PBH 358D: CHAPTER 5: MEDICAL
TECHNOLOGY, VOL.3/ REVIEW
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Medical technology encompasses more than just sophisticated equipment. Discuss. -
Correct Answers -Medical technology encompasses a much broader concept than just
sophisticated equipment and devices. It includes life-saving procedures, such as bone
marrow and organ transplants, as well as curative procedures, such as hip
replacements. Modern facilities found in today's medical centers and care settings, such
as home health and subacute facilities, are the products of technology. New, more
effective drugs and biologics are part of modern technological innovations. Technology
also includes the organizational and support systems, especially computer-supported
information systems that facilitate patient care delivery and management of healthcare
delivery. Application of other modern innovations, such as the Internet, to facilitate
access to medical information and improve communications among providers and
between patients and providers, is also included in medical technology.
What role does an IT department play in a modern health care organization? - Correct
Answers -IT departments manage the continuously increasing flow of information and
ensure that it is made available in a user-friendly format to health care professionals,
managers, payers, and patients, as determined by the organization. IT departments
also play a critical role in decisions to adopt new information technologies that would
improve health care delivery and organizational efficiency.
What is telemedicine? How do the synchronous and asynchronous forms of
telemedicine differ in their applications? - Correct Answers -Telemedicine is the distant
delivery of medical treatment. It does not involve face-to-face contact between patients
and providers. It also enables generalists to consult specialists located at a distance.
Synchronous telemedicine is in real-time and is interactive. E.g., telesurgery.
The asynchronous form uses store-and-forward technology; the recipient reviews the
information later, e.g., teleradiology.
Which factors have been responsible for the low diffusion and low use of telemedicine?
- Correct Answers -The largest barrier to telemedicine adoption is the lack of a
reimbursement model, according to a survey of 75 health care executives. Also, the
cost effectiveness of most telemedicine applications remains unsubstantiated.
Provide brief descriptions of clinical information systems, administrative information
systems, and decision support systems in health care delivery. - Correct Answers -(1)
Clinical information systems involve the organized processing, storage, and retrieval of
information to support patient care delivery. Electronic medical records, for example,
, can provide quick and reliable information necessary to guide clinical decision making
and to produce timely reports on quality of care delivered.
(2) Administrative information systems are designed to assist in carrying out financial
and administrative support activities, such as payroll, patient accounting, billing,
materials management, budgeting and cost control, and office automation.
(3) Decision support systems provide information and analytical tools to support
managerial decision making. Such tools are used to forecast patient volume, project
staffing requirements, and schedule patients to optimize utilization of patient care and
surgical facilities. Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) encompass a range of
applications, from general references, through specific guidelines for a given condition,
to recommendations that take into account a patient's unique clinical data. CDSSs can
include clinical practice guidelines.
Distinguish between information technology (IT) and health informatics. - Correct
Answers -IT deals with the gathering, storage, analysis, and transformation of data so it
becomes useful information for health care professionals, managers, payers, and
patients. Health informatics uses IT but goes a step beyond by emphasizing the
improvement of health care. Unlike IT, health informatics generally applies to specific
medical treatments such as cancer treatment, nursing care, imaging and diagnostics,
consumer health, public health, clinical research, pharmacy, etc.
According to the Institute of Medicine, what are the four main components of a fully
developed electronic health records (EHR) system? - Correct Answers -According to the
Institute of Medicine, a fully-developed EHR system includes four key components: (1)
collection and storage of health information on individual patients over time, where
health information is defined as information pertaining to the health of an individual or
health care provided to an individual; (2) immediate electronic access to person and
population level information by authorized users; (3) provision of knowledge and
decision-support that enhance the quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care; and (4)
support of efficient processes for health care delivery.
What are the main provisions of HIPAA with regard to the protection of personal health
information? What provisions were added to HIPAA under the HITECH law? - Correct
Answers -HIPAA makes it illegal to gain access to personal health information for
reasons other than health care delivery, operations, and reimbursement. The law
mandated strict controls on the transfer of personally identifiable health data between
two entities, provisions for disclosure of protected information, and penalties for
violation. Revisions to HIPAA under HITECH add more stringent rules for disclosure of
breaches of confidential PHI, inclusion of vendors and subcontractors as "business
associates" who must comply with HIPAA requirements, restrictions on the use of PHI
for marketing purposes, patient authorization related to the use of PHI for research
purposes, use of genetic information for underwriting purposes by health insurance
plans, and the patients' right to receive electronic copies of their PHI.
