...technologies to enhance and extend care and case management to facilitate access to care and improve the health of designated individuals and populations with the specific intent of providing the right care in the right place at the right time.” (Barr, McElnay, & Hughes, 2010) Telehealth services can offer timely and cost effective alternative means to healthcare for a patient, but nurses need to be aware of the less visible potential effects of providing nursing care, thus needing to more specific and more focused in their patient assessment. While telehealth has the potential to offer patients and nurses easier access to each other, privacy and ethical concerns are now more prevalent when it comes to the use of telehealth. (Hebda & Czar, 2013) Properly secured communications are a must-have in the telehealth industry. Advantages and Disadvantages While most people think that telehealth is a more recent venture based on current technology, it actually originated in 1980 when the United States Government ”played a major role in development and promotion of teleheath through various agencies” (Hebda & Czar, 2013)When government funding decreased, interest in telehealth subsided until the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Act of 1991 renewed interest with the help of the internet by bringing it to more rural areas. In 1988 and 2010, NASA was able to use telehealth to provide consultations for earthquake victims in Armenia and Haiti. The US military often...
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...Telenursing: The Way of the Future for Nursing Paula Heser, RN Chamberlain College of Nursing NR361: RN Info Systems in Healthcare Fall 2015 Telenursing: The Way of the Future for Nursing “The concept of Telehealth is not really new. When humans first began space exploration in the 1960s, astronauts’ health was monitored by transmitting physiologic parameters back to physicians on earth” (Stokowski, 2013). “Telehealth is the use of telecommunications technologies ad electronic information to exchange healthcare information and to provide and support service such as long distance clinical healthcare to clients” (Hebda &Czar, 2013). Telenursing is a new and exciting way of nursing that is innovative and shows the potential for growth in the ever-changing world of technology. Hebda & Czar defines Telenursing as the use of telecommunication and IT for the delivery of nursing services. An important role of the nurse is to completed the nursing process; assess, diagnosis, plan, implement and evaluate. In telenursing, a nurse conducts their patient centered care in the same way. As stated in Healthy People 2020, in addition, despite increased access to technology, other forms of communication are essential to ensuring that everyone, including non-Web users, is able to obtain, process, and understand health information to make good health decisions. Buy using telenursing, the nurse can assess and monitor the patient then advise and educate the patient and send...
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...Greetings all, HITECH stands for Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. HITECH is the “portion of ARRA that amended HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules and provided funds and incentives to increase the use of electronic health records by physicians and hospitals who meet eligibility criteria for Meaningful Use.” (Hebda & Czar, p. 581, 2013) There is a major significance for Meaningful Use. Meaningful Use “was created by both the Health Information Technology Policy and Standard Committees to determine how organizations would receive reimbursement for their implementation.” (Hebda & Czar, p. 154, 2013) The 7 strategies in HITECH readiness are important to the productivity of the electronic health records. The seven strategies are “Build HITECH awareness, Invest in a transformation infrastructure, Build clinical informatics expertise, Develop a business intelligence strategy, Invest in physician business services infrastructure, Explore a medical trading area health information exchange, and Design an e-strategy for engaging patients.” (Ariotto, 2010) The 3 strategies that I believe will be important to my profession will be Build HITECH awareness, Build clinical informatics expertise, and develop a business intelligence strategy. Building the awareness will be important for the advancement of electronic health records. This advancement will improve quality of care for the patients. When building awareness, you also need to build expertise in that area...
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...Abstract Patients are our primary customers. It is therefore important to measure their health care expectations and strive to meet those expectations 100% of the time. When a patient’s expectations are not reasonable, it becomes imperative to educate so that, over time, reasonable expectations are achieved. Often, perceived medical outcomes are poorly defined and arise from experiences from family and friends. Therefore, an opportunity exists to set the expectation of medical care and subsequent outcomes through education. Patient satisfaction has shown to relate directly to how well the health care team has informed the patient and family of the disease process and its treatment and whether they were allowed to participate in treatment decisions. For quality improvement strategies, health care professionals strive constantly in improving and developing the standards of care. They meet the challenges required of health care providers to be effective leaders who foster a culture and develop partnerships that embrace innovation. Quality delivery As consumer expectations rise, patient care becomes more complex, while resources shrink, leaving hospitals to find extraordinary means to define, organize, and staff quality assurance functions. Improving quality requires a unified hospital consensus about what quality means, who is responsible for it, and how to communicate those quality issues across the institution. Adaptation of a quality management method to organize...
