NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

Sample Answer for NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet Included After Question

As a professional nurse, you are expected to apply your expertise to patient care. On occasion, you will also be expected to share that expertise.

With evolving technology and continuous changes to regulations designed to keep up these changes, there is usually a need to share information and expertise to inform colleagues, leadership, patients, and other stakeholders.

In this Assignment, you will study a recent nursing informatics-related healthcare policy, and you will share the relevant details via a fact sheet designed to inform and educate.

To Prepare:

Review the Resources on healthcare policy and regulatory/legislative topics related to health and nursing informatics.
Consider the role of the nurse informaticist in relation to a healthcare organization’s compliance with various policies and regulations, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).
Research and select one health or nursing informatics policy (within the past 5 years) or regulation for further study.

The Assignment: (1 page not including the title and reference page)

Create a 1-page fact sheet that your healthcare organization could hypothetically use to explain the health or nursing informatics policy/regulation you selected. Your fact sheet should address the following:

Briefly and generally explain the policy or regulation you selected.
Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on system implementation.
Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow.
Highlight organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at your healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation you selected. Be specific.
Use APA format and include a title page, in-text citations, and reference page.
Use the Safe Assign Drafts to check your match percentage before submitting your work.

By Day 5 of Week 11

Submit your completed Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet.

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A Sample Answer For the Assignment: NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

Title: NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

Technology use in healthcare has gained momentum in the modern world due to the promotion of safety, quality, and efficiency. Health organizations have the responsibility of abiding by the policies that have been developed to promote effective use of health informatics. Therefore, this paper examines the implications of the 21^st Century Act on healthcare.

The Selected Policy

The selected healthcare policy that has an effect on the healthcare and nursing informatics is the 21^st Century Act or the Cures Act. President Obama signed into use the 21^st Century Act in December 13 2016. The act was adopted with the aim of accelerating the development of medical products alongside introducing innovations and medical advances to improve the quality and efficiency of care given to the patients. The act was also adopted to improve the experiences of the patients with the healthcare system by incorporating their perspectives into healthcare processes that include the development of devices, biological products, drugs, and the decision-making processes in the FDA (Gabay, 2017). The 21^st Century Act also has some implications on the use of informatics in health. Accordingly, the act requires medical professionals to work together in the discovery of innovative solutions in health. It requires medical professionals such as EHR vendors, physician leaders, pharmacists, and information technology employees to work together towards improving the performance of healthcare systems and patient outcomes. Healthcare organizations are also expected to adopt systems that increase exchange of information to ensure that patients and healthcare providers can easily access the health-related data that they need for them to come up with informed decisions.

The US’s healthcare system is expected to achieve these outcomes related to the use of electronic health records because of a number of reasons. Firstly, the act made provisions for support to the Food and Drug Administration agency to ensure that the processes of data sharing between health organizations and providers are enhanced. The law seeks to eliminate barriers to inter-professional and organizational transfer of information by championing the use of efficient technologies for health (Lye et al., 2018). The second way in which the act seeks to achieve the goals is through leveraging on the existing resources in health organizations such as skilled providers to enhance the adoption of laws and practices that enhance information exchange in health (Medicine et al., 2016).

NURS 6051 Policy Regulation Fact Sheet — NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

Impact of the Policy on System Implementation

The 21^st Century Act has a number of implications on the system implementation. One of the impacts is the increased need for health organizations to adopt interventions that promote interoperability in the use of electronic health records. As noted above, the 21^st Century Act requires health organizations to work together in sharing health data with patients and providers for informed decision-making. The need for information sharing implies that health organizations have to explore mechanisms that can be utilized to ensure the promotion of data integrity during the sharing process. Health organizations also have to support the implementation of evidence-based innovative practices that enhance the use of technologies such as telehealth and social media to monitor, prevent, and treat illnesses (Goble, 2018). The second implication of the 21^st Century Act on system implementation is the fact that it has accelerated the adoption of electronic health records for clinical use. The enhanced adoption of electronic health records in health is attributable to the provision of system requirements and capabilities that health organizations must achieve. There is also the fact that the act stipulated assigning of $4.8 billion through the NIH to be used up to 2026 to support the adoption of electronic health records and sharing of health data to inform medical decisions, research, and innovations (Magnuson & Dixon, 2020). Through these interventions, the system implementation of electronic health records will be enhanced in the state, hence, quality, efficiency, and safety in healthcare.

