NUR 621 Identify two to three indications that meaningful use has improved care coordination

 
Meaningful use is the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive program. Three primary goals of the meaningful use program are standardizing the electronic capture of information, improving quality at the point of care, and using clinical decision support and patient self-management tools to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of treatments (American Hospital Association, 2022). According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (2010), meaningful use is using certified EHR technology to improve the following:

Quality, safety, efficiency, and reducing health disparities.
Engage patients and families in their health care.
Care coordination.
Population and public health.
Maintaining privacy and security.
REPLY

Thank you for your post, I enjoyed how you set apart all the steps of how an EHR can improve patient care. Sometimes EHR has negative connotations to caregivers who are frustrated with the technology. This happens many times in my facility, I hear “I miss paper and I miss the old ways” many feel the EHR takes away time from patient care. While if a clinician is not fluent in an EHR or the EHR has a complicated workflow this can be true. The EHR did have a slow start when first implemented and thus the meaningful use incentive program came into place due to the fact CMS envisioned the positivity of how the ERH would improve patient care. The Meaningful use program was set into place to promote the careful and meaningful use of the EHR to use the technology for improving quality, safety and efficiency as you stated. Meaningful use of the EHR is also to decrease social disparities, improve access to patient data in real time, this in itself helps create consistent can safely care (Joneidy & Burke, 2018). Nurse and providers are creatures of habit and will resist change, the real challenge is improving the EHR to illicit increased patient facing care as well as improving quality as you indicated.

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In healthcare, there has been a shift towards valuing the quality of care being delivered through the use of quality improvement, incentives, and quality measures. The meaningful use incentive program was created by the federal government in order to help providers deliver more effective and better care. The goal was to increase the adoption of EHRs in order to help providers be successful at delivering this care (Hersey et. al., 2019). It was found that even though EHRs were supposed to make things easier for providers and staff many were frustrated. It was found that tailoring the EHR to each individual practice helped with increasing the use (Hersey et. al., 2019). If the EHR is tailored towards individuals practices they are going to find more benefits to using the EHR. This would be the first indication that meaningful use has improved care coordination by having an increase in the use of the EHR. Another indication that meaninful use has improved would be the engagement of staff within its implementation and use. This includes using more standing orders for nurses to offload providers and increase the quality of care they deliver (Hersey et. al., 2019). Other indications include the use of quality measures to better patient outcomes. This includes decreasing readmission rates, infection rates, and chronic diseases.

Hersey, C. L., M.P.H., Tant, E., M.Sc, Berzin, O. K. G., M.P.H., Trisolini, M. G., PhD., & West, S. L., PhD. (2019). Moving from Quality Measurement to Quality Improvement: Applying Meaningful Use Lessons to the Quality Payment Program. Perspectives in Health Information Management, , 1-12. https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=

https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/moving-quality-measurement-improvement-applying/docview/2332353145/se-2