Overview of the HITECH (Health Information) Act and Its Impact on Healthcare IT
Overview of Selected Policy
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act is related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It was signed into law by Obama in 2009, and incentives were formed regarding healthcare IT (Compliancy Group, 2020; USF Health Online 2). These include the ones that revolve around implementing electronic health records among providers (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, n.d d.). Another valuable aspect is that it caused an expansion of digitally protected health information, diversifying the background of privacy and security protections.
Impact on System Implementation
Regarding system implementation, this regulation has had two valuable effects. Firstly, its goal was to increase the use of electronic health records. Secondly, HITECH was created to support IT in the USA. This project predicted the expansion of ePHI exchange between doctors, clinics, and other healthcare providers due to decreasing the cost of healthcare by sharing. It promised to provide monetary incentives for the ability to show suitable implementation of healthcare records (USF Health Online 1, 2023). The promise became effective one year after the President had enacted it.
Effects on Clinical Care, Patient/Provider Interactions, and Workflow
HITECH is meant to have a significant impact on patient-doctor interactions. One of these crucial effects includes informing patients of any unprotected information breaches tied to the Protected Health Information. It motivated stricter enforcement of HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), featuring penalties for “wilful neglect”.
Organizational Policies and Procedures for Compliance
Due to its strong impact on healthcare IT expansion, there will be an increase in the number of jobs. I plan to take some measures to address this policy for my healthcare organization. First, I will place a strong emphasis on the value of privacy. This will motivate employees to prevent or decrease possible privacy breaches. Secondly, I intend to ensure that the workers use health records appropriately. That way, I can guarantee that this regulation will be addressed appropriately.
References
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Health information technology for economics and clinical health (HITECH) Act: Impact on HIPAA privacy and security provisions. Web.
Compliancy Group. (2020). What is the HITECH Act. Web.
USF Health Online 1. (2023). What is the HITECH Act and why is it important? | USF health. Web.
USF Health Online 2. (2023). Important laws and regulations in health informatics. Web.