May 8, 2023

Greetings Professor Fisher,

I present here my data report, The Impact of Health Information Technology on Patient Safety, as
assigned on March 2, 2023.
The three data figures in this report were chosen to show 1) the Importance of electronic medical
records for patient safety, 2) The Downside of Using Electronic Medical Records, and 3)
Identifying areas for patient safety.
The data figures that were used in this report were taken from the three different aspects of
electronic medical records. A reference page is at the end of the report if anyone would like to
read more about these topics.
I hope this report meets the requirements needed for the data that matters project.
Sincerely,
Jordan Kreilick

The impact of health

information technology on
I
patient safety

Jordan Kreilick
San Juan College
March 2, 2023

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 The impact of health information technology on patient safety

Submitted to
Professor Johnathan Fisher
Spring Term 2023 G-Professional and Technical Communication ENGK 2210-101W
April 27, 2023
By
Jordan Kreilick

This report highlights the different aspects of electronic medical records. Those aspects are 1)
Importance of Electronic Medical Records for Patient safety, 2) Downside of Using Electronic
Medical Records, and 3) Identifying areas for patient safety.
This report is intended to show patients that there are risks and disadvantages but electronic
medical records but at the same time it has advantages, the advantages can be lifesaving
advantages.

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 Table of Contents
List Of Figures...........................................................................................................................................V
1.0 Introduction........................................................................................................................................VI
1.1 Purpose............................................................................................................................................VI
1.2 Background.....................................................................................................................................VI
1.3 Scope................................................................................................................................................VI
2.0 Importance Of Electronic Medical Records For Patient Safety.....................................................VII
2.1 Summary........................................................................................................................................VII
2.2 Interpretation................................................................................................................................VII
3.0 Downside Of Using Electronic Medical Records..............................................................................IX
3.1 Summary.........................................................................................................................................IX
3.2 Interpretation..................................................................................................................................IX
4.0 Identifying Areas Of Patient Safety....................................................................................................X
4.1 Summary..........................................................................................................................................X
4.2 Interpretation..................................................................................................................................XI
Conclusion 5.0..........................................................................................................................................XII
References...............................................................................................................................................XIII

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 List Of Figures

Figure 1. Importance Of Electronic Medical Records For Patient Safety……………………….….....

Figure 2. Downside Of Using Electronic Medical Records…………….……………………………..

Figure 3. Identifying Areas For Patient Safety………………………………………………...………

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1.0 Introduction
1.1 Purpose
The use of electronic medical records in healthcare facilities and hospitals has
significantly increased, this helps to ensure patient safety. With the use of electronic medical
records, we do have to worry about data breaches every single day. But with health information
technology they can help to identify risks before they happen, either in incorrect medications
order for certain patients, having the wrong patient, or identifying data breaches before they
potentially happen.

1.2 Background
Data gathered over a period shows how the use of EHR has increased patient safety when
in a healthcare facility or hospital. According to “TrendWatch” (2018) “Hospitals and health
systems have integrated patient safety support into their health IT systems and built in functions
that reduce the risk of error.”

1.3 Scope
I chose to discuss the benefits of having the use of electronic medical records and
how it has improved patient safety every day, but we must worry about data breaches happening
and our personal information being leaked and accessed by other individuals. Thankfully we
have health information technology to do their best at adding patient safety features and helping
keep our information from being breached.

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2.0 Importance Of Electronic Medical Records For Patient Safety
This second piece of data presented in this patient safety presentation comes from TrendWatch.
TrendWatch is “produced by the American Hospital Association, they highlight important trends
in the hospital and health care field. The Department of Health Policy and Management in the
Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University supplied research
and analytic support for this issue brief” (“American Hospital Association (2018)”.

2.1 Summary
This data illustrates the percentage of Hospital/Health systems that used electronic health records
in 2012 and 2016/2017. Computerized provider order entry of medications increased 25% from
72% in 2012 to 97% in 2016/2017. Most hospitals can look at a patient’s preadmission
medication list.
Bar coding for patient verification has increased 26% from 68% in 2012 to 94% in 2016/2017.
By the hospitals being able to do bar coding for verification it makes the hospital know they have
the right patient, and they are administering the correct drugs.

2.2 Interpretation
A takeaway from this chart for patient safety is that by Computerized provider order entry of
medications healthcare systems and bar coding for patient verification helps to ensure that
patients are taken care of correctly in healthcare offices. The healthcare offices can verify a
patient’s medication list and make sure the correct medications will continue to be given if the

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patient needs them. Bar coding for patient verification also ensures the correct medications are
given to the correct patient. Bar coding for patient verification ensures that they have the correct
patient, it ensures that the medication that has been ordered for the patient is the correct one
given as well as the correct amount and dosage. By doing this it will help with patient safety.

