The Twenty-First Century Act also has an impact on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow. One of the consequences for clinical care is the protection of patient rights when using clinical data. The policy’s implementation strengthens privacy protection in human subjects research. This provision implies the meaningful use of health data to promote health. The act also emphasized the importance of protecting sensitive and identifiable information when sharing health data for use in healthcare. The 21st Century Act requires health organizations to achieve interoperability in the use of electronic health records through data integrity in data use (Lye et al., 2018). Data integrity is achieved by safeguarding sensitive and identifiable patient information.
The act’s other effect on patient/provider information is increased patient participation in the care process. Patients have the right to receive the necessary healthcare and use it to make informed decisions about their health. Healthcare providers must also demonstrate professionalism, accountability, and responsibility when using protected patient data. Healthcare providers must strengthen the implementation of policies and regulations that protect data integrity and the effective use of health data in making informed patient-care decisions. The implementation of the 21st Century Act has implications for workflow in health care organizations. As previously stated, the act promotes information sharing among health organizations and medical providers in order to make informed decisions. The free exchange of information reduces errors in decision-making and the use of best evidence in condition management. Similarly, sharing information for research purposes will improve the rigor, validity, reliability, and reproducibility of clinical study results. It will enable healthcare providers to provide care based on the best available evidence (Magnuson & Dixon, 2020). As a result, the implementation of the 21st Century Act will result in improved efficiency, quality, and safety of care.
My employer has implemented a number of policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the provisions of the 21st Century Act. One of them is to improve the use of electronic health records in the delivery of care. Electronic health records have been used for a variety of purposes, including data storage, analysis, retrieval, and security. In addition, the organization has created standards and policies concerning the use and sharing of electronic health records. It has created guidelines for healthcare providers to follow in order to make effective use of patient data. To ensure the meaningful and safe use of patient data, policies on the consequences of ineffective data use have also been developed. Finally, the organization funds research projects that aim to improve the use of technology in healthcare. Evidence-based practice and projects are encouraged for use in ensuring that patients receive high-quality, safe, and efficient care.
In conclusion, the 21st Century Act has important implications for nursing informatics. The act includes provisions aimed at increasing electronic health record system implementation. The act also encourages health organizations to implement measures aimed at improving workflow, patient/provider interaction, and clinical care. As a result, health organizations should embrace policies that aim to support the effective implementation of 21st-century health practices.
Order this paper