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Impact of the Policy on Clinical Care, Patient/Provider Interactions, and Workflow

The 21^st Century Act also has a number of effects on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow. One of the impacts on clinical care is the protection of patient rights in the use of clinical data. The adoption of the policy strengthens the protection of privacy in researches using human subjects. The implication of this provision is the meaningful use of health data to promote health. The act also strengthened the need for the protection of sensitive and identifiable information in sharing health data for use in healthcare. According to the 21^st Century Act, health organizations have to achieve interoperability of the use of electronic health records by data integrity in data use (Lye et al., 2018). Data integrity is achieved through the protection of sensitive and identifiable patient information.

The other impact of the act on patient/provider information is enhanced patient participation in the care process. Patients have the right to access their needed healthcare and use it for making informed decision on issues related to their health. Healthcare providers also have the role of demonstrating professionalism, accountability, and responsibility in the use of the protected patient data. Healthcare providers have to strengthen the implementation of policies and regulations that safe guard data integrity and the effective use of health data in making informed decisions related to patient care. The adoption of the 21^st Century Act also has implications of workflow in health organizations. As shown above, the act champions the sharing of information among health organizations and medical providers for informed decision-making. The free sharing of the information minimizes errors in decisions made and the adoption of best evidences in the management of conditions. Similarly, the sharing of information for use in research will result in enhanced rigor, validity, reliability, and reproducibility of the results obtained in clinical studies. Through it, healthcare providers will be able to offer care that utilizes the best available evidence (Magnuson & Dixon, 2020). Consequently, outcomes such as enhanced efficiency, quality, and safety of care will be achieved with the implementation of the 21^st Century Act.

Organizational Policies and Procedures in My Workplace

The organization I work with has put in place a number of policies and procedures to ensure that it adheres with the provisions of the 21^st Century Act. One of them is enhancing the use of electronic health records in the provision of care. Electronic health records have been utilized for functions such as data storage, analysis, retrieval, and protection. The organization has also developed standards and policies that relate to the use and sharing of electronic health records. It has developed guidelines that healthcare providers have to follow for the effective use of patient data. The policies on the consequences of ineffective use of data have also been developed to ensure the meaningful and safe use of patient data. Lastly, the organization supports researches that seek to innovate the use of technology in health. Evidence-based practice and projects are encouraged for use in ensuring the provision of high quality, safe, and efficient care to the patients.

Conclusion

In summary, the 21^st Century Act has significant implications to nursing informatics. The act has provisions that aim at increasing system implementation of electronic health records. The act also strengthens the adoption of measures that aim at improving workflow, patient/provider interaction, and clinical care in health organizations. Therefore, health organizations should embrace policies that aim at supporting the effective implementation of the 21^st Century in health.

References

Gabay, M. (2017). 21st Century Cures Act. Hospital Pharmacy, 52(4), 264–265. https://doi.org/10.1310/hpj5204-264

Goble, J. A. (2018). The Potential Effect of the 21st Century Cures Act on Drug Development. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 24(7), 677–681. https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2018.24.7.677

Lye, C. T., Forman, H. P., Daniel, J. G., & Krumholz, H. M. (2018). The 21st Century Cures Act and electronic health records one year later: Will patients see the benefits? Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 25(9), 1218–1220. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocy065

Magnuson, J. A., & Dixon, B. E. (2020). Public Health Informatics and Information Systems. Springer Nature.

Medicine, N. A. of S., Engineering, and, Medicine, I. of, Services, B. on H. C., & Care, C. on D. E. in H. (2016). Improving Diagnosis in Health Care. National Academies Press.

