Applying Meaningful Use Principles on Information Management Systems

Regular and Regimented Activity Project for Overweight, Obese and |Diabetic Veterans The Project Committee or team will be composed of: The Project Manager who designs and develops the project with the team and oversees all activities leading to its completion (ITS, 2015). It is also his task to secure sponsorship and to deal with stakeholders. He handles all communications and reports, takes the risks and addresses the issues incurred in the implementation of the plan.

In the overall, he assures that the Project is completed on schedule, as committed and within the budget allotted (ITS). The Project Team Members are from the different disciplines of the nature of the target of the Project. They have their individual contributions to the Project with pre-arranged specifications from and by the Project Manager (ITS, 2015; Hofstrand, 2015). They are experts or authorities in their respective fields or professions. Some of them are regular members in that their participation is basic to the Project.

The rest are ad hoc in that they are needed only when the discussions or activities call for their direct participation and/or inputs. They regular members are: The Electronic Medical Records or EMR and Network Security Expert who is a central project member as the nature of the project is his field of expertise. He provides the team with all the information on EMR, network security and Meaningful Use goals.

An Information Technology or IT expert who provides the team with the information and skills in hardware and software and management information systems. He extends background support to the EMR and Network Security expert. He also implements the main activities of the project along with the EMR and network security expert. The Recorder and Overall Assistant to the Project Manager who keeps all the minutes of meetings, all records gathered and produced by all the members of the team.

He or she establishes connections with outside entities, such as the media and both public and private sector entities. Because of the expanse of his or her responsibilities and connections, she coordinates directly with and performs assistant functions to the Manager. He or she takes his place during his temporary absence during meetings. He also performs editorial and press work for the team in preparing publications and releasing news to the media.

the Treasurer / Accountant/Miscellaneous Assistant to the Manager who handles the budget, payments, and reimbursements as well as purchases the needed and physical logistics, such as supplies, equipment, tools, films, rentals of locations, halls, transportation and other miscellaneous items needed at meetings and other activities. The ad hoc or occasional Project members are: an official General Practitioner at the Department at the Veterans Affairs who provides the team with the background, reports, statistics, and updates on the health conditions of the veterans.

He is also the link of the Project Committee with the Department for interviews, communications and case studies or surveys. a Gerontologist, a medical practitioner who specializes on the conditions of aging individuals. His valuable inputs on the diseases of the aging, such as diabetes and obesity, are central to the Project a legal consultant who informs the team about pertinent laws and ordinances affecting the Project (ITS, Hofstrand). B. Two Real-Life Computerized Management Systems a.

One is a management reporting system, which is a database of reports and figures on the operations and finances of all the management levels of an organization (Williams, 2015). This works for Projects as well. Department managers use it to write reports, compare financial and operational performances as a way of evaluating progress and to measure managerial and supervisory competence and achievement. Upper management uses their reports to make the same assessment of operations and financing and better decisions.

The integration of reporting for these purposes represents the advantages of this information system. Its disadvantages, on the other hand, include the possible poor quality of the system if the quality of data generated is poor and security issues from hackers (Williams). The other is office automation enterprise through which managers can control the flow of information throughout the company or project (Williams, 2015).

All the means falling under this system include all electronic communication, such as landline telephones, cellular phones, the internet, multimedia, voice mails and emails, file sharing and video conferencing. They are used between and among managers and employees. Its advantages include savings on time and company resources and the company or group's reliance on it for accuracy of data.

Disadvantages, however, include the difficulties incurred by users when the automation fails or errs and the difficulty of teaching a new system to all users within the same group or organization (Willliams). b. Both systems are necessary to the Project, although the first applies more to larger groups and more extensive programs. In comparison, office automation is usable to both large and small group activities, such as this Project.

It is, therefore, the better information system to use in meeting the requirements of Meaningful Use in all its three stages in accomplishing the specific goals of the Project. c. The Project consists of three stages aligned with those of Meaningful Use.

The first is the capture and sharing of certified EMRs of veterans, monitoring their major clinical conditions and communicating these conditions to care coordinators, reporting of these as public health information on diabetes and obesity among veterans and of clinical quality measures; and getting the veteran patient and his family involved in his own care through this information. The second stage consists of vigorous and sustained exchange of updated information on the conditions of these veteran sufferers of diabetes and obesity; transmission of case summaries to various recipients.

And the third stage consists of diabetic and obese patients' access to self-management tools for their improvement or symptom control; their access to thorough data through HIE; and the achievement of the goal of improved health among diabetic and obese veterans (Blumenthal & Taverna, 2010). d. This system's goals are aligned with those of Meaningful use.

It will impact patient care and documentation by improving the quality, safety and efficiency and reducing health care disparities in the specific case of diabetic and obese veterans; by getting the target veterans themselves and their families in the implementation of the Project; improving the coordination of the care of these veterans; improving their overall health; and insuring the maximum privacy and security of their personal health records (DeSalvo, 2011; Schein, 2015; Yu, 2011). e.

Its access information will impact the quality and delivery of nursing care and patient outcomes in a way that precisely meets the goal of nursing care. As it is, the national healthcare delivery system suffers from many problems. Among these are the fragmented provider base and low-level communication between healthcare providers and patients. The widespread application and access to EMRs meets most of the needs and addresses many difficulties in extending better care for less (Yu, 2011).

This is just as true to a select vulnerable sector like the diabetic and obese veterans, who are the targets of this Project. 3. a. Two ways by which QI data from the system can track and identify problems and errors: One, a nurse has two possible places of documenting the family history of one diabetic or obese veteran's family history. The documentation done in one section is not visible from the other section. Moreover, the data from these two sections are kept in different sections of the database.

