Health Information Exchange, Essay Example

Engaging Patients for Health Information Exchange by Micky Tripathi

What medical practitioners know about their parents contribute so much as to how these individuals are to be treated according to their need. There have already been several instances when patients have been given wrong treatments and have undergone wrong operations due to wrong information. Such instances are often fatal to the patients. With the emergence of new technology,  it is assumed that the process of storing information especially in relation to healthcare would become more effective and accurate especially when the data is going to be used for better diagnosis and treatment on patients admitted in hospitals. However, even though technology has already improved and is already capable of storing several thousands and millions of data about patients, the operation would not be fully competent if the patients would not cooperate to provide the necessary information needed.

The article of Micky Tripathi (2014) on the process of Engaging Patients for Health Information Exchange specifically points out the need to get the attention of the public and have them understand the importance of giving particular information to their medical attendees especially in times of emergencies. This article points out that the cooperation of the patients on the matter would further improve the manner by which the Health Information Exchange Systems used at present would be able to provide the necessary assistance the medical attendants need to be informed well, thus giving them a better chance of diagnosing health issues undergone by the patients more accurately. This would give way to more efficient medical attention and services provided for the patients according to their condition.

Exploring the question on why patients may not want to share some information with their health attendants is the focus of this study. The researchers wanted to know what makes it so hard for the patients to tell their doctors and nurses when they are asked particular questions relatively connected to the situation that they are in and the impact that it has on the quality of their health. Upon observation and survey, the researchers found out that one of the primary reasons why they would not share information is that they feel that there are things that should be kept personal. They feel that if they share such information, they would be implicated in a situation that they would not likely want to deal with. Another reason is the fact that they feel that the questions presented to them is a direct invasion to their privacy. What then should be done about this situation? It is suggested by the researchers that giving assurance to the patients that what the unfold with their medical attendees shall be kept with high consideration to confidentiality rules and that the information is simply going to be used to improve and make sure that the diagnosis they are making would be accurate to the overall case of the patient.

Regional Health Information Organizations would best benefit from this research as they would intend to train their people in becoming more effective in disseminating with the patients about the real reason behind the need to share particular information with the health care practitioners. Given such capacity to convince the patients, the operation and application of the Health Information Exchange programs and its benefit to better healthcare provision could be realized at its best. The presentation of the research on determining the concerns of the patents when disclosing particular data to their medical attendants provide a distinct guideline on how nurses could be trained to be strategic and tactical in helping the patients understand the rationale behind information exchange especially when it comes to data related to their health case. Relatively, individuals who know that what they disclose would be kept with strict observance of confidentiality rules, would be more willing to share information to be able to save their lives; this is one fact nurses and other medical practitioners should keep in mind.

Reference

Tripathi, M. (2014). Engaging Patients For Health Information Exchange. http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/28/2/435.abstract. (Retrieved on February 22, 2014) .