A Sample Answer 2 For the Assignment: NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

Title: NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is “a way to deliver efficient and effective information systems that fit with the strategic business plan, which stems from the mission, of the organization” (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022, p. 191). It involves understanding the problem and the potential solution, making a plan, putting the plan into action, evaluating its effectiveness, and finally, maintaining the system. Health organizations must consider the expertise of nurses at every step in this cycle. One of the systems that the health organization I work for has implemented is an online incident reporting platform. The prior system was paper-based and inconvenient, so it was a welcome change to go online.

When an organization considers a change in how tasks are completed, it is essential to evaluate the current workflow and its potential changes. Workflow is “the sequence of physical and mental tasks performed by various people within and between work environments” (AHRQ, n.d.). With the identification of the problem of needing a more streamlined approach for incident reporting and coming up with possible solutions, the organization must include the input of the people who will be utilizing the new proposed system the most, which are the front-line nurses working the floor. Nurses are usually the most frequent contact point with patients, so they will be the ones to notice these events. The expectation is that events get reported when something reaches the patient and causes harm, as well as when it comes to them but doesn’t cause harm. “Near-miss” events are also reported, as they can potentially negatively affect patients, visitors, or staff. In the planning process, nurses should be allowed to voice their opinions on the current system and give ideas on how the process could be more accessible.

Things to consider are that the paper forms may take a long time to fill out, they might get lost in the shuffle of much paperwork during a shift, and the storage and maintenance of these records by management may be inconvenient and space-consuming. Once a plan is determined, in this case, transitioning to a computer-based system, the organization must decide how to implement this system. Companies vet various methods for their cost-to-value ratio before the technology is selected. Nurses can provide insights into which plans incorporate the most vital aspects of event reporting that are part of the paper system or are not a part of it but should be. Once the organization decides on a platform, nurses can lend their knowledge to the implementation process. They can be champions of the new process and have a positive attitude about the change and its benefits. Since nurses will likely use the platform most frequently, they can teach others how to use it properly and become super users for their departments.

After the new event reporting system has been in place for a few months, nurses can give their thoughts on how successful or unsuccessful the initiation was and suggest improvements. Perhaps unnecessary items in the documentation affect the time needed to submit a report, which would be the opposite of the intended goal of time conservation compared to the paper system. Once the vendor addresses the issues, the computer reporting system will require maintenance and periodic upgrades. The nurses can again offer insights into which improvements or alterations will meet the changing needs of the department and the organization.

A similar change in event reporting occurred at a facility in China. As a result of changing from a paper-based to an online system, there was “a dramatic increase in the number of reported adverse events by nursing staff due to more accurate data now available” (Cao & Ball, 2017, p. 1351). When nurses are involved in the steps of the SDLC, they will feel empowered, like they are a vital part of the new program. If systems change without the input of nurses, the system could negatively impact their daily workflow. If nurses are not part of the development of new programs, they could feel like their supervisors and administrators don’t care about how these changes affect them. These feelings could lead to a decrease in morale, affecting the patient experience. I was not involved in the SDLC for the event reporting process in my company. I have never been included in one in the 12 years I have worked there. I feel like the healthcare organization I work for makes changes to workflow based on the cost to the company rather than the benefit to the people who use it. Solle et al. (2020) determined that “involving various stakeholders in the process and creating a framework by which changes to a workflow could be evaluated and disseminated” (p. S369) yields successful results. In the future, I hope my company will allow nurses to contribute more to the SDLC.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (n.d.). What is Workflow? Retrieved January 23, 2023, from https://digital.ahrq.gov/health-it-tools-and-resources/evaluation-resources/workflow-assessment-health-it-toolkit/workflow

Links to an external site.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge (5^th edition). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Solle, J. C., Close, S., Koch, B., Hartley, T., Steinberg, A., & Emmert, A. B. (2020). Developing an Easily Applicable Quality Improvement Process to Optimize and Improve Discrete Workflows; Methods for Iterative Change and Successful Scale. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, 26(3), p. S368-S369.

