data is “Nursing Solutions, inc.” (NSI). “NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc. is a national high-volume nurse recruitment and retention firm. Since 2000, we have successfully recruited U.S. experienced RNs.” (NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc., 2021, p.7). The NSI has collected data from over 3,000 hospitals across the country to survey the healthcare workers turnover, hourly rate, staffing issues, and initiatives the facility offers. They offer categories in each sections and graphs to help make the information easy and clear to all reading. As well as explain the method they use to do each area.
Ethical concerns may arise when an outside organization tracks this data. It may cause ethical issues as in dishonesty and the organization can provide not completely accurate or wrong data. For example, having the organization from an outside source it may not give enough time to interact with the employees to fully see and know the issues. Which in terms is reasons for leaving the facility.
Patient Portals
For our Signature Assignment Project for week 8 we are researching and presenting a healthcare informatics topic. What healthcare informatics means is it uses computers and information sciences to help benefit and advance healthcare and patient care. When we get results from the data collected then we can observe it, then use that to make changes and improve healthcare facilities.
One topic that I was researching on is patient portals. “Patient portals may enhance patient engagement by enabling patients to access their electronic medical records (EMRs) and facilitating secure patient-provider communication.” (Dendere, 2019, p.1). Having patient portals in healthcare systems would be beneficial for all. Not only the patient but the nurses, providers, and patients’ families as well, that is why I feel as though it is important to have. Patients can go in and looks at results, send emails to providers, and request appointments or call backs. Another positive outcome from having patient portals can be they can easily access records if need be. For example, if they need those records to send to a specialist or transferring Primary Care Providers. During this time with COVID not every facility is allowing visitors or have certain hours for having someone in the room with the patient. Having the portal, the family or partner can go on and take a look at the results as well.
One theory for our Informatics Theory textbook that align with my project of patient portals is, Computer Science. This is because computer Science is engineering and technology, and communications. When working with patient portals you will need all of those aspects to have a fully functioning technology. Technology is always changing and updating, so making sure the facility that is using patient portals is up to date on the information will increase the likelihood of it being user friendly and successful.
Conclusion
As we learned in this paper the advantages of Electronic Health Records (EMR) along with the disadvantages of it. We discussed how patients feel towards the computer charting and the time spent with them versus on the computer. We also touched base on types of data that are currently being tracked by organizations. Types of data that I specifically use in my own practice and why I think it is important. Lastly, patient portals were discussed. Why I believe they should be used and informatics and healthcare theory that aligns with it as well.
Reference
Columbia Southern University. (2021). Recruitment and Retention in Health Care. Recruitment and Retention in Health Care. https://www.columbiasouthern.edu/blog/blog-articles/2021/january/recruitment-and-retention-in-healthcare/
Dendere, R., Slade, C., Burton-Jones, A., Sullivan, C., Staib, A., & Janda, M. (2019). Patient Portals Facilitating Engagement With Inpatient Electronic Medical Records: A Systematic Review. Journal of medical Internet research, 21(4), e12779. https://doi.org/10.2196/12779
Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2019). Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (6th ed.). Pearson.
NSI Nursing Solutions, Inc. (2021). 2021 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report. 2021 NSI National Health Care Retention & RN Staffing Report, 2–8. https://www.nsinursingsolutions.com/Documents/Library/NSI_National_Health_Care_Retention_Report.pdf
USA.gov. (2019, September 19). What is an electronic health record (EHR)? HealthIT.Gov. https://www.healthit.gov/faq/what-electronic-health-record-ehr
Yeager, V. A., & Wisniewski, J. M. (2017). Factors That Influence the Recruitment and Retention of Nurses in Public Health Agencies. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 132(5), 556–562. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354917719704
Healthcare Informatics Patient Portals