CASE Study: Chapter 19..
Last month you were hired with the title Chief Health InformaticsSpecialist at an independent community care hospital with 350 beds. The hospital includes a comprehensive outpatient clinic, a rehabilitation center with both impatient and outpatient services a cardiac care center, and an emergency room. In addition, four family health centers are located throughout the community. More than 930 primary care and specialty physicians are associated with the hospital, which has a staff of just over 2000 employees. The hospital is moving ahead with installing an HER system following the Meaningful Use criteria.
The hospital has a working relationship with a major academic medical center located 23 miles aay. Acute care patients who need more extensive treatment are usually transferred to the medical center. These are often emergency situations and data are freely shared between institutions with the best interests of the patient in mind.
Located directly beside the hospital is a 194-bed skilled nursing home. While the nursing home has its own medical staff consisting of a physician and two nurse practitioners, patients needing consults or additional care are usually seen at the hospital with follow-up at physician’s offices. While the nursing home, most of the physicians’ offices, and the hospital are independent institutions there is a long history of sharing health relate data when treating patients who live at the nursing home and are seen at the hospital or in the physicians’ offices. This coordination has been a general benefit for a number of patients. It appears that most patients have signed a form giving the hospital permission to send information to the nursing homes. However, these forms have been stored in individual offices so it is difficult to determine who has signed what forms and what permission has or has not been given to share information between the nursing home, hospital and independent medical practices.
Chapter 19
- Describe: What additional information is needed to clarify what problems may exist, and what changes may be needed in terms of shared data between the institutions?
- Examine: Can the EHR system currently being installed be used to share data between these institutions more effectively and securely? If yes, how would this be done?
- Compile: In your position as Chief Health Informatics Specialist, how would you go about determining whether there are other potential security issues that now need to be managed by the hospital?
Case Study Chapter 21
A tertiary care center in the western U.S. has an installed base of electronic health records supported by Cerner Corporation for inpatient areas and by EPIC for outpatient areas. Other technology includes a suite of about 300 different applications supported by the IT department. The current environment, while including robust capabilities such as computerized provider order entry, is siloed with information. Healthcare providers complain that they have difficulty obtaining the big picture of the patient across systems and they have to remember information located in disparatesystems. They are burdened with integrating information themselves. Not only is this time consuming, it is potentially prone to error. Providers have developed numerous work-arounds to the different systems in ambulatory and inpatient areas, including shadow files for patients they see frequently. Nurses complain that they have to jump around the inpatient system to find information they need for activities such as patient hand-offs.
The organization responds by developing a vision for the future that centered on the concept of knowledge management (KM). This concept is defined as the systematic process of identifying, capturing, and transferring information and knowledge that people can use to create, compete (with other organizations), and improve. A crucial aspect of KM is improving the user experience. As the leaders in the organization begin to address KM and improve the user experience, they are employing the same tactics described in this chapter
Chapter 21
- Describe: Assume you are the leader of the KM effort. Where would you start to improve the user experience?
- Examine: Pharmacists supporting the ICUs are asking for your help to improve their situation (their user experience) because they are forced to use nonintegrated systems. What methods would you use to examine the issue?
- Compile: The institution is in the process of purchasing new physiologic monitors for their step-down unit. Describe how usability should be incorporated as part of the purchasing process. Design a brief usability test to support the purchasing process.
How to solve
Describe: What additional information is needed to clarify what problems may exist, and what changes Nursing Assignment Help
Introduction:
As the Chief Health Informatics Specialist at an independent community care hospital, it is important to ensure effective sharing of data between different healthcare institutions and improve the user experience for healthcare providers. In this role, additional information is needed to clarify any existing problems and determine the necessary changes in terms of shared data between the institutions. The EHR system being installed should also be evaluated for its ability to securely share data. Additionally, potential security issues need to be identified and managed by the hospital. The second case study focuses on improving the user experience in a healthcare organization by implementing knowledge management (KM) principles. As the leader of the KM effort, steps must be taken to enhance the user experience and address specific issues faced by pharmacists and the purchasing process for new physiologic monitors.
Case Study: Chapter 19
1. Describe: What additional information is needed to clarify what problems may exist, and what changes may be needed in terms of shared data between the institutions?
To clarify the problems that may exist and identify necessary changes in terms of shared data, the following additional information is needed:
a) The extent of the data sharing between the nursing home, hospital, and independent medical practices.
b) The specific types of data being shared between the institutions.
c) The frequency and method of data sharing.
d) The limitations or challenges faced in the current process of sharing data.
e) The privacy and consent protocols followed for sharing data.
f) The efficiency and security of the existing communication channels between the institutions.
g) The potential legal and regulatory requirements relevant to data sharing.
h) The specific goals or objectives the hospital aims to achieve through improved data sharing.
2. Examine: Can the EHR system currently being installed be used to share data between these institutions more effectively and securely? If yes, how would this be done?
