Discussion board and two replies

please respond to the following discussion post in 600 words Also cite the Bible and scholarly resources for both initial reply and classmate responses !

, identify at least 1 strength and 1 weakness in each classmate’s reasoning. Each reply must be at least 450 words. Each thread and reply must include at least 1 biblical integration and 2 peer-reviewed source citations in current APA format.

Topic: Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security

Respond to this initial post —->The State HIE Cooperative Agreement Program grantees are required to monitor and track statewide implementation, adoption, and transactions of exchange mechanisms that they implement directly or enable through funding, technical assistance, marketplaces, etc. to support the meaningful use of health information technology. Research the current state of HIE across the United States through the State HIE Program Measures Dashboard and provide a response summarizing your findings related to your state of residence. Provide a summary of your findings and any insights you have gained in the review of the information.

Please respond to classmate #1 in 450 words

“Health information exchange (HIE) is the key component of health informatics through which information from various electronic record systems is shared and is potentially transformative for the healthcare system” (Braunstein, 2014, p. 55). HIE allows multiple health care providers to have access in the patients record in order to assist in managing and coordinating the patient’s care. Health information exchange enable the sharing of a patient’s healthcare information while still maintain the safety and confidentiality of the protected health information (PHI). “As the United States moves toward Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and other outcome-based reimbursement systems, HIE is the way that patients can be managed at the population level and providers can be managed as a group against outcome measures that are going to determine how much each organization gets paid” (Braunstein, 2014, p. 55).

Dimick (2018, para 1) states that “The federal government has been actively encouraging health information exchange through direct grants and leadership. However, its challenge now is keeping focused and getting the multiple efforts aligned.” The American Recovery and Reimbursement Act of 2009 called the approval of the electronic health record (EHR) and HIE a main concern. Assistance has been brought about by the contribution of hundreds of millions of dollars by the Office of National Coordinator (ONC) and Department of Health and Human Services in order to support the execution of EHR and improvement of HIEs at the state level.

“Aligning HIE efforts and smoothing out state laws requires cooperation at the local, state, and federal level” (Dimick, 2018, para 12). Long lasting support of HIEs necessitates local healthcare organizations, often components, to mutually work in an unexperienced course. There are four chief national HIE developments that are being currently revealed: The Direct Project, The Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN) Exchange, The State HIE Cooperative Agreement Program, and Private HIE efforts (Dimick, 2018).

According to the Health IT State Summary (2015) in Virginia there are a total number of 18, 421 health care providers and 8,134 primary care providers. Office-based providers that embraced the EHR included 51% for overall physician practices, 58% per primary care providers, 41% for rural providers, and 45% for small practices. Office-based physicians with HIE in Virginia were either higher or equivalent to the national level with 63% able to send electronic lab orders, 77% able to view lab results via computer, and 55% with capabilities of EHR/EMR to be able to graph lab results over time (“Health IT State Summary,” 2015).

Information is also included on non-federal acute care hospitals. Within these facilities, 68% of physicians were able to share lab results with providers outside their health system, 49% were able to share with hospitals outside their system, and 66% were able to be shared with ambulatory providers outside their health system (“Health IT…,” 2015). From this information it seems as if health information exchange is gaining in popularity. Having readily access to a patient’s health information is imperative in providing high-quality care. Philippians 2:4 goes along with providing good patient care. This verse states “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

HIE is imperative for both physicians and patients. According to Esmaeilzadeh and Sambasivan (2017, p.5), there are many benefits to HIE, these include “…better communication between doctors involved in care, completeness and accuracy of medical records, safety, and overall quality of patient’s healthcare.” If patients are aware of the profits of HIE and how it can improve their health and access to health care information they are more likely to be on board. Each of our goal, as a part of the field of health care should be to provide superior patient care and for our patients to be in their best health as possible. This is conceivable with HIE; physicians and patients are able to connect and patients are able to gain control of their overall health care and play an active role 2 Corinthians 13:9 tells us, “For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.”

Please respond to classmate #2 in 450 words

Patient information can become lost among the different programs available to house data. The United States had attempted to remedy confusion with the push for a unified health information exchange (Nelson and Staggers, 2018, p.93). The program began in March 2010. In total, 50 states alongside the eligible territories are receiving grant money for the breakthroughs in health information exchange (HIE) development. The current figures are posted on the National Coordinator for Health and Information Technology (ONC) official website. Figures presented here show individual contributions to the program, but also give insight into the overall fitness of United States’ HIE. Barriers exist which are hindering the adoption of a national HIE. These challenges are being addressed by the federal government.

One challenge occurs from community and enterprise HIE competing against one another for resources like time, skilled staff, and money (Vest and Kash, 2016). The State Health Information Ex is aimed at creating a unified system by which this competition would benefit the patients both in and outside a state. Currently three states; California, Texas, and New York which have each contributed more than 20 million dollars are leading the incentives race (National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, 2018). The success of these programs has been dependent on monetary contributions. For a more practical example programs which were almost non-existent before federal funding, such as those in New Jersey, shed insight into the barriers most community and enterprise systems face. The presence of federal investment has alleviated barriers like; legal and policy work and financial sustainability. Both aspects were considered significant factors in being unable to implement lasting programs (Winkler, Ozturk, and Brown, 2016).

The state of Georgia awarded 13 million dollars through the federal grant program as of 2018 (National Coordinator for Health Information, 2018). Georgia shows that it has acknowledged the need for HIE. Georgia also has invested in education of students to tackle the health information technology. Southern Poly Technical University has created programs to prepare students for the challenging field of health information technology (HIT). The program has shown initial success in preparing students for a career in the complex and evolving fields of HIT (Zhang, Reichgelt, and Andy, 2014). It will be the students from programs like these who will address the concerns of a changing health delivery landscape and the need for a national HIE. Georgia has been supportive of sustainable future health information technology.

National efforts are being implanted with the singular goal of providing safe, secure, and reliable transfers of health information. Policy transformation has become dictated by financial reimbursement incentives (Braunstein, 2018, p.181). The grant program enacted by the federal government has assisted in sparking reform across the territorial United States. There is still further to travel before national HIE can be achieved. “Significant changes in practice and public policies are necessary to support a system of effective national health information exchange that can rapidly and efficiently yield useful health information to clinicians, especially in the emergency care setting. (Shapiro, Crowley, Hoxhai, Langabeer, Panik, Taylor, and Nielson, 2015;2016).” Researching efforts that the federal government has implemented shows there is a future for HIT and the implementation of a national HIE. “So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic (Isaiah 28:16 New International Version).’” Like the Lord created a cornerstone of faith so too can there be a groundwork laid towards integrated health systems. Though not perfect, the steps are being taken to lay the foundation of lasting change.