Reference no: EM133719677

Question

What I find the most inspirational is how healthcare leaders can use medical informatics to improve the care and outcomes for their patients. Quality is a heavy driver for patients when choosing which healthcare provider to go with. Patients have now become well informed consumers as a result of the data extracted through medical informatics. In the home health environment the clinicians complete an Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) assessment at specific intervals throughout the episode of care. The data pulled from this assessment generates the home health agencies quality outcome and process measures. Quality measures such as improvement in dyspnea, ambulation, transferring, and timely initiation of care translates into a star rating for the agency. The agencies ratings in each area is then compared against state and national benchmarks. The data is then used to identify areas of weakness and to educate their staff on potential ways to improve the outcomes of patients on services. For example if there is a sudden rise of patients being discharged from service whom had a fall while on service, the data will show that. The agency will know to re-educate clinicians on fall risks and when to refer patients.