Yes, the EHR system being installed can be utilized to share data between these institutions in a more effective and secure manner. The following steps can be taken to achieve this:
a) Ensure interoperability: The EHR system must be designed to seamlessly exchange data between different healthcare institutions by adhering to standardized protocols and formats.
b) Implement secure data transmission: Utilize encryption and secure data transfer methods to protect patient information during transmission.
c) Establish data sharing agreements: Develop clear guidelines and agreements that outline the scope, purpose, and consent requirements for data sharing between the institutions.
d) Set access control policies: Define access levels and permissions to ensure that only authorized individuals can view and modify shared data.
e) Conduct comprehensive training: Train healthcare providers on the proper use of the EHR system to foster effective and secure data sharing practices.
f) Regularly monitor and update: Continuously assess the performance and security of the EHR system, applying updates and enhancements as needed to optimize data sharing capabilities.
3. Compile: In your position as Chief Health Informatics Specialist, how would you go about determining whether there are other potential security issues that now need to be managed by the hospital?
To identify potential security issues that need to be managed by the hospital, the following approaches can be taken:
a) Conduct a comprehensive security assessment: Perform a thorough evaluation of the hospital’s existing information systems, networks, and processes to identify vulnerabilities and potential risks.
b) Review industry best practices: Stay updated with the latest security standards and guidelines established by healthcare regulatory bodies and professional associations.
c) Engage in regular security audits: Conduct periodic audits to assess the effectiveness and compliance of security measures implemented within the hospital.
d) Collaborate with IT and cybersecurity professionals: Work closely with IT and cybersecurity experts to gain insights into emerging threats and strategies for mitigating them.
e) Educate and train staff: Provide ongoing training sessions to raise awareness about cybersecurity risks and teach employees best practices for data protection.
Case Study: Chapter 21
1. Describe: Assume you are the leader of the KM effort. Where would you start to improve the user experience?
As the leader of the KM effort, the first step to improve the user experience would be to:
a) Conduct a thorough needs assessment: Identify the specific pain points and challenges faced by healthcare providers due to the lack of integration in information systems.
b) Engage end-users: Collaborate with healthcare providers to gather their feedback, suggestions, and requirements for an integrated system.
c) Review existing workflows: Analyze the current workflows and processes to identify areas where improvements can be made through knowledge management initiatives.
d) Define goals and objectives: Clearly articulate the desired outcomes and benefits that an integrated information system would bring to enhance the user experience.
e) Establish a cross-functional team: Assemble a team of experts from different departments to collaboratively design and implement the changes necessary for a seamless user experience.
f) Implement change management strategies: Develop a comprehensive plan for managing the transition to an integrated system, addressing potential resistance and ensuring smooth adoption by end-users.
2. Examine: Pharmacists supporting the ICUs are asking for your help to improve their situation (their user experience) because they are forced to use non-integrated systems. What methods would you use to examine the issue?
To examine the issue faced by pharmacists supporting the ICUs, the following methods can be used:
a) Shadowing and observations: Observe the pharmacists in their daily activities to gain firsthand insights into their workflows, pain points, and challenges related to non-integrated systems.
b) Conduct interviews and focus groups: Engage pharmacists in structured interviews and focus groups to gather their feedback, opinions, and suggestions for improving their user experience.
c) Analyze existing data and metrics: Review existing data on medication errors, delays, and inefficiencies to identify areas where non-integrated systems contribute to the problem.
d) Utilize surveys and questionnaires: Administer surveys and questionnaires to pharmacists to gather quantitative and qualitative data on their experiences and perceptions of using non-integrated systems.
3. Compile: The institution is in the process of purchasing new physiologic monitors for their step-down unit. Describe how usability should be incorporated as part of the purchasing process. Design a brief usability test to support the purchasing process.
To incorporate usability as part of the purchasing process for new physiologic monitors, the following steps can be taken:
a) Define usability requirements: Clearly outline the specific usability criteria that the new physiologic monitors should meet. This may include factors such as ease of use, navigation, information display, and customization options.
b) Conduct a usability assessment: Evaluate potential vendors and their products by assessing their usability through methods such as expert reviews and heuristic evaluation.
c) Seek user feedback: Involve end-users, such as nurses and physicians, in the purchasing process by conducting usability testing sessions with prototype or demo models of the physiologic monitors.
d) Evaluate task performance: Design usability tests that require users to perform common tasks, such as adjusting alarm settings or reviewing patient data, on the physiologic monitors. Measure the time taken, accuracy, and user satisfaction.
e) Collect qualitative feedback: Gather feedback from users through interviews or surveys to understand their subjective experiences with the physiologic monitors and identify areas for improvement.
f) Engage a multidisciplinary team: Collaborate with representatives from nursing, IT, and biomedical engineering departments to ensure a holistic evaluation of usability factors.
Note: The specific details of the usability test, including the tasks, metrics, and sample size, can be further developed based on the organization’s requirements and resources.
