HITECH and Meaningful Use—A Real-World Debate Though electronic health records (EHRs) may provide an abundance of information at faster speeds than paper-based records ever could, the cost and challenges related to implementation have prevented many organizations from adopting EHRs. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act aims to increase the adoption rate by providing financial incentives for health care organizations that demonstrate “ meaningful use” of EHRs. In order to receive these funds, settings must meet a specific set of requirements identified by the HITECH legislation. The adoption of an EHR can often be a frenzied process because of the incentives provided by the HITECH Act. In addition, the saturation of the technology market provides settings with an overwhelming amount of options from which to choose. In this Discussion, you debate the effectiveness of the HITECH Act and Meaningful Use mandates. To prepare:
- Consider the ways HITECH and Meaningful Use mandates have impacted a health care setting with which you are familiar.
- Conduct research in the Walden Library and through credible nursing organizations to assess how the nursing informatics community is addressing these mandates.
- Create a list that documents the pros and cons that mandates such as these have on health care settings. Reflect upon your list, and determine whether you believe these mandates are beneficial or harmful to health care organizations and nursing practice.
- Mandating change. Do the HITECH Act and Meaningful Use mandates help to drive and equalize change across all health care settings, or do they lead to rapid and sloppy implementations?
- The benefits or ramifications that stem from the use of incentives and disincentives.
- The influence of across-the-board mandates on patient safety, ethics, and quality of care.
- The allocation of funds specifically earmarked for HITECH and Meaningful Use. Is it worth it or wasted?
- Saba, V. K., & McCormick, K. A. (2015). Essentials of nursing informatics (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
- Chapter 5, “Open Source and Free Software” This chapter introduces the role that open source and free software plays in informatics. The disruptive and beneficial effects of such software are also described.
- Chapter 16, “Nursing Informatics and Healthcare Policy” Much debate has revolved around the health care policies of the Obama administration. This chapter highlights the impact these policies could have on health care and the nursing informatics discipline in particular.
- Chapter 18, “Establishing Nursing Informatics in Public Policy” Chapter 18 emphasizes the responsibility that nurse informaticists have in voicing their needs and concerns to public health care policy drivers. The chapter also stresses why informatics leaders need equal parts education, advisement, competencies, and support.
- Chapter 27, “Computerized Provider Order Entry” In this chapter, the authors explore the intricacies of electronic health record vendor applications. The chapter examines integration of electronic health records (EHRs) in the practice setting, the possible impacts EHRs can have on medical errors, and how nurses can support successful EHR adoption.
- Chapter 43, “The TIGER Initiative” This chapter assesses the TIGER initiative and its impact in the clinical setting. The chapter details how TIGER aims to integrate evidence and technology informatics into daily use to make health care safer and more effective.
- Bolla, Y. (2011). Meaningful use 101. Nursing Management, 42(8), 18–22. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. Meaningful use has the potential to impact all facets of the health care setting. This article defines meaningful use in its most basic terms and describes its stages in detail.
- Hersh, W., Jacko, J. A., Greenes, R., Tan, J., Janies, D., Embiand, P. J., & Payne, P. R. O. (2011). Health-care hit or miss? Nature (London), 470(7334), 327–329. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. This article explains the HITECH Act and its origins and benefits. The article also details how the HITECH Act presents an opportunity to expedite the adoption of EHRs in the United States.