Technology Solutions for Improving Accuracy and Availability of Healthcare Records

ABSTRACT

Providers need access to the data in patient healthcare records to make decisions that provide the type of high-quality services, which lead to successful medical treatments. This article summarizes the data accuracy and data availability problems that exist in managing healthcare records, and then describes various technology solutions that could be designed to address specific data problems.

KEYWORDS:

• electronic health record
• data management
• emerging technologies
• IT investments

Notes

1. See www.cms.hhs.gov/

2. See hhs.gov/healthit/BrailerSpch05.html or hhs.gov/healthit/

3. See www.cbo.gov/

4. See www.cchit.org

5. See www.hl7.org

6. See the 2003 data from the American Hospital Association AHA Resource Center at http:///www.hospitalconnect.com/aha/resource_center/fastfacts_facts_US_hospitals.html

7. These groups include the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), Commission on Certification of Health Information Technology (CCHIT), American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS)

8. See www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa

9. See Connecting Communities for Better Health at http://www.ehalthinitiative.org/initiatives/programs/aboutstatesummitt.mspx

10. See http://www.iom.edu/ for calls for the use of CPOE to solve healthcare delivery quality problems

11. See www.ehealthinitiative.org/coalition/

12. See www.ahrq.gov

13. See “Topics in Patient Safety” (3:1) NCPS VA National Center for Patient Safety

14. June/July 2003 accessed at http://www.patientsafety.gov/TIPS/Docs/TIPS_Jul03.pdf