University Medical Center
Research and Development Department
Volume 1
June 30, 2016
New Research on Electronic Health Records
HealthIT.gov provides an excellent overview of EHR (Electronic Health Records) for providers and other
health care professionals. This information is important, because research shows that the use of EHRs
result in improved patient care and improved diagnostics and patient outcomes. EHRs are, in their
simplest format, digital (computerized) versions of patients’ paper charts. But in a robust system, they
are much more valuable to the patient.
Doctors Define Meaningful Use
A phrase you will hear often when you work with electronic health records is “meaningful use.” This
concept is part of the standards and criteria developed in the health care field to encourage a smooth
and productive transition to EHRs. This important concept refers to the use of certified EHR technologies
by health care professionals in ways that measurably improve the quality of health care and bring
efficiency to the processes. Examples include better engagement of patients and family, improving care
coordination, improving safety, and reducing health costs.
Health Information Privacy and Security
At the forefront of the Electronic Health Records movement is the need for privacy and security.
Electronic records, just like paper records, must always be private and secure. Health care organizations
must provide access controls to make sure only authorized individuals can access health information. An
audit function that can track who has accessed what pieces of health information must also be in place.
And finally, patients must have access to Internet portals that enable them to see who has viewed their
records and to check the accuracy of their records. Patients must be able to trust the systems.
Research Sources Aid in EHR Implementation
At HealthIT.gov, you can learn more about important research regarding Electronic Health Records. For
example, the National Center for Cognitive Informatics and Decision Making in Healthcare provides
strategic leadership in patient-centered cognitive support research. SHARPS (Strategic Health IT
Advanced Research Projects on Security) is a research project that addresses many areas of EHR,
including technology convergence, collaboration, and telemedicine. Readers of this newsletter will also
learn from the research paper included with this mailing.
Ensuring the privacy and security of health IT can help patients achieve their health goals. Everyone
has a role in protecting and securing this important health information.
Eisler 1
Janet Eisler
Dr. Hillary Kim
Health Administration 478
August 15, 2016
Electronic Health Records
There is often a discrepancy between what American physicians prescribe for their patients and how
those patients actually follow their doctor’s orders. This is often translated into poor outpatient care
and poor results to prescriptive care. In 1991, the Institute of Medicine called for better outpatient care
through the use of electronic health records, which is commonly referred to by the acronym EHR.
Those clinical practices that have used electronic health records claim that since they have
implemented outpatient EHR, there is easier communication with patients, better communications with
other providers, better and faster access to medical records, and fewer pharmaceutical errors. However,
most physicians have been slow to adapt the EHR policy. A 2004 study done by Jeffrey Linder, an
internist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, asked the question “Do EHRs
make you a better doctor?” The study concluded that the evidence of improved outpatient care due to
EHRs is lacking.
According to Linder’s data, he found “no quality difference between ambulatory care provided
with and without EHRs.” Additionally, several recent studies have also failed to make a connection
between the use of EHR and improved quality of care.
Linder claims that there are two principal reasons for the disappointing outcomes in the study.
First, the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data that Linder and his team had available to use
was outdated from a technological perspective. And second, the survey asked physicians whether they
use EMR but not how they were using it if they had it. Says Linder, “If people are simply turning on a
computer replacement for their old paper records, why would you even expect quality to improve?”
Linder insists that the data should not be interpreted that electronic health records are
ineffective. On the contrary, high-tech medical records—or any high tech systems for that matter—are
simply tools. The tools must be used, and they must be used correctly.
Further research is still needed to hone in on specific facts as to why more doctors are not using
EHRs and why patients refuse to avail themselves of the technology. Patients do not always get the
advice they need from external sources and they may get information that is wrong. On the other side,
sometimes doctors do not know that a patient falls into a specific risk group. The use of EHRs can
benefit both the patient and the clinician.
In conclusion, despite the possible benefits of adopting EHRs, many institutions are concerned
about the increased costs associated with using these systems. Users also want to know whether the
costs are in line when compared to the benefits of using EHRs instead of paper records, and whether
this will actually result in better quality of outpatient care.
Eisler 2
Works Cited
Office 2016 – myitlab:grader – Instructions
Word Project
GO16_WD_CH03_GRADER_3G_HW - Newsletter and Research Paper
1.3
Project Description:
In the following project, you will format a newsletter by inserting pictures and screenshots, applying two-column
formatting, and adding a border to a paragraph. You will edit and format a research paper by inserting footnotes,
creating citations, and formatting a bibliography.