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...Evolving Practice of Nursing and Patient Care Delivery Models The Speech Hello, my fello nurses. Thank you for being here at the Summit of Nursing Evolution. My name is Chhay Yann-Ly and I am a nurse. We are living in an era where the United States (US) health care system is going through tremendous changes and challenges, with sky-rocketing health care costs, fragmented and poor quality of care, high volume of aging population, and passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2010. A summary of the PPACA is basically to improve the health care delivery system, expand coverage, and control cost (Democratics Senate Gov/Reform, n. d.). With these changes, comes the evolutionary nursing professional transformation process. This speech is a crash course on the evolving practice of nursing and patient care delivery models. The goal of this speech is to discuss the continuity or continuum of care in relation to accountable care organizations, medical homes, and nurse-managed clinics health care models. Since nursing is the backbone of health care, all of these care delivery models require a robust nursing contribution for success (American Nurses Association (ANA), 2010). The first model is the accountable care organizations (ACO). ACOs is a “shared savings” with Medicare (part A & B). The ACO, according to the ANA (2010), is “a collaboration among primary care clinicians, a hospital, specialists and other health professionals who accept joint responsibility...
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...Reimbursement and Pay for Performance University of Phoenix Lori Stemen October 28, 2013 Reimbursement and Pay-for-Performance The United States has gone through some dramatic changes over the last forty years and currently we are in the middle of some additional changes with the Affordable Care Act. Pay-for-performance is intended to improve the efficiency, quality, and the overall worth of health care. The expectation is that these changes will provide to physicians, hospitals and other health care providers with financial incentives to finance improvements and accomplish improved results for the patient. There are positive and negative affects of the pay-for-performance programs, although we can’t predict the future and the outcome of these initiatives, the health care system will definitely feel the pressure to perform with respect to outcome accountability. With the continuous changes of government regulations the pressure to provide reliable high quality health care will increase. Pay-for-performance is the newest regulatory effort in health the insurance industry. Health care providers who participate with the insurance carrier are compensated for meeting pre-set goals for how they deliver health care services. This is an important modification from the fee for service method of payment. Pay-for-performance has been well liked by politicians as well as, Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies. The Affordable Care Act increases the usage of...
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...Health Care Organizational Report Health care has been a buzzing topic in the news since the re-election of President Barack Obama. The new changes known as Obamacare states that in 2014, all citizens must be insured, one way or the other. This policy rolled out on October 2, 2013. Today, citizens are urged to log in and search for a health care insurance plan. Although there is much speculation about the pros and cons of this policy, Americans waited in line, made calls, and logged into the health care gov site only to face glitches and delays. There are key factors that have affected Kaiser Permanente internally. These factors have promoted changes in the financial departments, Research and development, Marketing, and the Customer Service Care Center. The external factors that affect Kaiser. First, let’s examine how Kaiser Permanente started. History Kaiser Permanente was founded in 1945. Kaiser Permanente headquartered in Oakland, CA. In accordance with KP.Org, Kaiser is now one of the largest not-for-profit health care plans, with over 9.1 million members. In today’s health care systems even individuals with insurance only get the right care about half the time. (McGlynn, E.A. (2003) Members of Kaiser Permanente receive quality care from Kaiser’s medical groups. The vision is to provide high-quality care, to be a leader in total health by making lives better (www.kporg.newsletter). The mission of Kaiser is to provide high quality affordable health care services to improve...
