The application of data in the rising healthcare field is one of the significant topics that left their mark of great influence on society nowadays. Health care can be supported by involving many areas, including decision-making, patient outcomes, cost-effectiveness, research, and planning. Likewise, data can benefit these healthcare aspects. Here is a summary of some of the main points from the video:
Data is changing healthcare in many ways, one of which is profit. It forms a basis for effective decision-making because it allows analyzing patients` past medical history and current results of tests, diagnoses, and treatment. Data analytics can warn and track diseases and epidemics. Extensive data research in medicine aids the development of new therapies, improves existing drugs, and evaluates interventions. In a nutshell, data reveals areas of health disparities. Those disparities, in turn, allow the redistribution of resources to achieve better outcomes. It reduces expenditure by avoiding indiscriminate therapy and mistakes (TEDx Talks, 2018). We can plan and predict requirements through data, fitting healthcare into growth. Establishing performance measurements regarding coverage, access, and satisfaction presents an impression of impact. Nevertheless, it has some difficulties with privacy, security, ethics, and governance issues. The data-sharing process should always be transparent and provide benefits to be shared.
Data in health care is a reality and a helpful tool; this process comes with some challenges and risks, but it pays off immensely. Data emerges from different sources and is scrutinized by various techniques to make a difference in multiple sectors, such as decision-making, increasing the outcomes and effectiveness while conducting research and fueling planning. Nevertheless, this action calls for cooperation, convenience, and investment from various players, besides involving privacy, data security, and ethical challenges. Therefore, data usage should remain balanced and responsible, apply nothing but the truth, and be safe to keep individuals’ privacy. On the other hand, data could discover new dimensions for health improvement and prevention and address healthcare issues like aging, chronic diseases, and pandemics that the community has and will have in the future. It remains true that data is in and of itself imperfect and problematic on several grounds – quality, validity, and reliability, among others. Ultimately, it would be wise not to accept data mindlessly, and other information and evidence should be added to data analysis and inspections.
Part II
Health information exchange (HIE) lets healthcare providers securely transfer patient data electronically between various healthcare organizations. It, therefore, allows for smooth care coordination and information accessibility, leading to reduced costs and increased quality. The HITECH Act and the Medicare/Medicaid incentives have catalyzed HIE development in the US (Nahm et al., 2020). Nevertheless, clinical implementation is rare because of clinicians’ insufficient knowledge and the workflow’s low-level integration.
HIE helps reduce the number of hospital readmission cases and medication errors by providing coordinated care and access to patient medical records. It can aid in avoiding repeated tests and faster accessibility to information necessary for emergency care services. This HIE has effectively connected prescription drug monitoring programs, which aids in flagging high-risk patients. In public health emergencies such as COVID-19, HIE can segregate data across the systems, contributing to regional preparedness plans.
Nevertheless, the interoperability between any HIE systems and the development of sustainable business models are the biggest obstacles to be faced. It is vital to settle privacy and consent issues concerning data sharing. The second aspect to work on is the clinician experience and workflow integration.
Nurses may become crucial components of the full-scale success of HIEs. The leading position of HIE tools in the delivery and coordination of care gives them a view of integrating them into workflows in clinical settings. Nurse administrators can spearhead HIE adoption from the organizational level, as informaticists can stand as intermediaries between clinician and IT. Nurses at bedsides are at the forefront of showcasing HIE advantages and offering feedback about system design (Donahue et al., 2018). Nurses foster HIE adoption to improve system quality and care coordination through research, education, and policy advocacy.
In short, HIE brings gains, but adoption is the most significant obstacle. Nurses would generally be the right people to direct these barriers and make the dream of HIE implementation come true. Serving as a bridge between patients and caregivers, nurses’ presence in different clinical areas enables them to provide an in-depth understanding of health-related issues.
References
Donahue, M., Bouhaddou, O., Hsing, N., Turner, T., Crandall, G., Nelson, J., & Nebeker, J. (2018). Veterans health information exchange: Successes and challenges of nationwide interoperability. AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings, 2018, 385–394. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6371252/
Nahm, E.-S., Schoenbaum, A., Behm, C., & Rowen, L. (2020). Health information exchange. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 50(11), 584–589. https://doi.org/10.1097/nna.0000000000000941
TEDx Talks. (2018, December 5). Improving health outcomes with big data | Ronda Hughes | tedxuofsc. Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/uWGmAZOX6gU?si=cSNfDrw6teQTb_5q
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