The Role Of Ehr And Electronic Medical Record ( Emr )

Welcome to the world of change, no matter how well we deal with change, it s continuous and shows no signs of abating any time soon. In order to remain competitive in this environment, healthcare organizations need to improve patient safety, revenue capture, operational efficiency, and clinical outcomes. Electronic Health Record (EHR) was the first step to transformed health care. An Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a real time digital version of a patient’s paper chart that make information available instantly and securely to authorized users. EHR contain a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and laboratory and test results. Allow access to evidence-based†¦show more content†¦For years the government is being struggling to protect patients information, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted by the United States Congress in 1996. Title II of HIPAA defines policies, procedures and guidelines for maintaining the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information as well as outlining numerous offenses relating to health care and sets civil and criminal penalties for violations. However, the most significant provisions of Title II are its Administrative Simplification rules, requiring the Department of Hea lth and Human Services (HHS) to draft rules aimed at increasing the efficiency of the health care system by creating standards for the use and dissemination of health care information. In 2003 the federal government enacted the HIPAA Privacy Rule ,April 14, 2003, regulates the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) held by covered entities (generally, health care clearinghouses, employer sponsored health plans, health insurers, and medical service providers that engage in certain transactions.) By regulation, the Department of Health and Human Services extended the HIPAA privacy rule to independent contractors of covered entities who fit within the definition of business associates The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was