NURS 6401 Week 6 Patient-Centered Care Essay Assignment

After recovering from a serious illness, Mike decided to make a more conscious effort to manage his health. To start, Mike purchased a FitBit system to track the distances he walked each day and the amount of sleep he was receiving at night. His wife, Susan, also purchased a FitBit, which inspired a friendly competition between the two as they tracked and compared one another’s progress. Mike also downloaded a nutritional cooking app to his mobile phone that allowed him to find recipes that were both appetizing and healthy. Before long, Mike began to wonder what other patient-centered technologies could spark his motivation and improve his health outcomes. He decided to make an appointment with his primary care health center to discuss additional technologies that might assist him in taking further control of his health.

As a nurse informaticist, it is crucial that you are up to date on the latest patient-centered technologies and have a thorough understanding of how these technologies can empower patients to better manage their own health.

This week, you explore the impact of patient-centered technologies on health management.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Evaluate the impact of integrating personal health records into electronic health record platforms
Analyze design considerations that impact the success of informatics technologies
Evaluate the implications of workarounds when using a new technology

NURS 6401 Week 6 Discussion: Integrating PHRs Into EHR Platforms

When electronic health records (EHRs) first entered the market, their primary focus was to collect and analyze patient information within health care settings. As technological capabilities grew, so did the interest in making these records available to patients. In addition, many health care professionals saw benefits in allowing the patient to enter his or her own health data into EHR platforms. Though many patients are already utilizing personal health records (PHRs) to manage and track their own health, some believe that an integrated system would provide a better, more comprehensive picture of a patient’s health history.

As a result, many EHR platforms are now equipped with a PHR tool. This PHR tool allows patients to enter health information as they would in a stand-alone PHR system. In addition, web-based portals within the EHR allow patients to access information entered by their physicians and health care providers.

Like many emerging trends and technologies, there is much discussion about the potential benefits and challenges of this type of integrated system. While many health care professionals are excited about the empowerment provided to patients, others express significant concerns about access, security, ethics, and other implications.

In this Discussion, you explore how integrating PHRs into EHR platforms could impact you and your patients.

To prepare:

Review the media Patient-Centered Technologies, and reflect upon Dr. Simpson’s statements about the ownership of patient data.
Review the article, “Dreams and Nightmares: Practice and Ethical Issues for Patients and Physicians Using Personal Health Records” found in this week’s Learning Resources. Consider how PHR capabilities can be integrated into EHR platforms.
Examine the “dreams” and the “nightmares” the authors associate with this type of integrated health record. Select one benefit or one challenge of integrating PHRs into EHR platforms. Then, consider its potential impact on health care providers and patients. Why is this considered to be a benefit or challenge for health care professionals and patients?

By Day 3

Post a brief description of your selected benefit or challenge and support your selection. Explain the potential impact on health care professionals and patients.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days using one or more of the following approaches:

Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
Offer and support an alternative perspective, using readings from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.
Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.
Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.

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