Policy Factsheet: 21st Century Cures Act

Introduction

Healthcare systems are designed to meet the medical demands of all citizens. The United States government implements laws and frameworks that can help facilities provide high-quality and convenient services to all patients. The 21st Century Cures Act is a policy that became law in 2016. The mission of this health reform policy is to help revolutionize and modernize healthcare services through continuous innovation and research. A proper understanding of this law can help more professionals provide timely and personalized medical services. Leaders of hospitals should be keen to identify emerging policies and adapt them accordingly to transform the nature and quality of healthcare available to the targeted patients.

Key Areas

Impact on System Implementation

The 21st Century Cures Act is capable of bringing different agencies and stakeholders in healthcare to meet patients’ demands. Different institutions will engage in continuous research and scientific inquiries to make timely breakthroughs in different fields. They will engage in research to identify treatment methods and develop superior devices that can transform medical practice and care delivery (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017). The stakeholders will acquire the relevant resources and digital systems that can help take the field of medicine to the next level. The policy supports the use of social media and handheld devices to streamline treatment procedures and ensure that more patients receive high-quality treatment.

Clinical Care

• Around 92 percent of the U.S. population has access to health insurance (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017).
• The increasing percentage is attributable to some of the key policies and laws, such as the Affordable Care Act.
• However, some members of the population lack timely and personalized medical services.
• The national acquisition rate of modern health informatics is around 60 percent (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017).
• However, the selected policy is capable of increasing the current rate.
• The 2016 law is encouraging medical facilities to take innovation and use of social media seriously.
• Such efforts are maximizing patient-practitioner interaction, thereby streamlining the clinical care practice (“Important laws and regulations in health informatics,” n.d.).
• New systems will be put in place that can help improve the speed of care delivery.
• More patients will benefit from timely and personalized clinical care due to the nature of this policy.

Patient-Provider Interactions

• Healthcare providers need to interact with patients effectively if positive medical experiences are to be recorded.
• Some providers have been finding it hard to liaise and interact with their patients remotely.
• The identified law presents new opportunities for guiding these professionals to address some of the potential differences and gaps to timely medical services (Haried et al., 2017).
• This Act resonates with the current changes and developments in healthcare informatics.
• Modern handheld devices, social media, and technologies are making it possible for different practitioners to collaborate and identify better ways for maximizing care delivery (Haried et al., 2017).
• The policy compels institutions to embrace innovative systems and technologies that have the potential to streamline communication.
• For instance, social networks can help providers learn more about their patients’ medical demands and identify the best ways to offer personalized medical services (“Important laws and regulations in health informatics,” n.d.).
• At the clinical level, such professionals can rely on modern informatics to address communication barriers since handheld devices are capable of providing language interpretations and translations (Kim et al., 2017).
• Such systems can provide additional insights for solving identified problems and improving the level of care delivery.
• The emerging interactions are capable of transforming the level of care delivery, thereby making it possible for more people to record positive medical outcomes.

Workflow

The concept of workflow revolves around how the segments in a healthcare facility work synergistically to streamline care delivery. In any health facility, different departments and units work together by dividing roles and responsibilities, guiding individuals, and supporting the manner in which medical services are delivered to patients. The identified Act helps modernize medical processes and ensure that all systems focus on the best ways to personalize care delivery (“Important laws and regulations in health informatics,” n.d.). The professionals and leaders are guided to innovate continuously, engage in research, and consider how they can streamline workflow. The coordinated approach will allow professionals to collaborate ad apply technology and digital medicine effectively to ensure that the process of treatment delivery is successful.

Organizational Procedures

My healthcare organization provides pediatric services to different patients. Before the implementation of this policy, the hospital had acquired the relevant technologies and handheld devices in accordance with the HIPAA and the HITECH-ACT. The organization has hired a competent Informaticist who is guiding and training all workers to rely on the use of modern health technologies to meet patients’ demands (Kim et al., 2017). These developments and procedures are making it possible for different professionals to e engage in continuous scientific inquiry and identify emerging technologies and social media platforms that can improve the nature of care delivery (“Important laws and regulations in health informatics,” n.d.). All medical institutions should consider these issues and make the relevant changes to deliver the intended healthcare outcomes.

References

Alotaibi, Y. K., & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi Medical Journal, 38(12), 1173-1180.

Haried, P., Claybaugh, C., & Dai, H. (2017). Evaluation of health information systems research in information systems research: A meta-analysis. Health Informatics Journal, 25(1), 186-202.

Important laws and regulations in health informatics. (n.d.).

Kim, M. O., Coiera, E., & Magrabi, F. (2017). Problems with health information technology and their effects on care delivery and patient outcomes: A systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 24(2), 246-250.