NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

NURS 6051 Policy/Regulat

Fact Sheet: Understanding the 2021 Telehealth Expansion Policy in Dallas Healthcare

Introduction

In response to the evolving needs of healthcare and advancements in technology, policy, and regulatory bodies are continually adjusting regulations. A notable change in 2021 is the Telehealth Expansion Policy, which has significant implications for healthcare organizations in Dallas, Texas, including our institution, Dallas Health Elite (DHE).

The 2021 Telehealth Expansion Policy

The 2021 Telehealth Expansion Policy seeks to broaden the scope of telehealth services provided by healthcare professionals to patients. The goal is to enhance patient care by leveraging digital technology, especially in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic (Dixit et al., 2022).

Impact on System Implementation

Infrastructure Upgrade: To accommodate the surge in telehealth services, there is a need for healthcare organizations to upgrade their IT infrastructure, ensuring reliable and secure patient-provider interactions (Ong et al., 2021).

Training and Onboarding: Staff must be trained to navigate and utilize new telehealth platforms effectively. This would require resources for continuous professional development and system familiarization (Alrahbi et al., 2022).

Impact on Clinical Care, Patient/Provider Interactions, and Workflow

Increased Access: Telehealth services can help eliminate geographical barriers, providing more patients with access to specialized care (Jonathan et al, 2023).

Streamlined Workflow: Virtual consultations can enhance the healthcare workflow, reducing waiting times and improving appointment efficiency (Pogorzelska-Maziarz et al., 2021).

Enhanced Patient-Provider Interactions: Telehealth offers flexibility, allowing patients to engage in consultations in a comfortable environment, which can foster better communication and understanding (Mattisson et al., 2023).

Dallas Health Elite’s (DHE) Response

DHE is committed to providing the best patient care and is in full compliance with the 2021 Telehealth Expansion Policy. Our strategies include:

1. Partnering with leading telehealth solution providers to ensure a seamless virtual experience for our patients.
2. Establishing a dedicated telehealth department responsible for training our medical staff and addressing any related concerns.
3. Setting clear guidelines and protocols for virtual consultations to maintain the high quality of care and professionalism our patients expect.
4. Offering 24/7 IT support to address any technical glitches or concerns that arise during telehealth sessions.

Conclusion

The 2021 Telehealth Expansion Policy is a testament to the dynamic nature of healthcare and the need to be adaptive. Dallas Health Elite remains at the forefront of these changes, ensuring our patients receive top-notch care, whether in-person or virtual.

References

Alrahbi, D. A., Khan, M., Gupta, S., Modgil, S., & Chiappetta Jabbour, C. J. (2022). Challenges for developing health-care knowledge in the digital age. Journal of Knowledge Management, 26(4), 824–853. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-03-2020-0224

Dixit, N., Van Sebille, Y., Crawford, G. B., Ginex, P. K., Ortega, P. F., & Chan, R. J. (2022). Disparities in telehealth use: How should the supportive care community respond? Supportive Care in Cancer, 30(2), 1007–1010. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06629-4

Jonathan Kissi, Caleb Annobil, Nathan Kumasenu Mensah, Joseph Owusu-Marfo, Ernest Osei, & Zenobia Wooduwa Asmah. (2023). Telehealth services for global emergencies: implications for COVID-19: a scoping review based on current evidence. BMC Health Services Research, 23(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09584-4

Mattisson, M., Börjeson, S., Årestedt, K., & Lindberg, M. (2023). Role of interaction for caller satisfaction in telenursing—A cross‐sectional survey study. Journal of Clinical Nursing (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), 32(15/16), 4752–4761. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16524

Ong, T., Wilczewski, H., Paige, S. R., Soni, H., Welch, B. M., & Bunnell, B. E. (2021). Extended reality for enhanced telehealth during and beyond COVID-19: Viewpoint. JMIR Serious Games, 9(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.2196/26520

Pogorzelska-Maziarz, M., Rising, K., Gentsch, A., Traczuk, A., Hsiao, T., Amadio, G., Haddad, T., & Gerolamo, A. (2021). Home healthcare patient, caregiver and provider perspectives on use of unscheduled acute care and the usability and acceptability of on-demand telehealth solutions. Geriatric Nursing, 42(5), 1029–1034. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2021.06.009

NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

As a professional nurse, you are expected to apply your expertise to patient care. On occasion, you will also be expected to share that expertise.