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...Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Federal Health Information Technology Strategic Plan 2011 – 2015 Table of Contents Introduction Federal Health IT Vision and Mission Federal Health IT Principles Goal I: Achieve Adoption and Information Exchange through Meaningful Use of Health IT Goal II: Improve Care, Improve Population Health, and Reduce Health Care Costs through the Use of Health IT Goal III: Inspire Confidence and Trust in Health IT Goal IV: Empower Individuals with Health IT to Improve their Health and the Health Care System Appendix A: Performance Measures Appendix B: Programs, Initiatives, and Federal Engagement Appendix C: HIT Standards and HIT Policy Committees Information Flow Appendix E: Statutes and Regulations Appendix F: Goals, Objectives, and Strategies Appendix G: Acronyms ONC Acknowledgements Notes 3 6 7 8 21 28 36 49 51 65 67 70 74 77 77 78 Goal V: Achieve Rapid Learning and Technological Advancement 43 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 3 Introduction he technologies collectively known as health information technology (health IT) share a common attribute: they enable the secure collection and exchange of vast amounts of health data about individuals. The collection and movement of this data will power the health care of the future. Health IT has the potential to empower individuals and increase transparency; enhance the ability to study care delivery and payment systems; and ultimately achieve...
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...According to Queensland Health (2012) health services that are initiated, controlled and operated by the indigenous community have the potential to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accessing the appropriate available services. Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHO) such as Aboriginal Torres Strait Islanders Community Health Services Mackay (ATSICHS) provides holistic and culturally appropriate care. This highlights that access to health services, may be affected by a variety of socioeconomic factors, such as low income, unemployment, second-rate housing and also socio-political factors like forced removal from land and/or family. These factors need be addressed to achieve continuous improvement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders health status. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care services offer clinical care, screening programs, a wide range of preventative health care activities, health-related and/or community supported activities. Queensland Health (2010) focuses on the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, which acknowledges the significant gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Queenslanders (approximately 10.4 years for males and 8.9 years for females). Community involvement is a founding principle of the World Health Organisation (WHO) 1978 Alma-Ata primary health care declaration (WHO, 2013). A significant reason for community...
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...Murphy and Dr Paul Kavanagh, Head of Professional Competence at the Medical Council, explain the implications for health managers. Healthcare is changing. A generation ago, a doctor could complete training equipped with the knowledge and skills to remain fit-for-purpose throughout their career. Developments such as the internet now make it easier for doctors to access ever-accumulating bodies of knowledge from all over the globe which they can use to continually improve patient care. Similarly, patients’ expectations have changed as a result of being able to access an abundance of information about healthcare online. This progression in the doctor-patient relationship has created a need for transparent arrangements to help assure the public that doctors are keeping up-to-date and are committed to lifelong learning and skills development. Prof. Kieran C Murphy In May, the Medical Council will launch new professional competence schemes, which will be operated by Postgraduate Training Bodies. Registered medical practitioners will be subject to a statutory obligation to maintain professional competence. Health service managers will need to take cognisance that, for employed doctors, their employer will have a legal duty to facilitate the maintenance of professional competence. This development will positively impact the quality and safety of healthcare. The Medical Council consulted with a range of stakeholders including doctors and the public on the new professional competence schemes...
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...community based, socially responsible and resource conscientious approach to the delivery of wellness within a specific population by a Registered Nurse. The Texas Department of Health’s (April 12, 2011) echoes this concept in their vision statement embracing illness prevention and public health promotion. The focus on the greater-good of the population, as described by Sidorov and Romney (2011, p. 17), does not discount the individual. Indeed, public health promotion and protection may actually advance patient self-care. With a strong community health system, the individual is better able to work within that system to improve their own health status, self-intervene early with many a health exacerbation, and rely on efficient and effective healthcare options (Sidorov & Romney, 2011, p. 17). Examples of Essential Public Health Service Each group member presented very personal accounts of public health services they were exposed to and shared those experiences with the group. Identification of Core Public Health Functions (Assessment, Policy Development, Assurance) The Institute of Medicine (IOM) identified three core functions of public health: assessment,...
