b2

*** each question half page and minimum 1 reference

Q1

 

The health care sector has seen a number of technological innovations since the 1960s. While health care providers saw some of their most important areas of the system overhauled, including the registration process, data monitoring process, self-care mechanisms, and lab testing, the benefits of these improvements were evident everywhere in the system. 

The following three breakthroughs or developments can be given the following explanation: 

Computational records: In the past, several systems associated with pharmacy, fulfilling orders, and documentation were employed. Additionally, by integrating all of these tasks into a single system, a structured platform was built for better patient care. 

The capabilities of the portal technology have provided the patients and doctors with the opportunity to connect with one other through digital platforms and readily access their medical information. Patients are becoming more informed and educated about their own health care as a result of this progress. 

For distant locations where individuals do not have accessible access to health care services, telemedicine has developed as a major breakthrough. Workplace telemedicine facilities can save workers’ office expenditures by letting them remain in the workplace while consulting with a primary health care office. 

2. 

As mentioned above, value-based care health systems use these five primary strategies to successfully enable population health management: 

Because it is important to know and monitor all aspects of the population, an enterprise warehouse should employ visualization and algorithm tools for understanding and reporting the population activities. 

The management of health care should target care that has been in place for some time in the ambulatory sector to keep usage costs down. 

A process for collecting required data from EHRs and bringing data insights into the regular medical workflow should be created. 

Enabling and encouraging self-care among patients depends on patient participation. 

3. 

Advances in recent years have employed several essential IT technologies to help make collaborative decision-making, find medical information, and communicate with medical providers. More prepared for serious medical situations are those who use e-health services. 

To enable the considerable development of the health care system, certain health IT solutions may be defined as having substantial benefits. 

Now that electronic health records (EHRs) have made it easy to comprehensively gather patients’ information and keep it safely utilizing digital media, the opportunity exists to systematically collect information and save it in digital mediums. Electronic chart records are an electronic counterpart of paper chart records. 

The creation of an electronic health information exchange provides a method to unite diverse health care institutions within a city or region. Quality, coordination, cost, and speed were all enhanced as a result. 

This blend of subjective and objective health care data may be used to assign patients a risk level that corresponds to their overall and specific health care needs. It enables the doctors to do a better job with medical management decisions. 

Patient engagement is a notion that incorporates a number of approaches to promote better patient behavior while also encouraging participation. 

Telemedicine has made it easier for remote communities to get important health care services, including medical consultations. 

4. 

For health care administrators, data analytics is an useful tool for monitoring, forecasting, and enhancing the delivery of health care services. Use the following to illustrate your comprehension: 

New tools for measuring the efficacy and performance of health care practitioners will be developed by implementing a health care analytics strategy. 

Data analytics can track and improve physicians’ practices while also enhancing patient care. 

Using data analytics for value-based initiatives motivates health care system physicians to enhance their performance. 

While predictive data analytics can aid in reducing higher treatment costs due to the vast diversity of patient populations, earlier treatments are still required in order to be effective.

Q2

 

I feel that the biggest development since 1960 in health care advancement would be the widespread use of EHR systems. The use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) has changed healthcare because patients and providers are no longer having to rely on paper charts to keep track of vital information. EHR systems have streamlined processes within healthcare that were previously far more complex. The three major outcomes of EHR processes include higher quality care, efficiency in care and improved cost management, and both patient and provider satisfaction (Wager, 2017).  Secondary to the implementation of EHR systems, another advancement that has changed the health care landscape is seen through payment reform initiatives such as Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services, Healthcare Financial Management Association, and American College of Healthcare Executives. These organizations are in place to help change and inform the federal government’s policies on payment systems currently at work in health care settings. These specific organizations aim to distribute risk and hold providers financially accountable for the quality of care they deliver (Miller, 2021). Without the implementation of these programs, it is likely that providers would not all be held to the same standard when it comes to patient payment, and additionally saves patients and provides money, in turn, the health care system remains sustainable.

In order to manage population health systems effectively under value-based models, data is key in creating a holistic view of patients within a specific health care setting (Wager, 2017). There is an immense need to continue collecting data, but this doesnt come without its complications. In order to collect and disperse important information, many sources are needed to create an aggregate pool of information. 

Population health management can help providers target populations in need, understand the need for improvement in care, predict outcomes and apply early interventions, and actively engage patients in their care. In order to effectively use IT tools, the infrastructure and resources necessary for implementation need to be widely used. In the past year, one IT tool that has been widely adopted and used more frequently has been telehealth and telemedicine. Without this useful tool, man patients and providers would have gone without seeing each other for months if not years on end. Telehealth aids patients that are unable to come into an in-person setting by allowing them to securely speak with their providers from the comfort of their home in a HIPPA compliant way (Kruse, 2017). Through the use of telehealth patient care coordination and management is possible. 

As a healthcare administrator, I will apply data analytics to monitor, predict and improve performance by utilizing EHR systems that aid in tracking important health information. For example, I plan to encourage the use of patient portals through the EHR system so that patients are able to communicate directly with their providers if they have any questions. Nowadays, phone wait times can be long and arduous within large health systems and by having a patient portal that allows patients to communicate directly with medical personnel, check lab results, update vaccination status and even schedule appointments the ease of getting better quality care is right at the fingertips for anyone willing to utilize this IT tool.