Medicare, Medicaid, and the HITECH Act, Research Paper Example

Health Problem

Elderly and disabled patients with multiple medications are at risk of medication interactions and potential drug safety concerns. This is problematic because elderly and disabled individuals are likely to suffer from more intense health outcomes as a consequence of medication errors. Elderly and disabled patients are less likely to be able to remember the types of prescriptions they have been provided, as the patient interview process will require them to recall a large number of prescription details. Furthermore, these groups are likely to have several physicians that engage in their regular care that may not coordinate treatments. This provides a strain on health care organizations who have potential to incur monetary damages for errors related to the provision of theses prescriptions. In addition, elderly and disabled individuals are typically covered under Medicare or Medicaid. As a consequence, negative drug interactions will impact the expenses that these government programs must cover to compensate for treatment errors made.

Healthy People 2020

Healthy People 2020 provides a provision for an adverse event reporting system that would help reduce the extent of medication errors that are made. According to the website, “The FDA uses AERS to monitor for new adverse events and medication errors that might occur with these marketed products. Reporting of adverse events from the point of care is voluntary. FDA receives some adverse event and medication error reports directly from health care professionals (such as physicians, pharmacists, nurses and others) and consumers (such as patients, family members, lawyers and others)” (Healthy People 2020, n.d.).

These measures could reasonably address the concerns put forth by physicians and the public regarding medication interactions because creating a system that reports adverse events will allow doctors to have a greater understanding of detrimental drug reactions that could be implemented to advanced practice. Ultimately, even though many issues could contribute to the creation of negative drug interactions, the most preventable cause is related to developing a certainty of these reactions. Once more information is obtained about the effects caused by combination prescriptions, doctors could more actively prevent these effects while still treating the necessary combination of disorder and symptoms. This technology is related to the implementation of electronic health record systems, which is promoted by HITECH laws. Ultimately, it is reasonable that the integration of these two healthcare systems will positively contribute to the reduction of medication errors in elderly patients (FDA, n.d.).

It is reasonable that the fact that the concern over elderly and disabled patients with multiple medications are at risk of medication interactions and potential drug safety concerns was removed from this Healthy People 2020 entry due to uncertainty related to the resolution of this specific problem. While action could be taken to reduce medication errors for members of the general population, it is challenging to determine how these errors could be reduced in a manner that specifically applies to this group. The implementation of technology will help contribute to the ability of physicians to track medications and reported medication interaction data, but it will continue to be challenging for medical professionals to have a complete understanding of the medications that these individuals are prescribed.

Official Title and Citation of the Legislation

According to the HITECH Act Enforcement Interim Final Rule, “Subtitle D of the HITECH Act addresses the privacy and security concerns associated with the electronic transmission of health information, in part, through several provisions that strengthen the civil and criminal enforcement of the HIPAA rules” (HITECH Act, n.d.). Section 13410(d) of the HITECH Act was added to indicate penalty information for the failure of physicians and hospitals to adhere to these provisions. Under this legislation, it is essential for doctors to enforce the security of health data that is transmitted. This applies to the need to reduce the medication errors made for the elderly and disabled because it could reasonably restrict information that is needed to support the health of these patients. Therefore, it is necessary for health professionals to determine how to support the unique health needs of these individuals while adhering to recent information technology laws.

Describe the Public Policy Response

The HITECH Act and associated legislation such as HIPAA were put in place to ensure that the privacy of patients would be protected. Furthermore, HITECH was created to establish the meaningful use of technology in health care across the country. Therefore, it is reasonable to begin implementing technology in a manner that will allow physicians to more readily report medication interactions that could then immediately be used for the purposes of evidence-based practice. Doing so will reduce the incidence of medication errors that are made. Furthermore, technology could be used in a manner that could contribute to the documentation of medication history for elderly and disabled patients. In this manner physicians could collaborate with one another to contribute to effective care for their patients. Using electronic health record systems is a reasonable way to ensure that all physicians that care for elderly and disabled individuals are able to coordinate and manage their prescriptions in a manner that would prevent adverse events. Furthermore, utilizing reported knowledge of medication interactions would positively contribute to this form of patient care.

Status

The HITECH Act was signed into law on February 17, 2009 and continues to direct patient care. The adverse event reporting system utilizes data from 1969 onwards and is updated regularly. While infrastructure is in place to allow for the enhanced care that elderly and disabled patients receive as it pertains to their prescription, it is the responsibility for physicians to coordinate the information technology they have access to in a manner that provides a solution to this problem.

Conclusion

The health policy does not adequately address the problem identified. While the infrastructure is in place according to the HITECH Act and government funded insurance, there is still a need to contribute to the existing evidence and develop a mechanism that would be better able to assist the needs of elderly and disabled patients. While health care law currently recommends such practices, the law is not specific enough in order to ensure related progress.

Resources for Updates

It would be beneficial for health care organizations to check on updates to HIPAA, the HITECH Act, and Medicare and Medicaid participation requirements (HIPAA, n.d.). They will be required to follow this legislation as it pertains to information systems and the provision of care for elderly and disabled patients. Since these laws and regulations are constantly changing, it would be beneficial for the administration to check in with these updates regularly to ensure that their institution is equipped to follow the necessary provisions that these standards announce.

References

FDA. (n.d.). Medication Errors. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/medicationerrors/

Healthy People 2020. (n.d.). Adverse Event Reporting System. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/data-source/adverse-event-reporting-system

HIPAA. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/

HITECH Act. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/enforcementrule/hitechenforcementifr.html