MHA@GW Module 2 - Medical Informatics and Decision Management

Key Competencies:

Health Care Issues:  Health care issues and trends Project.

Management:  Planning and managing projects

Change and Innovation:  Planning and implementing change Information.

Management:  Information and technology management Decision Making.

Solving business problems and making decisions.

My Development:

• Throughout this module, I learned to appreciate tremendously on how Health Information Technology has widely become incorporated into our health care system.  Optimizing efficiency in health-care largely depends on how we as providers and managers can obtain the much needed information on the patients we mean to serve.  Today's digital age creates a high supply and demand on the means necessary to store, aggregate, and access information such as through electronic health records, updated CDC immunization schedules, and FDA medication safety bulletins.
• Some of the takeaways from this module which I have applied to my job as a clinic manager for a neurosurgery clinic include the updated use of Solutions reach and Computerized orders and tasks via our Quest Quanum EHR system.  Communication between the doctor and his personnel is now mostly done through an electronic system.  Several weeks of incorporating our tasks and reminder applications of our EHR has significantly reduced confusion and lag time into getting what needs to be done.  Our Solutions Reach program has been of great assistance in keeping patients informed and aware of their upcoming scheduled appointments and improve patients' response time should they need to re-schedule.
• Going through this module has given me the option of pursuing some sort of specialization of health records integration whether working for a provider or a payer entity.  I'm always looking for new ways to optimize electronic efficiency similar to how payers utilize their electronic clearinghouse databases or eligibility and benefits inquiry database.  Blue Cross Blue Shield uses their availity system.  United Health-care utilizes their optum system.
• One concept that I wish to continue pursuing in order to get a more prominent understanding is utilization of MACRA and MIPS of the Medicare system.  I feel I have most of the basics down.  I just need to gain more insight into the data metrics and quality care measures that are used constantly in improving the Medicare payment system.
• Working in different hospitals throughout my medical training, Quality and Safety were always the theme.  Reduction in hospital-acquired infections eventually leads to significant reductions in health-care costs around the realm of $33 billion annually.  Utilizing technology benefits organizations substantially including decreasing administrative time, error reduction, and providing the ability to track events linearly over the span of a patient's health-care delivery.
• A new management issue that I'm currently encountering in interoperatability.  Health Information Exchange costs a great deal of money.  Then there's the challenge of how to facilitate transfer of that information smoothly and securely in compliance with HIPAA.  The benefits of utilizing HIE include reducing medical errors, increase efficiency by eliminating unnecessary paperwork, and providing caregivers with clinical decision tools for more effective care and treatment.
• One of the challenges that I had to overcome was the understanding of the constant changes to interoperability.  As technology changes, so does the operating systems that incorporate our much needed EHRs.  Programs need to be constantly updated as well as medical information and standard of care guidelines for providers.  Other than appropriate treatment and prevention, privacy concerns are also paramount to our patients' safety.  I believe health-care organizations incorporate their own management models whether they use their own, Kotter's management model, or ADKAR's management model.  I also believe that it the size of the health organization thatc orrelates with the amount of oversight and management required.