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...experience and hands on skill in the high – level care of patients, the competent support of clinical operations, and the cost- effective management of healthcare operations. In addition to exceptional nursing expertise, I’m also acknowledged for being resourceful, adaptable, and self- directed with the ability to handle even the most challenging situations as a result of well developed communication skills and organization capabilities. Recognized as a competent healthcare professional who knows how to develop and maintain excellent working relationships with physicians, staff, and patients, I am also a hands- on manger and critical thinker who can quickly learn new systems, devolving expertise, and produce significant contributions. My main professional objective are protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations To that end, I am now seeking to align my experience and my skills with an organization that is looking for talented nurses that know how to deliver outstanding patient care. I have enclosed my resume for your review. Some of the key strengths I can offer include: Proficient in all areas of nursing care and healthcare delivery with an emphasis on quality medical care and positive human interaction. Exceptional managerial, interpersonal, and communication skills...
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...Health care administrators are the core of every health care facility. Healthcare administrators focus on the ins-and-outs that make the functioning of every health care facility run smoothly. Health administrators must have organization skills and a strong background in both healthcare and management. The must be driven, organized and knowledgeable in the health care field. Health care administrators monitor all aspects of a health care organization. They plan, coordinate, direct and supervise the delivery of health care in the organization. With out Administrators, it would be difficult to maintain a smooth running health care organization without someone monitoring the rules and regulations that should be followed on a daily basis. As a Health Care Administrator, there are many challenges that are faced every day and becoming and Administrator is my goal after graduating. Health Care Administrators manages and directs health care facilities and hospitals. Depending on the type of organization, size and facility that is being run, their duties vary. There role is vital in health care organizations with managing, directing, planning, materials management, personnel administration, financial administration and public affair roles. Administrators have other challenges such as recruiting and retention of health care professionals as well as dealing with trends in the workforce. They deal with retention and staffing issues, shortage of staff and staff turnovers. Their duties...
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...Lauren Greenberg HCS/440 January 17, 2013 Eric Oestmann, PhD, PT Health Care Spending In 2010, health care spending, or health expenditures in the United States neared $2.6 trillion. That is more than ten times the $256 billion that was spent in 1980. In recent years, the growth rate of spending on health care has decreased in relation to the growth rate during the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, it is still predicted to increase more rapidly than the national income over the foreseeable future. Addressing this pressing concern has been, and continues to be a major policy priority. Mainly because the United States has been experiencing a significant recession for much of the past decade. This economic recession has resulted in higher unemployment rates and lower income rates for much of the American population. These tough economic conditions have helped to focus even more attention on health spending and affordability in this country. From 2012 to 2012, employer-sponsored health coverage for family premiums has increased by 97 percent. This has been the cause of increasing financial burdens on both employers and employees. In the public sector, Medicare covers the elderly and people with disabilities, and Medicaid provides coverage to low-income families. Enrollment for these programs has grown tremendously in both Medicare, with the aging of the baby boomers, and in Medicaid due to the recession. This means that the total amount of government spending...
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...Organizational Performance Management Each organization within the Health care industry is trying to serve all of its stakeholders in the best possible way. Health care organizations share similar functions and regulatory requirements that help guide them in the right direction to succeed. The struggle with these requirements is the demand it takes to make sure they are hitting each performance level and that everything is within compliance so that the quality of care is met. The best tool is communication, and the key component of the process an organization has adopted to maintain compliance, meet standards, and regulatory requirements, and maintain the company's vision and mission. These five organizations that we have chosen share many similarities and yet there are differences among the five types of organizations chosen; home health, pediatric specialty clinics, Coumadin clinics, cancer treatment centers of America, and nursing homes. These differences and similarities are what help each organization or company run smoothly and meet goals of safety throughout the organization. They do this by monitoring, improving, and communicating to meet the regulatory and compliance requirements. Within the five organizations take two and look at how they are similar and different. The difference between home health care and nursing homes are that one may require a higher level of care deemed necessary by the doctors. Home health care has a doctor encouragement to let the patients...
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