With evolving technology and continuous changes to regulations designed to keep up these changes, there is usually a need to share information and expertise to inform colleagues, leadership, patients, and other stakeholders.

In this Assignment, you will study a recent nursing informatics-related healthcare policy, and you will share the relevant details via a fact sheet designed to inform and educate.

To Prepare:

• Review the Resources on healthcare policy and regulatory/legislative topics related to health and nursing informatics.
• Consider the role of the nurse informaticist in relation to a healthcare organization’s compliance with various policies and regulations, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).
• Research and select one health or nursing informatics policy (within the past 5 years) or regulation for further study.

The Assignment: (1 page not including the title and reference page)

Create a 1-page fact sheet that your healthcare organization could hypothetically use to explain the health or nursing informatics policy/regulation you selected. Your fact sheet should address the following:

• Briefly and generally explain the policy or regulation you selected.
• Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on system implementation.
• Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow.
• Highlight organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at your healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation you selected. Be specific.
• Use APA format and include a title page, in-text citations, and reference page.
• Use the Safe Assign Drafts to check your match percentage before submitting your work.

By Day 5 of Week 11

Submit your completed Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK11Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click the Week 11 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click the Week 11 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK11Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 11 Assignment Rubric

Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity

To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:

Submit your Week 11 Assignment draft and review the originality report.

Submit Your Assignment by Day 5 of Week 11

To participate in this Assignment:

Week 11 Assignment

Congratulations! After you have finished all of the assignments for this Module, you have completed the course. Please submit your Course Evaluation by Day 7.

Module 6: Policy and Regulation Supporting Informatics and Technology Integration (Week 11)

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Policy and Regulation [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Evaluate legislative policies and regulations for health and nursing informatics
• Create fact sheets for health and nursing informatics
• Analyze impact of legislative policies and regulations for clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflows
• Evaluate healthcare organizational policies and procedures to address legislative policies and regulations

Due By	Assignment
Week 11, Days 1–2	Read/Watch/Listen to the Learning Resources. Begin to compose your Assignment.
Week 11, Days 3-4	Continue to compose your Assignment.
Week 11, Day 5	Deadline to submit your Assignment.

Learning Resources

Required Readings

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

• Chapter 8, “Legislative Aspects of Nursing Informatics: HITECH and HIPAA” (pp. 145–166)

American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2018). MACRA/MIPS: The transition from fee-for-service to quality-based reimbursement. Retrieved from https://www.aanp.org/legislation-regulation/federal-legislation/macra-s-quality-payment-program

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (n.d.). MACRA. Retrieved January 18, 2019, from https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality-initiatives-patient-assessment-instruments/value-based-programs/macra-mips-and-apms/macra-mips-and-apms.html

HealthIT.gov. (2018a). Health IT legislation. Retrieved from https://www.healthit.gov/topic/laws-regulation-and-policy/health-it-legislation

HealthIT.gov. (2018b). Meaningful use and MACRA. Retrieved from

https://www.healthit.gov/topic/meaningful-use-and-macra/meaningful-use-and-macra

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Laws & Regulations. Retrieved September 27, 2018, from https://www.hhs.gov/regulations/index.html

Click here to ORDER an A++ paper from our Verified MASTERS and DOCTORATE WRITERS: NURS 6051 Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet 

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Health Informatics & Population Health Analytics: Privacy, Security, and Ethics [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Rubric Detail

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Content
Name: NURS_5051_Module06_Week11_Assignment_Rubric

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Excellent Good Fair Poor

Create a 1-page fact sheet that your healthcare organization could hypothetically use to explain the health or nursing informatics policy/regulation you selected. Your fact sheet should address the following:

• Briefly and generally explain the policy or regulation you selected.
• Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on system implementation.
• Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow.

Highlight organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at your healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation you selected. Be specific.