A quality report can derive or extract data from only one location and automatically exclude whatever document may be in the other, which is in another location (Schein, 2015) It is unfortunate that the system cannot guide the user to document specific data, such as those of the diabetic and obese veteran samples of the Project. Some users may be able to document information in the correct location. But others can do so only manually into another section.

Similar to the preceding way or example, a status report on the diabetic and obese veterans of a certain period derived from one location will exclude vital information that may be in another or other locations (Schein). b. Security Standards and Methods, Data Storage Integrity and Data Backup and Recovery This system will adopt measures to secure the data gathered from the subject diabetic and obese veterans, their families and the Department itself. At the same time, it has established measures for backup and recovery.

These are: Select access schemes like passwords and personal information numbers. Stored data on the health information of these veteran population can be accessed only by those who have or are given the authority to access it (DeSalvo, 2011). Encrypting stored data on the subject population. The data cannot be read or understood only by those with the key to decrypting it. A kind of audit detection and trail tool. This documents every user who accesses any information and any changes made and when.

Federal law protects all patient information from un-authorized access even by doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers by notifying the system of any breach of this law. Federal law requires the healthcare provider to inform the Secretary of Health and Human Services if a breach has been committed. If the violation affects more than 500 individuals within a state or particular jurisdiction, the law requires the healthcare provider to make such an announcement through popular media in the locality.

This requirement brings the violation to the knowledge of the affected veteran that his right to privacy over his health records has been violated. He can then take steps to hold the healthcare provider answerable for it (DeSalvo). C. The system will protect patient privacy by using patient -- controlled encryption (DeSalvo, 2011). It allows the patient to design his own decryption key at the same time allow those he authorizes to search and access only certain data or parts that he permits.

This new concept in privacy protection guarantees strong security and privacy. The administrators of the server themselves will not be able to read, know or access his data. It also guarantees security even when the server incurs damage or trouble, is stolen or leaked. Additionally, it guarantees the maintenance of data accuracy. The veteran patient can be confident that no one has accessed or destroyed or changed any of his information nor can it be. This new scheme furthermore maintains functionality separately from that of the server.

This system guarantees not only efficient access of a patient to his own records or by someone he authorizes. His data can also be shared in part or as a whole as he decides. And he or the person he authorizes can conduct easy and efficient sharing of his health records (DeSalvo). d.

The System has complied with HIPAA requirements, namely: The use of standard formats for electronic claims and claim-related transactions; The International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification ICD-9-CM The Administrative Simplification Compliance Act of 2001 by using electronic claims for providers in order to receive Medicare reimbursements made after October 16, 2003; The HIPAA Administrative Simplification Modifications to Medical Data Code Set Standards to Adapt ICD-10-CM and ICD-10 Procedure Coding System; and The Health Insurance Reform, Modifications to HIOPAA Electronic Transaction Standards Final Rule dated January 16, 2009.

This was replaced by Version 5010 and Version D.), respectively (DeSalvo, 2011) e. The system will reduce costs and produce other benefits to the organization.

On the side of the veteran patients with diabetes or are obese, the system will: Improve diagnosis and therapy (Schein, 2015); There will be much fewer errors to be found in the veteran patients' health records; It guarantees faster care and decision-making actions from medical or healthcare professionals assigned to the veteran patients; On the side of the Medical Practitioner or Health Professional, the system will create or provide: Quicker transfers of patient data from one department or group to the succeeding one Savings on space within the digital records location The high probability of eventually increasing the number of patients to optimum levels per day, which will in turn, raise patient workflow and increased productivity among the practitioners and their support staff; Results management will improve along with patient care and reduced errors in medical Reduced operational costs in materials, such as transcription, in services and overtime by manpower; Electronic medical records, which can be customized and scaled; Enabling of advanced electronic or e-prescribing and clinical documentation; and Overall improved healthcare practice (Schein, DeSalvo).

4. A. Active Nursing Involvement in the System Success Planning A nurse as a healthcare professional is knowledgeable about the health vulnerabilities of the aging, such as diabetes and obesity. Some nurses are assigned to military institutions and locations and thus have the precise exposure to plan along with the Project Committee or team. Some have taken care of older people with diverse needs. This makes a nurse a critical participant and contributor to the success of the Project goals.

Selection With her experience in many settings and treating an entire range of diseased conditions as well as a diversity of patient needs and personalities, she is a very valuable input to the System in selecting the precise veteran participants with diabetes and/or obesity according to the specific intents of the Project. She may also contribute to the selection of sites and the activities to be introduced by the System for the volunteers. Implementation The commitment of a nurse is to care for an injured or diseased person.

This System will gauge the status of veterans who are suffering from diabetes 1 and 2 and obesity. Almost all professional nurses would have the experience and expertise to deal with such patients, escept that this System will deal with a specific group. But nurses are trained to deal with all patients of all ages and will be most helpful to the Project.

She can assist the Project Manager in devising additional objectives s they become necessary and in fulfilling them in cooperation with the other specialists and professionals in the Project Committee. b. Active Nursing Involvement in Meeting the Requirements of Meaningful Use A two-track approach was finally adopted in fulfilling the objectives of Meaningful Use for hospitals and practices to qualify for incentive payment in the first two years (Yu, 2011). Basic functions of Meaningful Use primarily require the creation of medical records of basic data.

These are about patients' vital signs and demographics, active medications and allergies, updated issues, present diagnoses and smoking, if they smoke. Beyond this function, Meaningful Use objectives require the.