Health Care Information Technology and Electronic Records
This paper examines the transition from paper-based to electronic health records within a healthcare organization that adopted the PharMerica paperless administration system. It discusses the benefits of computerized physician order entry (CPOE) and related clinical applications, including real-time record access, improved medication accuracy, and reduced administrative burden. The paper also addresses challenges such as privacy violations, data entry errors, and the importance of staff training and organizational buy-in. Compliance with HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules is highlighted as a key component of implementation. The paper concludes with a commitment to continuous process review and technology-driven improvement in patient care outcomes.
- Introduction: The Shift to Digital Health Records: Policy context driving healthcare digitization nationwide
- Implementing the PharMerica Paperless System: PharMerica adoption and electronic record capabilities
- Challenges and Risk Management in Health IT: Privacy violations, data errors, and corrective measures
- Staff Training and Organizational Adoption: Mandatory training, focus groups, and change management
- Security, Access Controls, and HIPAA Compliance: HIPAA rules, clearances, and system security protocols
- Outcomes and Future Directions: Improved patient outcomes and commitment to ongoing innovation
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds policy discussion in a concrete, real-world organizational example (PharMerica adoption), making abstract benefits tangible and credible.
- Balances optimism about technology with honest acknowledgment of implementation challenges — privacy violations, data entry errors, and access control failures — showing analytical maturity.
- Integrates regulatory context (HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules) naturally within the narrative rather than treating compliance as a separate afterthought.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied case analysis: it uses a specific organizational implementation as the lens through which broader literature on health information technology is evaluated. Citations from peer-reviewed journals (Kumar & Aldrich, Gagnon et al., Lynn) are woven into operational observations, grounding practitioner experience in scholarly evidence. This technique is common in health administration writing at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with national policy context (Obama administration digitization mandate), narrows to a specific system adoption, examines benefits and risks in tandem, covers training and compliance, reports outcomes, and closes with a forward-looking organizational commitment. This funnel structure — from macro policy to micro outcomes — is a reliable model for applied health IT essays and gives the argument logical coherence across six identifiable sections.
Introduction: The Shift to Digital Health Records
The days of paper-based records in health care are fading. It is widely believed that the broad adoption of clinical applications such as computerized physician order entry (CPOE) can lead to major healthcare savings, help eliminate medical errors, and improve healthcare outcomes for patients (Lynn, 2011). Because of such benefits, the Obama administration included automated adoption in health care as part of its overall agenda, calling for "the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America's medical records are computerized" (Obama, 2009).
References
Childs, L., Alexander, E., & Duong, M. (2012). Risk evaluation and mitigation strategies: Assessment of a medical center's policies and procedures. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 69(10), 885–889. doi:10.2146/ajhp110356
Gagnon, M., Desmartis, M., Labrecque, M., Légaré, F., Lamothe, L., Fortin, J., & Duplantie, J. (2010). Implementation of an electronic medical record in family practice: A case study. Informatics in Primary Care, 18(1), 31–40.
Kumar, S., & Aldrich, K. (2010). Overcoming barriers to electronic medical record (EMR) implementation in the US healthcare system: A comparative study. Health Informatics Journal, 16(4), 306–318. doi:10.1177/1460458210380523
Lynn, K. (2011). What's the "buzz" on labs and EMRs? MLO: Medical Laboratory Observer, 43(4), 42–47.
Obama, B. (2009). American Recovery and Reinvestment. Retrieved August 12, 2012, from
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