Answer

Health Information Management in Projects

Health Information Management (HIM) is currently among the most important aspects in the healthcare sector. HIM, which is described as the acquisition, analysis, and protection of both the digital and conventional information in a medical facility, is aimed at enhancing the quality of care provided by the organization. HIM is identified as the combination of science, business, and information technology which are the current trends across various sectors indented to achieve organizational goals and objectives (Cresswell & Sheikh, 2013). For Fielder Medical Center, despite the introduction of various quality improvement strategies, there is need to integrate HIM which will in turn further enhance the quality of patient care. This is through assisting in accessing records, promoting safety of patient data and analyzing records for accuracy. This report entails enhancement of this center with regards to the current quality improvement projects.

High-Quality Reliable Care

Across all approaches, computerized care should be implemented. With the center’s accessibility to a robust and real time database that compares quality outcomes with those of more than 100 academic medical centers peers, it will be important to have patients’ information integrated into this system. One of the main approaches for heart patients is consistent monitoring. In this regard, patients, regardless of their location, should have a connection to the center’s database. This brings to the fore the need to have a system that all patients have an account on the organizational website. As a result, they can register information regarding their recovery to this site which can further be used to track their progress. Similarly to eHealth, these patients will have a 24-hour connection with Fielder’s healthcare professionals where they can interact while making queries regarding their health (Price et al., 2014). This approach is applicable to all other conditions including patients with severe sepsis. The information collected to measure compliance with profound approaches for every sepsis patient should be stored in their accounts and related to other medical records. At this point, this report assumes that Fielder center has implemented the electronic health recording (EHR) system where the patient’s health records including their demographics are stored for easy retrieval. The data collected from various setups should be analyzed effectively and provide reports for future development of effective intervention strategies. One of the major recommendations in this regard is installation of data analysis tools that evaluate the collected information.

 Safety concern has been mentioned in several situations including readmissions. One of the main challenges identified on patient’s safety which transcends their outcome is readmission. The winding up of these patients within 30 days after admission can be attributed to less information analysis about their conditions. There is need to implement data analysis tools in the admission process which will analyze probability of readmission (Mi et al., 2017). In addition, even after discharge, it will be important for the Center to keep in touch with patients and monitor their progress. This will also involve providing information regarding their health and how they can self-manage different emergency situations. This brings to the fore the issue of patient education. eHealth, in this regard, comprises integration of patient education in the program whose implementation should be fostered (Kontos et al., 2014). This report, therefore, proposes web based application on patient self-management. In this approach, it is centered on integrating vital information about the patient’s care and approaches through which they can enhance their health. Such include reduction of risk factors.

Patient education is considered an effective strategy in preventing health related complications through equipping them with vital knowledge on how they can contribute to their recovery. In this case, the web based application incorporates educational programs where patients are provided with relevant information regarding their health (Murdoch & Detsky, 2013). The web based approach is characterized by availability of technologically advanced devices and the internet entail patients having access to the Center’s website and database, and conducting the recommended approaches that enhance their health. Patients also have the flexibility of making queries to the website about anything including medication, prescription, and emergency approaches. Further, there is an option to interact with medical practitioners which is further aimed at increasing their knowledge on different health aspects.

Exceptionally Safe Care

As mentioned in the improvement projects, another major requirement in enhancing the quality of care provided to the patients is having an all-inclusive decision making approach. This is centered on the different health care providers convening either physically or virtually to deliberate on the presented situation. In this case, implementing technology would involve virtual decision making approach that considers different healthcare providers’ ideas. The merits of this approach is that vast information regarding a patient’s condition will be presented upon which the involved healthcare providers will deliberate on the subject and make the best decision (Price et al., 2014). While acknowledging the patient centered model, a major aspect of delivering quality health care is incorporating families in decision making process and management of conditions, particularly if the patient is discharged and other management strategies are to be conducted at home. Fielder Medical Center identifies three major infections that require effective prevention strategies. These include the central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI), catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and surgical site infection (SSI). While enhancing the safety of patients fitted with these elements, a HIM that needs to be put in place one that records different situations of a patient, analyzing and consideration  findings while developing further medical intervention strategies. In addition, recording information associated with these approaches is critical for evaluating the trends and considering new management approaches.

Coordination of the various healthcare providers at Fielder Medical Center from the experienced physicians to students also requires enhancing the HIM. Various evidence based practices have recommended the use of mentoring and sharing of patient’s information on a single platform. Mentoring, in this regard, involves experienced medical practitioners sharing their information and knowledge with others and in particular young individuals in terms of practical experience. Web based mentoring approach is, therefore, recommended where various health care providers will have access to the Center’s website and learn from it. While still considering the issue of quality, it is important for health care providers to have knowledge of the current practices and guidelines governing health care sector in the country. Web based application that has all this information will be essential for enhancing these professionals’ knowledge and ideas on practice guidelines (Murdoch & Detsky, 2013). The issue of medical practitioner education is also essential as well as how the uptake of EBPs can be improved. As a result, telehealth is essential since it is centered on educating healthcare providers on various issues important for Fielder Medical Center. Another recommendation for this Center is the need to integrate all systems into one. This ensures various data entries are accessed from multiple points. For instance, the EHR should be linked to the web based applications on different aspects such as patient monitoring and education. This provides an easy time for medical practitioners to access patient’s information in case of an emergency. In addition, this is critical in the development of multiple reports that can be used to analyze the progress of the Center while developing profound intervention strategies

In conclusion, the importance of HIM in health care is noted in various applications from improving the quality of care through coordination of health care professionals to enhancing healthcare literacy. It is, therefore, imperative for organizations to implement HIM among other quality improvement approaches. With communication and patient’s data being the major aspects in HIM, it is important for health care organizations to consider education and enhancing patient based approach in the intervention strategies which further improves the quality of care provided. The above discussion entails how Fielder Medical Center can enhance its activities through integrating enhanced HIM approaches in quality improvement projects. As recommended in the report, the Center should adopt various HIM strategies from the web based applications to telehealth and data analysis tools. This will aid in consolidating vast information, enhance both the patient and healthcare providers’ education strategies and effectively analyze data to provide reports that can be used to develop effective intervention approaches.