HS420 Advanced Health InformaticsMichele Smith, PharmD, RPh, CPh

Unit OneUnderstanding Health Informatics

Let’s get to know each other…

• What is your healthcare background?

• What do you hope to achieve from this course?

AGENDA

• Syllabus Review• Unit Topics• Looking Ahead• Unit 9 Writing Assignment• Reading Tips• Discussion Tips• Project Tips• Writing Assignment Tips• Lecture• Interactive Discussion• Application to Career• Summary• Questions

Syllabus Review

• My email: MSmith9@kaplan.edu• My AIM: kaplanmsmith9• Textbooks

– Medical Informatics 20/20 (eBook)– Using the EHR

• Weekly Assignments• Grading Rubrics• Late Policy

Unit 1 Topics

• Medical Informatics: Vision for the Future• Problems in Healthcare Quality and

Information System Implementations• Open Solutions

Looking Ahead

• Post your introduction• Read chapter 1 and skim chapters 2 and 3 from

Medical Informatics 20/20– Review the PowerPoint for Unit 1 in DocSharing

• Post in the discussion to discuss the definitions of medical and health informatics

• Complete project using VistA CPRS demo by answering the questions.

• Complete the writing assignment regarding the differing definitions of medical or health informatics

Unit 9 Writing Assignment

Compose a 4 to 5 page paper that focuses on how the changes occurring in healthcare will affect the HIM professional’s career.  The paper should address the topics studied throughout the term.  During each seminar the instructor will discuss how the unit topic applies to the RHIA exam and to your HIM career today and in the future.  A number of AHIMA practice briefs and articles assigned throughout the term discuss the skills required today and in the future for an HIM professional.  The textbook, Medical Informatics 20/20, provides information about the changes occurring in healthcare, culminating in a look at what the future will be like in chapters 14, 15 and 16.

This assignment should follow the conventions of Standard American English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.). Your writing should be well ordered, logical and unified, as well as original and insightful.  The insights included should demonstrate an understanding of how the health informatics skills described in the AHIMA practice briefs and articles relate to the changes in healthcare discussed in the Medical Informatics 20/20 textbook.

 

Your work should display superior content, organization, style, and mechanics.  The project grading rubric from the syllabus will be used to grade the paper.  APA formatting is required for the paper.

Reading Tips

• Read chapter 1• Skim chapters 2 and 3 so you understand

what open solutions are and the role they may play.

• The PowerPoint in DocSharing will help you focus on the important points.

What is an open solution?

• The program and source code is available free

• They may have to spend money having it customized or they may purchase a customized version

VistA as an open solution

• “The costs associated with the acquisition and support of an EHR can be a barrier to improving the quality of health care provided by limiting the availability of timely and accurate access to electronic patient information. Part of the solution is to lower the cost of acquiring an EHR by using a software stack consisting of open-source, free software such as VistA. VistA is public domain and freely available through the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).”

– worldvista.org

Where do you think that open solutions might be useful?

• Interfaces between systems (HL7)• HIE (health information exchange)• Classification systems such as ICD-9 and

ICD-10 are examples of open solutions since anyone can get access to the list of codes with no charge

Discussion Tips

What is medical or health informatics? Search the Internet and find out what other types of informatics exist in healthcare and share one with your classmates, explaining what you learned about it. Why should we study health informatics?•Include citations for your sources.•Don’t use sites like wikipedia or answers.com as a primary source•There are some good Web Resources on the project page under the globe.

Posting Requirements

• Initial post around 150 words and posted no later than Saturday of the current unit

• Two or more responses to my comments or classmates responses that are around 75 words by end of week

• Your postings will be on topic and will advance the discussion

• See grading rubric in syllabus

Project Tips

• You will look at the VistA system since this is discussed quite a bit in our textbook.

• A Word document in DocSharing contains the questions for you to answer.

Writing Assignment Tips

• Search the Internet and find two websites that have a definition of medical informatics or health informatics. Write a one-page synopsis of the information.

