NURS 8210 Discussion Week 5 Nursing and Health Care Informatics Ethics and the Law

The goals and objectives of the meaningful use program are varied. One of them is to enhance the collaboration between the public as well as clinical healthcare. The collaboration is projected to result in the improvement in quality of care offered to the public due to active stakeholder engagement (Daim, 2019). The other goal of the program is to improve the provision of patient-centered care that prevents health problems and promote health. The use of health information technologies eliminates any possible adverse outcomes due to medical errors. It also increases the effectiveness of clinical follow-up of cases (Slight et al., 2015). Consequently, it is believed that continued use of the health information systems will enhance the provision of patient-centric care to those in need.

The other aim of the meaningful use program is to ensure the protection of the patient information. Institutions of healthcare are required to utilize certified health information systems that safeguard the private and confidential data of their clients. They are needed to adopt sophisticate physical, technical, and administrative safeguards that offer strict access to patients’ data. Healthcare institutions achieve this outcome by encrypting electronic information of their patients. They can also ensure that strict check systems are utilized before healthcare providers access the information they need (Piliouras et al., 2016). Therefore, protection of patient information is important in increasing the use of health information technologies in healthcare.

The other goal of the meaningful program is to enhance the coordination of care in healthcare institutions. Health information technologies such as electronic health records increase the rate at which clinical decisions are made. It enhances the collaborative efforts between the various stakeholders of the healthcare system. The fact that information is readily available implies that clinical decisions can be made with ease based on the health status of the client. The availability of data also increases the efficiency in which the operations of healthcare organizations are done (Piliouras et al., 2016). Consequently, additional benefits such as improvement in patient engagement, quality of care, and consumer satisfaction are achieved.

The success of the meaningful use program is two-fold. For a majority, the program has been successful due to the increase in healthcare coverage in the state. The incidences of adverse medical events have also reduced. The utilization of healthcare services in the state has also risen due to the efficiency associated with delivery of healthcare services. Some of the scholars also argue that the program has failed. The failure is attributed to the program’s failure to address vital human resource issues affecting the US healthcare system. An example is the acute shortage of healthcare workforce to provide the care needed in the state. The failure is also seen in the significant resistance from the healthcare providers in adopting the program (Adler-Milstein et al., 2015). Despite the above challenges, the program has been effective in reducing the costs incurred by healthcare organizations and the patients. The reduction can be seen in the efficient coordination of care and decision-making in healthcare institutions. Quality of care has also improved due to enhanced safety in the nature of care and accessibility as well as the reduction in medical errors (Holman et al., 2016). Therefore, while there are few challenges with the program, it has been effective in improving the quality of care offered to those in need in the state.

“Whatever, in connection with my professional service, or not in connection with it, I see or hear, in the life of men, which ought not to be spoken of abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret.”
—Confidentiality excerpt from the Hippocratic Oath (as cited in Croll, 2010)

Traditional schools of medicine have a ritual of reciting oath excerpts such as the one above during their graduation ceremonies. Such excerpts usually revolve around a professional’s promise to uphold the ideals of patient safety and confidentiality to the best of his or her ability.

With the continued integration of HIT, and advances in technology such as hand-held computers, new ethical considerations have evolved within health care settings. For example, wireless capabilities can provide easier access to information from unauthorized outside parties. While technological advances have led to improvements in health care, they have also created new vulnerabilities. Doctora