Please answer the below week 9 & 10 discussion post. Please also reference the each week’s lecture notes to further answer the questions. Week 9 Discussion Post: How is Digital Transformation Reshaping Healthcare Delivery?
Digital transformation is about changing Healthcare delivery. How do you see this happening? Share a concrete example.
How can digital transformation improve the patient experience?Week 10 Discussion QuestionLink to week 10 video for discussionWeek 10 Discussion Post: Can Disruptive Innovation Work in Healthcare?
In his talk at the Mayo Clinic, Clayton Christensen’s applied the principles of Disruptive Innovation to a broken Healthcare system. He examined the challenges facing the Healthcare system and proposed a set of clear, innovative, and actionable solutions to both reduce the cost of Healthcare and lead to improved health outcomes for millions of people. Marling’s post provides a concrete example of Christensen’s ideas about Disruptive Innovation applied to business models. Comment on whether Christensen’s point of view is viable. Why or why not? Provide one concrete example of a specific solution you can apply to your own Healthcare environment today?
JWI 551: It’s All About The Patient
Lecture Notes
Technology and Healthcare
Technology is reshaping healthcare delivery. It is changing the working relationship between patients
and their physicians, and it is also empowering patients to take control of their health status and health
outcomes. Through technology, patients have access to their own health data, and they are starting to
use the information to monitor things like chronic disease states and to anticipate disease processes.
The role of the doctor is shifting too. Readily available tools are reducing the need for many types of
routine and not-so-routine testing inside the walls of a healthcare facility. Not only will this impact
demand for testing services, it has the potential to reduce costs and overall healthcare spending by
providing key tests at a much more affordable price. Technology is also reshaping healthcare operations,
streamlining business processes and reducing costs. The future is now!
Defining Health Technology
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Health Technology as the “application of organized
knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures and systems developed to
solve a health problem and improve quality of lives.” This definition shows how the changes brought by
technology impact a wide range of areas, including the pharmaceuticals, devices, procedures, and
organizational systems used in Healthcare.
According to the website, HealthIT.gov, health information technology (Health IT) is “a broad concept
that encompasses an array of technologies to store, share and analyze health information”. At the
highest level it is used to improve patient care by promoting better communication between doctors
and patients, make health information available so it can inform patients’ action and improve quality of
life. Health IT incorporates the patient into the care team.
Types of Health Information Technology
Health IT includes many different online systems. Some of the key systems in current use are Electronic
Health Records (EHRs), Personal Health Records (PHRs), and E-prescribing.
Electronic Health Records—sometimes called Electronic Medical Records (EMRs)—are electronic
systems that store patient health information: medical history, test results, medications, etc. Until
recently, healthcare organizations, including physician’s offices, relied on paper charts. Some benefits of
electronic health record systems are that physicians can easily keep track of important health
information and that such systems increase real time access to critical information. EHRs also facilitate
sharing of information with other providers involved in the care of the same patient.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWMI551
Page 2 of 10
JWI 551: It’s All About The Patient
Lecture Notes
Many EMRs have what is known as a patient portal, enabling patients to sign up, establish login
credentials, and then access their own health records, lab results, and treatment plans. In some cases,
patients can also email their doctor, make appointments, and request prescription refills online.
Personal Health Records have many similarities to the Electronic Health Record. Patients control the
type of information entered into the PHR and may use it to log doctors’ visits, as well as information
about health priorities, such as food intake, exercise, and blood pressure. In some cases, a PHR can be
connected to the EHR.
E-prescribing means that a healthcare provider can send a patient’s prescription directly to the
pharmacy. Advantages include: better security than paper options, accuracy, speed, efficiency, and
convenience for the patient, who no longer has to remember to bring a paper copy.
E-Health Tools are considered part of Health IT and include personal health tools, such as Smartphone apps,
and online communities that provide support related to a particular condition or disease.
Example: One website that provides a forum for patients to connect about particular medical conditions is
PatientsLikeMe, which you can view at www.patientslikeme.com.
Health Information Exchange (HIE)
Secure electronic data transfer is readily available; however, there is still a tremendous amount of patient
information that lives on paper charts in doctors’ offices, hospitals, and people’s homes. The Health
Information Exchange (HIE) makes possible the secure transfer of information, which may well be critical to
the health and well-being of a patient. For example, information about past medical history and
medications can improve the speed, quality, safety, and cost of patient care.
There are three forms of Health Information Exchange: Directed, Query-Based, and Consumer-Mediated.
Let’s look at each of these types separately.
Ø In a Directed Exchange, providers have the ability to send and receive secure information
electronically to each other to support coordinated care.
Example: Providers send information about number of flu vaccinations to organizations like the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Ø A Query-Based Exchange makes it possible for providers to find or request information from
another provider, especially when a patient has an incident of unplanned care.
Example: A patient arrives at an emergency room and the attending physician needs to know
about past medical history or current medications before finalizing a care plan. S/he can query the
online system for any needed information.
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not
be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.
JWMI551
Page 3 of 10
JWI 551: It’s All About The Patient