• The paper can be double-spaced.• Don’t use sites like Wikipedia or answers.com

as a primary source.• Cite your sources both with the text and in a

reference list.

Lecture

Consumer-Driven Healthcare

• Deliver information and services via mobile devices

• Provide reminders for your checkups• Integrate records from various healthcare

providers• Monitor vital signs and clinical indicators

seamlessly

Continuum of Healthcare

• Web of Care• ePHR• Smart eHomes• Health Robots• Anywhere @ Decision Support• Wearable Biosensors• Implantable eCare• NanoCare

What is Medical Informatics?

• The applied science at the nexus of the disciplines of medicine, business, consumer centered care, and information technology, which is instrumental for significant and measurable improvements in both healthcare quality and cost-effectiveness.

Current Challenges

• Epidemic of medical errors• Not diagnosing and treating with the latest

medical knowledge• Poor vital health statistic performance• High failure rates in the implementation of

health information technology solutions• Partial, fragmented medical records

Quality Healthcare (COSI)

• Collaboration• Open Solutions• Innovation

Tactical Areas in Collaboration

• Leadership and Open Collaboration Leadership

• Public-Private Collaboration• Knowledge Management

Open Solutions Tactical Areas

• Open Standards• Free and Open-Source Software• Technology Transfer• Open Systems

Open Solution Efforts

• Open EHR Foundation• Canada Health Infoway• FreeMED Software Foundation• VistA Software Alliance• WorldVistA

Innovation Tactical Areas

• Innovation Methodologies• Process Improvement• Applied Knowledge

Let’s Review!

What is Informatics?

What is Informatics?

• The use of computers to manage data and information that supports healthcare practices.

• The application of information science to the management of healthcare data and information through computer technology

Why is informatics important to an HIM professional?

Why is Informatics important to an HIM professional?

• Our jobs are impacted when an EHR is implemented.

• We are the health record data experts. We are involved in some manner in every piece of data in a health record.

• We are the legal health record experts.• We are normally the record custodians.• We MUST have a seat at the table when

selecting and implementing an EHR!

How can healthcare informatics benefit an organization?

How can healthcare informatics benefit an organization?

• Improve quality of care• Improve quality of data available to make

healthcare decisions

Why might a facility be reluctant to implement an EHR?

How can this reluctance be overcome?

Why should we try to overcome it?

Reluctance to Implement an EHR

• Some people haven’t worked with computer much and are uncomfortable with them.

• They may have had bad experiences with information system implementations that were not adequately supported by the technical infrastructure and so there was an excessive amount of downtime, interfering with patient care.

If we have worked in healthcare very long, we have experienced poor system implementations or implementation failures.

What impact does this experience have on an organization?

How can the study and practice of informatics improve this experience?

Implementation Failures

• Impact:– Reluctant to implement a full EHR– Lack of trust in the Information Systems staff

• Study and Practice of Informatics:– Know the questions to ask the technical staff and

improve collaboration– Understand the important features of an

Information System– Be familiar with proven procedures to help an

implementation be successful

Our textbook (Medical Informatics 20/20) talks a lot about collaboration and consumer-driven healthcare.

Why are these concepts important?

Consumer Driven Healthcare and Collaboration

• If consumers are involved in their care we:– Decrease the likelihood of medical errors– Improve compliance with medical treatment

• Collaboration:– By including experts in different areas in

information system implementations, we are less likely to miss something important

How does this apply to my career?

• If you are not already working with an EHR and Informatics concepts, most likely you will be soon.

• There are new regulations being implemented as a result of ARRA that will require an increase in electronic data exchange (meaningful use).

• Some areas of the country have implemented portions of an HIE or RHIO and more are looking at it.

Summary

• Be able to define Medical or Healthcare Informatics.

• Understand how Information Systems can help solve problems with quality of care.

• Understand the role that open solutions have had in the past and the value they may hold for the future.

QUESTIONS???