Points Range: 77 (77%) – 85 (85%)

A fully developed and detailed Fact Sheet is provided for the Assignment.

The responses accurately and thoroughly explain in detail the policy and regulation selected.

The responses accurately and thoroughly explain in detail the impact of the policy or regulation selected on system implementation.

The responses accurately and thoroughly explain in detail the impact of the policy or regulation selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow.

Specific and accurate responses thoroughly highlight in detail the organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at a healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation selected.

Includes: 3 or more peer-reviewed sources and 2 or more course resources.

Points Range: 68 (68%) – 76 (76%)

A developed Fact Sheet is provided for the Assignment.

The responses explain the policy or regulation selected.

The responses explain the impact of the policy or regulation selected on system implementation.

The responses explain the impact of the policy or regulation selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow.

Accurate responses highlight the organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at a healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation selected.

Includes: 2 peer-reviewed sources and 2 course resources.

Points Range: 60 (60%) – 67 (67%)

A vague or inaccurate Fact Sheet is provided for the Assignment.

The responses explaining the policy or regulation selected are vague or inaccurate.

The responses explaining the impact of the policy or regulation selected on system implementation are vague or inaccurate.

The responses explaining the impact of the policy or regulation selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow are vague or inaccurate.

The responses highlighting the organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at a healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation selected are vague or inaccurate.

Includes: 1 peer-reviewed source and 1 course resource.

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 59 (59%)

A vague and inaccurate Fact Sheet is provided for the Assignment, or is missing.

The responses explaining the policy or regulation selected are vague and inaccurate, or are missing.

The responses explaining the impact of the policy or regulation selected on system implementation are vague and inaccurate, or are missing.

The responses explaining the impact of the policy or regulation selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow are vague and inaccurate, or are missing.

The responses highlighting the organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at a healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation selected are vague and inaccurate, or are missing.

Includes: 1 or fewer resources.
Written Expression and Formatting – Paragraph Development and Organization:

Paragraphs make clear points that support well developed ideas, flow logically, and demonstrate continuity of ideas. Sentences are carefully focused–neither long and rambling nor short and lacking substance.

Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%)

Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity.

Points Range: 4 (4%) – 4 (4%)

Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity 80% of the time.

Points Range: 3.5 (3.5%) – 3.5 (3.5%)

Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity 60%- 79% of the time.

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 3 (3%)

Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity < 60% of the time.
Written Expression and Formatting – English writing standards:

Correct grammar, mechanics, and proper punctuation

Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%)

Uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation with no errors.

Points Range: 4 (4%) – 4 (4%)

Contains a few (1-2) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

Points Range: 3.5 (3.5%) – 3.5 (3.5%)

Contains several (3-4) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 3 (3%)

Contains many (≥ 5) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors that interfere with the reader’s understanding.
Written Expression and Formatting – The paper follows correct APA format for title page, headings, font, spacing, margins, indentations, page numbers, running head, parenthetical/in-text citations, and reference list.

Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%)

Uses correct APA format with no errors.

Points Range: 4 (4%) – 4 (4%)

Contains a few (1-2) APA format errors.

Points Range: 3.5 (3.5%) – 3.5 (3.5%)

Contains several (3-4) APA format errors.

Points Range: 0 (0%) – 3 (3%)

Contains many (≥ 5) APA format errors.
Total Points: 100
Name: NURS_5051_Module06_Week11_Assignment_Rubric

Technology use in healthcare has gained momentum in the modern world due to the promotion of safety, quality, and efficiency. Health organizations have the responsibility of abiding by the policies that have been developed to promote effective use of health informatics. Therefore, this paper examines the implications of the 21^st Century Act on healthcare.

The Selected Policy

            The selected healthcare policy that has an effect on the healthcare and nursing informatics is the 21^st Century Act or the Cures Act. President Obama signed into use the 21^st Century Act in December 13 2016. The act was adopted with the aim of accelerating the development of medical products alongside introducing innovations and medical advances to improve the quality and efficiency of care given to the patients. The act was also adopted to improve the experiences of the patients with the healthcare system by incorporating their perspectives into healthcare processes that include the development of devices, biological products, drugs, and the decision-making processes in the FDA (Gabay, 2017).