Instructions:
For the purpose of grading the project you are required to perform the following tasks:
Step
Points
Possible
Instructions
1
Start Word. Download and open the file named go16_wd_ch03_grader_3g_hw.docx.
0
2
On Page 1, click at the beginning of the newsletter title. Search Online Pictures using the
search word microscope and then insert an appropriate image from the results. Change the
height to .7". Recolor the picture by applying Blue, Accent color 1 Light. Apply a Black, Text 1
Picture Border and change the Weight to 2 1/4 pt.
6
Note, Mac users, search for an image in a web browser, and then download and insert a
relevant image from the results.
3
Change the Text Wrapping of the inserted image to Square. Change the Horizontal Alignment
to Left relative to Margin and the Vertical Alignment to Top relative to Margin.
6
4
Starting with the paragraph New Research on Electronic Health Records, select all of the text
from that point to the end of the page—do not include the Section Break in your selection.
Format the text in two columns, and then apply Justify alignment. Insert a Column break
before the subheading Health Information Privacy. Save your file.
4
5
6
Start your web browser, and then navigate to www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health. In your
go16_wd_ch03_grader_3g_hw.docx file, click at the end of the paragraph below the New
Research on Electronic Health Records subheading. Insert a screenshot of the website. Apply
a Black, Text 1 Picture Border and change the Weight to 1 pt.
Select the subheading New Research on Electronic Health Records. Use the Font dialog box to
apply Bold and Small Caps, and to change the font color to Dark Blue, Text 2. Apply the same
formatting to the subheadings Doctors Define Meaningful Use, Health Information Privacy and
Security and Research Sources Aid in EHR Implementation. Select the Doctors Define
Meaningful Use subheading and then change the Spacing Before to 18 pt.
8
8
7
Select the last paragraph in the newsletter—the text in bold italic that, begins Ensuring the
privacy, and then apply a 1 pt Shadow border using Black, Text 1. Shade the paragraph using
the Fill color Dark Blue, Text 2, Lighter 80%. Center the paragraph text.
8
8
On Page 2, below the newsletter, change the line spacing for all of the text on the page to
2.0. For the same text, change the spacing after to 0 pt.
8
9
On Page 2, apply a first line indent of 0.5 inches to the paragraph that begins There is often a
discrepancy.
Updated: 10/30/2017
1
6
Current_Instruction.docx
Office 2016 – myitlab:grader – Instructions
Word Project
Step
Instructions
Points
Possible
10
At the bottom of the page, in the next to last line of text, after the period at the end of the
sentence that ends if they had it, insert the footnote The EMR (electronic medical record)
is the patient record created in hospitals and ambulatory environments; it serves
as a data source for other systems. Be sure to type the period at the end of the footnote.
8
11
12
13
Modify the Footnote Text style to set the Font Size to 11 and the format of the Footnote Text
paragraph to include a first line indent of 0.5” and double spacing. Be sure to include the
footnote number in the selection. (Hint: Right-click the selected footnote, and then from the
shortcut menu, click Style.)
On Page 2, at the end of the paragraph that begins Those clinical practices, click to the left of
the period, and then using MLA format, insert a citation for a Web site with the following
information:
Author: Gabriel, Barbara A.
Name of Web Page: Do EMRS Make You a Better Doctor?
Year: 2008
Month: July
Day: 15
Year Accessed: 2016
Month Accessed: June
Day Accessed: 30
Medium: Web
On Page 3, at the end of the paragraph that begins Further research, click to the left of the
period, and then using MLA format, insert a citation for a book with the following information:
Author: DeVore, Amy.
Title: The Electronic Health Record for the Physician's Office, 1e
Year: 2010
City: Maryland Heights
Publisher: Saunders
Medium: Print
8
12
6
14
Edit the DeVore citation to include 253 as the page number.
6
15
On the last line of the document, insert a MLA style bibliography.
6
16
Save and close the go16_wd_ch03_grader_3g_hw.docx file .Close Word. Submit the
go16_wd_ch03_grader_3g_hw.docx file as directed.
0
Total Points
Updated: 10/30/2017
2
100
Current_Instruction.docx
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