Step 1: Review the scenario below:
Advantages-
A nationwide healthcare data management system has several pros and cons
related to patient care and outcomes. As a nurse working in healthcare, I find it most
beneficial to have continuation and coordination of care for patients. Access to
records and patient data can provide crucial information for the medical team as we
collaborate and make decisions to ensure the best possible outcome. “Health
information exchange (HIE) that ensures that patient health information follows
each patient as they move between care settings is important to providing well-
coordinated care” (Reed et al., 2020). It allows us to analyze past and present data
such as lab values, scans, medication orders and dosages, treatments, surgeries,
and other information to ensure we are not duplicating or can utilize it to compare,
looking for any changes that may be of concern. From a patient perspective, I can
see this being beneficial and more efficient. If you enter into a new healthcare
system it can feel like most of your time is spent going through past medical history,
allergies, medications, etc. Utilizing a nationwide healthcare data management
system would allow this information to be available and give the healthcare team
more time to focus on the new concern or medical emergency present. Having
immediate access to pertinent information can allow for more positive patient
outcomes, and less medical errors.
Disadvantages/concerns-
Lack of security, breaches or attacks on healthcare data management systems is
one of the largest concerns from a patient and healthcare system perspective.
According to D’Aliberti and Clark (2022), “Improper EHR resource sharing occurs
when Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Protected Health Information (PHI) is
shared without patient approval. This could take the form of a data breach in which
an external party gains access to the data by attacking a third-party server, like the
AMCA data breach [5]. But it could also originate from a less malicious, but equally
dangerous, loss of security control when sensitive healthcare records are shared
with multiple parties [6]. In either case, the leakage threatens institution reputation
and jeopardizes patient privacy”.
“Risks include medical identity theft and extortion attempts based on threats to
release sensitive patient information. Hacking is now a foreseeable additional risk of
medical treatment. Risk mitigation for the consequences of data breaches needs to
be considered, as well as support for patients (and families) and healthcare workers.
This includes identity theft protection services, cybersecurity insurance, and
psychological support” (Looi et al., 2023). From a healthcare system standpoint, it is
important to ensure there are security guidelines in place so patient data is secure
and HIPPA violations are not taking place. Since we are still responsible for following
these privacy and confidentiality measures, it seems it could be more difficult with a
nationwide system. Another concern I would have from both a provider and patient’s
standpoint is inconsistent data, or getting opinions from other providers. It is
important that as healthcare workers, we are gathering our own data based on
assessments to provide recommendations. It can be easy to read through a chart or
make judgements from previous information. As a patient, we do not always agree
with findings or recommendations and being able to get another opinion it would be
more comforting knowing not all of this data is shared prior to making decisions.
Advantages-
A nationwide healthcare data management system has several pros and cons
related to patient care and outcomes. As a nurse working in healthcare, I find it most
beneficial to have continuation and coordination of care for patients. Access to
records and patient data can provide crucial information for the medical team as we
collaborate and make decisions to ensure the best possible outcome. “Health
information exchange (HIE) that ensures that patient health information follows
each patient as they move between care settings is important to providing well-
coordinated care” (Reed et al., 2020). It allows us to analyze past and present data
such as lab values, scans, medication orders and dosages, treatments, surgeries,
and other information to ensure we are not duplicating or can utilize it to compare,
looking for any changes that may be of concern. From a patient perspective, I can
see this being beneficial and more efficient. If you enter into a new healthcare
system it can feel like most of your time is spent going through past medical history,
allergies, medications, etc. Utilizing a nationwide healthcare data management
system would allow this information to be available and give the healthcare team
more time to focus on the new concern or medical emergency present. Having
immediate access to pertinent information can allow for more positive patient
outcomes, and less medical errors.
Disadvantages/concerns-
Lack of security, breaches or attacks on healthcare data management systems is
one of the largest concerns from a patient and healthcare system perspective.
According to D’Aliberti and Clark (2022), “Improper EHR resource sharing occurs
when Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Protected Health Information (PHI) is
shared without patient approval. This could take the form of a data breach in which
an external party gains access to the data by attacking a third-party server, like the
AMCA data breach [5]. But it could also originate from a less malicious, but equally
dangerous, loss of security control when sensitive healthcare records are shared
with multiple parties [6]. In either case, the leakage threatens institution reputation
and jeopardizes patient privacy”.
“Risks include medical identity theft and extortion attempts based on threats to
release sensitive patient information. Hacking is now a foreseeable additional risk of
medical treatment. Risk mitigation for the consequences of data breaches needs to
be considered, as well as support for patients (and families) and healthcare workers.
This includes identity theft protection services, cybersecurity insurance, and
psychological support” (Looi et al., 2023). From a healthcare system standpoint, it is
important to ensure there are security guidelines in place so patient data is secure
and HIPPA violations are not taking place. Since we are still responsible for following
these privacy and confidentiality measures, it seems it could be more difficult with a
nationwide system. Another concern I would have from both a provider and patient’s
standpoint is inconsistent data, or getting opinions from other providers. It is
important that as healthcare workers, we are gathering our own data based on
assessments to provide recommendations. It can be easy to read through a chart or
make judgements from previous information. As a patient, we do not always agree
with findings or recommendations and being able to get another opinion it would be
more comforting knowing not all of this data is shared prior to making decisions.