The 21^st Century Act also has some implications on the use of informatics in health. Accordingly, the act requires medical professionals to work together in the discovery of innovative solutions in health. It requires medical professionals such as EHR vendors, physician leaders, pharmacists, and information technology employees to work together towards improving the performance of healthcare systems and patient outcomes. Healthcare organizations are also expected to adopt systems that increase exchange of information to ensure that patients and healthcare providers can easily access the health-related data that they need for them to come up with informed decisions.

The US’s healthcare system is expected to achieve these outcomes related to the use of electronic health records because of a number of reasons. Firstly, the act made provisions for support to the Food and Drug Administration agency to ensure that the processes of data sharing between health organizations and providers are enhanced. The law seeks to eliminate barriers to inter-professional and organizational transfer of information by championing the use of efficient technologies for health (Lye et al., 2018). The second way in which the act seeks to achieve the goals is through leveraging on the existing resources in health organizations such as skilled providers to enhance the adoption of laws and practices that enhance information exchange in health (Medicine et al., 2016).

Impact of the Policy on System Implementation

            The 21^st Century Act has a number of implications on the system implementation. One of the impacts is the increased need for health organizations to adopt interventions that promote interoperability in the use of electronic health records. As noted above, the 21^st Century Act requires health organizations to work together in sharing health data with patients and providers for informed decision-making. The need for information sharing implies that health organizations have to explore mechanisms that can be utilized to ensure the promotion of data integrity during the sharing process. Health organizations also have to support the implementation of evidence-based innovative practices that enhance the use of technologies such as telehealth and social media to monitor, prevent, and treat illnesses (Goble, 2018).

The second implication of the 21^st Century Act on system implementation is the fact that it has accelerated the adoption of electronic health records for clinical use. The enhanced adoption of electronic health records in health is attributable to the provision of system requirements and capabilities that health organizations must achieve. There is also the fact that the act stipulated assigning of $4.8 billion through the NIH to be used up to 2026 to support the adoption of electronic health records and sharing of health data to inform medical decisions, research, and innovations (Magnuson & Dixon, 2020). Through these interventions, the system implementation of electronic health records will be enhanced in the state, hence, quality, efficiency, and safety in healthcare.

Impact of the Policy on Clinical Care, Patient/Provider Interactions, and Workflow

            The 21^st Century Act also has a number of effects on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow. One of the impacts on clinical care is the protection of patient rights in the use of clinical data. The adoption of the policy strengthens the protection of privacy in researches using human subjects. The implication of this provision is the meaningful use of health data to promote health. The act also strengthened the need for the protection of sensitive and identifiable information in sharing health data for use in healthcare. According to the 21^st Century Act, health organizations have to achieve interoperability of the use of electronic health records by data integrity in data use (Lye et al., 2018). Data integrity is achieved through the protection of sensitive and identifiable patient information.

The other impact of the act on patient/provider information is enhanced patient participation in the care process. Patients have the right to access their needed healthcare and use it for making informed decision on issues related to their health. Healthcare providers also have the role of demonstrating professionalism, accountability, and responsibility in the use of the protected patient data. Healthcare providers have to strengthen the implementation of policies and regulations that safe guard data integrity and the effective use of health data in making informed decisions related to patient care. The adoption of the 21^st Century Act also has implications of workflow in health organizations. As shown above, the act champions the sharing of information among health organizations and medical providers for informed decision-making. The free sharing of the information minimizes errors in decisions made and the adoption of best evidences in the management of conditions. Similarly, the sharing of information for use in research will result in enhanced rigor, validity, reliability, and reproducibility of the results obtained in clinical studies. Through it, healthcare providers will be able to offer care that utilizes the best available evidence (Magnuson & Dixon, 2020). Consequently, outcomes such as enhanced efficiency, quality, and safety of care will be achieved with the implementation of the 21^st Century Act.