A Sample Answer 3 For the Assignment: NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

Title: NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

Introduction

In response to the evolving needs of healthcare and advancements in technology, policy, and regulatory bodies are continually adjusting regulations. A notable change in 2021 is the Telehealth Expansion Policy, which has significant implications for healthcare organizations in Dallas, Texas, including our institution, Dallas Health Elite (DHE).

The 2021 Telehealth Expansion Policy

The 2021 Telehealth Expansion Policy seeks to broaden the scope of telehealth services provided by healthcare professionals to patients. The goal is to enhance patient care by leveraging digital technology, especially in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic (Dixit et al., 2022).

Impact on System Implementation

Infrastructure Upgrade: To accommodate the surge in telehealth services, there is a need for healthcare organizations to upgrade their IT infrastructure, ensuring reliable and secure patient-provider interactions (Ong et al., 2021).

Training and Onboarding: Staff must be trained to navigate and utilize new telehealth platforms effectively. This would require resources for continuous professional development and system familiarization (Alrahbi et al., 2022).

Impact on Clinical Care, Patient/Provider Interactions, and Workflow

Increased Access: Telehealth services can help eliminate geographical barriers, providing more patients with access to specialized care (Jonathan et al, 2023).

Streamlined Workflow: Virtual consultations can enhance the healthcare workflow, reducing waiting times and improving appointment efficiency (Pogorzelska-Maziarz et al., 2021).

Enhanced Patient-Provider Interactions: Telehealth offers flexibility, allowing patients to engage in consultations in a comfortable environment, which can foster better communication and understanding (Mattisson et al., 2023).

Dallas Health Elite’s (DHE) Response

DHE is committed to providing the best patient care and is in full compliance with the 2021 Telehealth Expansion Policy. Our strategies include:

Partnering with leading telehealth solution providers to ensure a seamless virtual experience for our patients.
Establishing a dedicated telehealth department responsible for training our medical staff and addressing any related concerns.
Setting clear guidelines and protocols for virtual consultations to maintain the high quality of care and professionalism our patients expect.
Offering 24/7 IT support to address any technical glitches or concerns that arise during telehealth sessions.

Conclusion

The 2021 Telehealth Expansion Policy is a testament to the dynamic nature of healthcare and the need to be adaptive. Dallas Health Elite remains at the forefront of these changes, ensuring our patients receive top-notch care, whether in-person or virtual.

References

Alrahbi, D. A., Khan, M., Gupta, S., Modgil, S., & Chiappetta Jabbour, C. J. (2022). Challenges for developing health-care knowledge in the digital age. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(4), 824–853. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-03-2020-0224

Dixit, N., Van Sebille, Y., Crawford, G. B., Ginex, P. K., Ortega, P. F., & Chan, R. J. (2022). Disparities in telehealth use: How should the supportive care community respond? Supportive Care in Cancer, 30(2), 1007–1010. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06629-4

Jonathan Kissi, Caleb Annobil, Nathan Kumasenu Mensah, Joseph Owusu-Marfo, Ernest Osei, & Zenobia Wooduwa Asmah. (2023). Telehealth services for global emergencies: implications for COVID-19: a scoping review based on current evidence. BMC Health Services Research, 23(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09584-4

Mattisson, M., Börjeson, S., Årestedt, K., & Lindberg, M. (2023). Role of interaction for caller satisfaction in telenursing—A cross‐sectional survey study. Journal of Clinical Nursing (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), 32(15/16), 4752–4761. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16524

Ong, T., Wilczewski, H., Paige, S. R., Soni, H., Welch, B. M., & Bunnell, B. E. (2021). Extended reality for enhanced telehealth during and beyond COVID-19: Viewpoint. JMIR Serious Games, 9(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.2196/26520

Pogorzelska-Maziarz, M., Rising, K., Gentsch, A., Traczuk, A., Hsiao, T., Amadio, G., Haddad, T., & Gerolamo, A. (2021). Home healthcare patient, caregiver and provider perspectives on use of unscheduled acute care and the usability and acceptability of on-demand telehealth solutions. Geriatric Nursing, 42(5), 1029–1034. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2021.06.009