Reference no: EM133194828

Assignment - Setting Standards Discussion

Please read and contribute to peer discussion in 100 words minimum each with at least 2 peer-review references in APA style.

Peer 1 - The health care industry shares information based on standards, just like other industries. Standards define how systems should interact. A standard may relate to security, data transport, data format or structure, or the meaning of a code or term. Standards are defined, updated, and maintained by standards development organizations (SDOs) through a collaborative process that involves the audience that will use the standards. By using standards whenever possible, health care organizations can reduce implementation costs, accelerate integration projects, and make use of common tools. In order to facilitate the health IT community's convening and quickly prioritizing health IT challenges, ONC strives to develop and harmonize standards, specifications, and implementation guidance to meet these challenges. ONC is also responsible for curating the set of standards and specifications that support interoperability and ensuring that they can be assembled into solutions for a variety of health information exchange scenarios (Health IT Standards | HealthIT.gov, 2019)

Professionals use standards that are approved by general consent and specified by communication protocols and data definitions. These standards serve as detailed guides for addressing health information and technology for instrumentalities, texts, and images. Experts adopt these standards to transfer health data using predictable business processes and conform to regulatory and ethical demands. To enable the electronic exchange of information between computer systems by adopting a uniform format and sequence of data for efficient interoperability. To foster electronic transmission as a business strategy. To promote efficient sharing of information among individual computer systems and healthcare institutions. To maintain patient data consistently by having clinical and administrative data in both electronic data systems and paper. The digital health transformation will require the HIM profession to evolve its core skill set and redefine its role in health, HIM has a vital role to play in safely and effectively leveraging health IT to benefit patients and improve system performance. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) warns that "while the EHR hasn't changed the need or demand for HIM professionals' skills, it has dramatically changed the way those skills are applied and has accelerated the need for professionals to add new electronic-based abilities. Failure to adapt could lead to obsolescence, or at least provide an opportunity for non-HIM professionals to move into traditional and emerging HIM roles and take their place." (Butler, 2014). The results of a 2015 AHIMA survey of Health Information Managers identified an anticipated decreased need for skills and competencies in coding and records management and an increased need for skills in the areas of leadership, data, and informatics over the next decade (Oaches & Walters, n.d.). In particular, respondents identified that the areas of data analytics/mining, informatics, and information governance will see the greatest growth in the field of HIM. In 2015, Gibson, Abrams, and Crook identified in Canada the impact of emerging trends on Health Information Management, finding Health Information Managers are increasingly moving to roles such as data management and health information analysts, privacy and security officers, workflow analysts, project and program managers, and educators or trainers. Most recently, the Department of Labor in the U.S. has recommended new Occupational Classification codes giving further support to the current and continuing evolution. In a rapidly transforming healthcare system, the HIM profession needs to obtain and position itself as possessing an essential, executive-level set of functions and skills to remain relevant within healthcare organizations. Four key areas are impacted by the evolution of electronically available patient data and the ongoing development of standards, structures, and terminologies. Each of these areas is linked to the secondary use of patient data and requires that health information management practices evolve to adapt to and facilitate the progress of emerging technologies. Challenges exist for HIM professionals to ensure they possess the relevant and applicable education, skills, and knowledge to match the requirements of the healthcare industry; and for the education system to produce highly educated HIM practitioners. The information and wisdom gleaned from the effective secondary use of patient data is needed as nations seek to improve their healthcare delivery systems and the health of their citizens (Fenton et al., 2017)

References - Butler, M. (2014, May). Adapt or disappear: AHMA's reality 2016 has a new mission to transform the HIM workforce through education-- or else. Pubmed.

Fenton, S. H., LOWE, S., & Abrams, K. J. (2017, August 18). Health Information Management: Changing with Time - PMC. NCBI.

Health IT Standards | HealthIT.gov. (2019, June 4). Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

Peer 2 - Standards are a vital facet of healthcare to ensure safety for patients and providers. This also applies significantly to HIM professionals. Lack of standards and reinforcement of them can cause grave harm to patients, their families, and the providing institution by inviting careless, sloppy, or incorrect data collection methods. For example, if there is no standard or rule about copying and pasting entries and notes, many patients can have the same doctor's notes, supposedly written by the same person on different days or times. This problematic behavior and inaccurate data reporting can cause harm to the patient and open the institution up for lawsuits. Standards in HIM help to create guidelines and procedures, to ensure shortcuts are not taken in the data collection or reporting process. According to an article, "the lack of common data standards has prevented information sharing between commercial clinical laboratories and health care facilities, between pharmacies and health care providers regarding prescriptions, and between health care organizations and payers for reimbursement" (Asden et al., 2004). This can cause delays in patient testing and treatments until the necessary parties communicate. These issues and uncertainties can affect a patient's health, well-being, and overall standard of care. Standards and regulations are necessary to ensure the patient experience is up to the company and provider's expectations for its patients. It is also imperative that professionals and providers stay up to date on potential changes and updates with regular training. Another effort to help with staying current, according to the AHIMA, is the collaboration of SDOs, working together by using standard tools and training models. Using similar tools and training models can cause consistency, common methodology, and more consistent standards to be produced (Hammond et al., 2009). More consistency in these areas greatly decreases the risk of variants and problematic data reporting.

References - Asden, P., Wolcott, J., & Corrigan, J. (2004). National Center for Biotechnology Information. Patient Safety: Achieving a New Standard for Care.

Hammond, William Edward; Jaffe, Charles; Kush, Rebecca Daniels. "Healthcare Standards Development: The Value of Nurturing Collaboration "Journal of AHIMA 80, no.7 (July 2009): 44-50.