Week 8

Your duties at We Care Hospital require you to interface with many different professionals, including physicians, nurses, and allied professionals in various areas of health care. The facility also has a new information technology management center, which handles all patient medical records. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Act called for an unprecedented federal investment in Health Information Technology (IT). Doctors and hospitals would receive incentive payments through the Medicare programs and Medicaid to advance the delivery of high-quality healthcare. It was predicted that a decade later the Act would reduce federal spending on health services by tens of billions of dollars by increasing efficiency. Review the American Journal of Managed Care article, Congressional Intent for the HITECH Act.

It has been a decade since the HITECH Act was enacted and you are researching the impact of the Act. You must ensure that the HITECH Act of 2009 and the HIPAA Act guidelines are being met. You must track legal issues within the hospital and provide detailed monthly reports on the general functionality of the health administration department as it relates to breaches in patient record security and the impact of the Electronic Health Record (EHR). Review the Harvard Business Review article, The Critical Skills For Leading Major Change in America’s Health System.

Note: You may create and / or make all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

1. Provide a detailed summary of your hospital’s organizational structure. Include a tabulated description of the levels of professionals within the organization. Describe the duties of each major head within the organization.
2. Provide an explanation of the HITECH Act and how it impacts We Care Hospital. Provide any case laws that identify HIPAA violations as a result of the computer technology using patient records.
3. Outline a detailed feasibility plan for protecting patient records. Provide a rationale for the chosen plan and explain the main reasons why the plan in question would be suitable for use.
4. Justify the use of information technology to increase patient services. Provide a summative table of some pros and cons of using information technology in an era of networking and security breaches.
5. Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not quality as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the course title, the professor’s name, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Evaluate the implications of the law on the health care system.
• Evaluate the implications of the nursing staff on the health care system.
• Describe the importance of medical records in relationship to the law.
• Describe consent and informed consent in relationship to the health care system.
• Identify the principles and legalities of ethical issues within the health care system.
• Identify a plan that addresses legal and ethical issues in a health care policy.

Click here to view the grading rubric for this assignment.