Organizational Policies and Procedures in My Workplace

            The organization I work with has put in place a number of policies and procedures to ensure that it adheres with the provisions of the 21^st Century Act. One of them is enhancing the use of electronic health records in the provision of care. Electronic health records have been utilized for functions such as data storage, analysis, retrieval, and protection. The organization has also developed standards and policies that relate to the use and sharing of electronic health records. It has developed guidelines that healthcare providers have to follow for the effective use of patient data. The policies on the consequences of ineffective use of data have also been developed to ensure the meaningful and safe use of patient data. Lastly, the organization supports researches that seek to innovate the use of technology in health. Evidence-based practice and projects are encouraged for use in ensuring the provision of high quality, safe, and efficient care to the patients.

Conclusion

            In summary, the 21^st Century Act has significant implications to nursing informatics. The act has provisions that aim at increasing system implementation of electronic health records. The act also strengthens the adoption of measures that aim at improving workflow, patient/provider interaction, and clinical care in health organizations. Therefore, health organizations should embrace policies that aim at supporting the effective implementation of the 21^st Century in health.

References

Gabay, M. (2017). 21st Century Cures Act. Hospital Pharmacy, 52(4), 264–265. https://doi.org/10.1310/hpj5204-264

Goble, J. A. (2018). The Potential Effect of the 21st Century Cures Act on Drug Development. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 24(7), 677–681. https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2018.24.7.677

Lye, C. T., Forman, H. P., Daniel, J. G., & Krumholz, H. M. (2018). The 21st Century Cures Act and electronic health records one year later: Will patients see the benefits? Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 25(9), 1218–1220. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocy065

Magnuson, J. A., & Dixon, B. E. (2020). Public Health Informatics and Information Systems. Springer Nature.

Medicine, N. A. of S., Engineering, and, Medicine, I. of, Services, B. on H. C., & Care, C. on D. E. in H. (2016). Improving Diagnosis in Health Care. National Academies Press.

• Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA)
• First proposed in Jan 2018 & published on January 19, 2022,
• TEFCA is a regulation that seeks to increase and improve interoperability.  
• Enhance the ability of providers and patients to securely access and use data from various sources (ONC, 2019).
• It has created uniform policies and technical requirements to regulate data sharing and ensure all participants can access real-time health information.
• It has two parts: a Trusted Exchange Framework and a Common Agreement.

Impact of TEFCA on System Implementation

• TEFCA enables all networks to share securely and access data.
• It ensures a fundamental data set is available for systems under the Common Agreement.
• It provides a common set of privacy and security requirements for health information networks and informaticians to protect patient data (Braunstein, 2022).

Impact of TEFCA on Clinical Care, Patient-Provider Interactions, and Workflow

• TEFCA will allow the exchange of electronic health information securely and in a way that fosters patient safety and data integrity.
• Patients and their caregivers will have access to their electronic health information (Mandel et al., 2022).
• It will allow providers, payers, and public health agencies to exchange health information countrywide (Vijayaraghavan et al., 2022).
• TEFCA will help lower the cost of healthcare and improve population health.

Policies & Procedures Needed to Address TEFCA

• Policies and operations will be needed to allow participants in the TEFCA to share and exchange patient health information.
• Organizations must adhere to industry and federally-recognized standards, policies, best practices, and procedures (Braunstein, 2022).
• Organizations must develop policies guiding how they will exchange electronic health information.
• Policies to promote transparency will be needed to guide conducting all health information exchange openly and transparently.

References

Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). (2019). Trusted exchange framework and common agreement.

Braunstein, M. L. (2022). Health information exchange. In Health Informatics on FHIR: How HL7’s API is Transforming Healthcare (pp. 117-161). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Mandel, J. C., Pollak, J. P., & Mandl, K. D. (2022). The Patient Role in a Federal National-Scale Health Information Exchange. Journal of medical Internet research, 24(11), e41750. https://doi.org/10.2196/41750

Vijayaraghavan, M., Genes, N., Darrow, B. J., & Rucker, D. W. (2022). The 21st Century Cures Act and emergency medicine–part 2: facilitating interoperability. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 79(1), 13–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2021.08.002