TECHNOLOGY, VOL.3/ REVIEW
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Medical technology encompasses more than just sophisticated equipment. Discuss. -
Correct Answers -Medical technology encompasses a much broader concept than just
sophisticated equipment and devices. It includes life-saving procedures, such as bone
marrow and organ transplants, as well as curative procedures, such as hip
replacements. Modern facilities found in today's medical centers and care settings, such
as home health and subacute facilities, are the products of technology. New, more
effective drugs and biologics are part of modern technological innovations. Technology
also includes the organizational and support systems, especially computer-supported
information systems that facilitate patient care delivery and management of healthcare
delivery. Application of other modern innovations, such as the Internet, to facilitate
access to medical information and improve communications among providers and
between patients and providers, is also included in medical technology.
What role does an IT department play in a modern health care organization? - Correct
Answers -IT departments manage the continuously increasing flow of information and
ensure that it is made available in a user-friendly format to health care professionals,
managers, payers, and patients, as determined by the organization. IT departments
also play a critical role in decisions to adopt new information technologies that would
improve health care delivery and organizational efficiency.
What is telemedicine? How do the synchronous and asynchronous forms of
telemedicine differ in their applications? - Correct Answers -Telemedicine is the distant
delivery of medical treatment. It does not involve face-to-face contact between patients
and providers. It also enables generalists to consult specialists located at a distance.
Synchronous telemedicine is in real-time and is interactive. E.g., telesurgery.
The asynchronous form uses store-and-forward technology; the recipient reviews the
information later, e.g., teleradiology.
Which factors have been responsible for the low diffusion and low use of telemedicine?
- Correct Answers -The largest barrier to telemedicine adoption is the lack of a
reimbursement model, according to a survey of 75 health care executives. Also, the
cost effectiveness of most telemedicine applications remains unsubstantiated.
Provide brief descriptions of clinical information systems, administrative information
systems, and decision support systems in health care delivery. - Correct Answers -(1)
Clinical information systems involve the organized processing, storage, and retrieval of
information to support patient care delivery. Electronic medical records, for example,
, can provide quick and reliable information necessary to guide clinical decision making
and to produce timely reports on quality of care delivered.
(2) Administrative information systems are designed to assist in carrying out financial
and administrative support activities, such as payroll, patient accounting, billing,
materials management, budgeting and cost control, and office automation.
(3) Decision support systems provide information and analytical tools to support
managerial decision making. Such tools are used to forecast patient volume, project
staffing requirements, and schedule patients to optimize utilization of patient care and
surgical facilities. Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) encompass a range of
applications, from general references, through specific guidelines for a given condition,
to recommendations that take into account a patient's unique clinical data. CDSSs can
include clinical practice guidelines.
Distinguish between information technology (IT) and health informatics. - Correct
Answers -IT deals with the gathering, storage, analysis, and transformation of data so it
becomes useful information for health care professionals, managers, payers, and
patients. Health informatics uses IT but goes a step beyond by emphasizing the
improvement of health care. Unlike IT, health informatics generally applies to specific
medical treatments such as cancer treatment, nursing care, imaging and diagnostics,
consumer health, public health, clinical research, pharmacy, etc.
According to the Institute of Medicine, what are the four main components of a fully
developed electronic health records (EHR) system? - Correct Answers -According to the
Institute of Medicine, a fully-developed EHR system includes four key components: (1)
collection and storage of health information on individual patients over time, where
health information is defined as information pertaining to the health of an individual or
health care provided to an individual; (2) immediate electronic access to person and
population level information by authorized users; (3) provision of knowledge and
decision-support that enhance the quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care; and (4)
support of efficient processes for health care delivery.
What are the main provisions of HIPAA with regard to the protection of personal health
information? What provisions were added to HIPAA under the HITECH law? - Correct
Answers -HIPAA makes it illegal to gain access to personal health information for
reasons other than health care delivery, operations, and reimbursement. The law
mandated strict controls on the transfer of personally identifiable health data between
two entities, provisions for disclosure of protected information, and penalties for
violation. Revisions to HIPAA under HITECH add more stringent rules for disclosure of
breaches of confidential PHI, inclusion of vendors and subcontractors as "business
associates" who must comply with HIPAA requirements, restrictions on the use of PHI
for marketing purposes, patient authorization related to the use of PHI for research
purposes, use of genetic information for underwriting purposes by health insurance
plans, and the patients' right to receive electronic copies of their PHI.