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3.0 Downside Of Using Electronic Medical Records
The third piece of data in this patient safety presentation comes from The HIPPA Journal. “The
HIPAA Journal provides the most comprehensive coverage of Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) news anywhere online, in addition to independent advice
about HIPAA compliance and the best practices to adopt to avoid data breaches, HIPAA
violations and regulatory fines. The HIPAA Journal has been online for nearly 10 years and has
serviced the healthcare compliance community with over 5,000 articles” (“HIPPA Journal”,
2023). “The HIPAA Journal team is committed to reporting healthcare and HIPAA news when
the stories break, ensuring our visitors obtain the latest information on regulatory changes, data
breaches and other HIPAA matters” (“HIPPA Journal” ,2023).

3.1 Summary
The data illustrates the millions of individuals affected by healthcare data breaches. The amount
of data breaches had been trending upward with a huge peak in 2015 and then after it dropped in
2016 and 2017 it started trending upward again. “2015 was particularly bad due to three massive
data breaches at health plans: Anthem Inc, Premera Blue Cross, and Excellus. The Anthem
breach affected 78.8 million of its members, with the Premera Blue Cross and Excellus data
breaches both affecting around 10 million+ individuals” (“HIPPA Journal”, 2023).

3.2 Interpretation
One takeaway from this chart would be that even when there is not a massive data breach any
kind of data breach affects millions of individuals. With healthcare facilities and hospitals all
turning to electronic medical records the amount of data breaches is going to keep trending
upward. It will be interesting to look back at this HIPPA Journal in a couple of years and look to
see how many more individuals have been affected by healthcare data breaches.

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4.0 Identifying Areas Of Patient Safety
The final piece of data presented in this patient safety presentation comes from Journal of
Medical Internet Research (JMIR). Journal of Medical Internet Research according to Gunther
Eysenbach is “The leading peer-reviewed journal for digital medicine and health and health care
in the internet age” (Eysenbach, 2022). A study was conducted to provide a foundation of
understanding with a focus regarding patient safety and quality. In this study for patient safety,
they used a total of 41 studies.

4.1 Summary
This figure signifies the importance of identification and is one of the three main pre-set
categories. To understand the figure a little more, “G signifies the level of groundedness of the

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code. Groundedness, in this case, indicates the frequency of the code relative to the code
category. D signifies the level of density or connectedness of the code.
Identification serves as an umbrella to the 10 sub-categories within the graph of information. The
graph shows the level of density is much lower than its sub-categories. This is due to the amount
of information that the main component, Identification, holds. The sub-categories consist of
electronic tracking tools, simulation, customized technologies, alerts, clinical decision support,
HIT (Health Information Technology), information technology, time, implementation, and
resources. All these sub-categories hold a much lower density and high level of groundedness.
This variation is because each sub-category focuses on one key piece of information relative to
each of the three main pre-set categories covered in the study.

4.2 Interpretation
In the figure there are ten different codes related to identification. Information technology,
clinical decision support, alerts, and implementation were the top four codes with the most
frequency from the 41 different studies. These four different areas were the most frequent areas
where health IT was used to identify a quality and safety event when it was about to occur. This
information provides a clear understanding of the importance of identification as a key
component in reducing serious risks in the medical field and where more training is needed to
improve patient safety and quality of services. As a consumer, this new technology provides
reassurance that medical professionals are implementing health information technology into their
daily practices, leading to a safer environment for all.

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 Conclusion 5.0
This report has shown the advantages that come with EHR but also the disadvantages. Patient
safety is the main priority in a healthcare facility or hospital. The steps to ensure patient safety
have been a huge advantage but the data breaches will always be there and be the disadvantage
of EHR. There has been a steady number of data breaches but with continued technological
advancements, there is hope that breaches will diminish.

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 References

AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION ANNUAL SURVEY IT SUPPLEMENT BRIEF #3.

(2018, July). Improving patient safety and health care quality through health ...

Improving Patient Safety and Health Care Quality through Health Information

Technology. Retrieved May 5, 2023, from https://www.aha.org/system/files/2018-07/18-

07-trendwatch-issue-brief3-patient-safety-quality-health-it.pdf

Healthcare Data Breach Statistics. HIPAA Journal. (2023, April 27). Retrieved May 5, 2023,

from https://www.hipaajournal.com/healthcare-data-breach-statistics/

Feldman SS, Buchalter S, Hayes LW

Health Information Technology in Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety: Literature

Review

JMIR Med Inform 2018;6(2):e10264

doi: 10.2196/10264PMID: 29866642PMCID: 6006013

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