Chapter 6

Medical Terminology

  • Refers to procedures, equipment, and processes in medical care delivery.
    • Examples: angioplasty, joint replacements, medical devices (CT scanners, pacemakers).

Health Information Technology (Health IT)

  • Supports patient care delivery.
    • Involves technologies to record, store, protect, and analyze health information.
    • Examples: electronic health records (EHRs), speech recognition software.

Biomedical Engineers

  • Utilize knowledge of biology and engineering to develop medical equipment.
    • Example: miniature robots for spinal surgeries.

Telemedicine

  • Use of electronic communication to provide clinical care remotely.
    • Facilitates diagnosis and monitoring at a distance.

Interventional X-Ray Machines

  • High-resolution fixed x-ray devices for minimally invasive diagnoses/surgeries.

Robotics in Surgery

  • Enhances precision through robotic-assisted tools over human hands.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

  • Advances understanding of brain activity by tracking oxygen levels and blood flow.

Health IT Goals

  • Aim to improve patient care delivery and outcomes.
    • Provides timely information for decision making.

Health Information Management (HIM)

  • Focuses on IT infrastructure and data usage in healthcare.
  • Credentials: Registered Health Information Technician, Health Information Administrator.

Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS)

  • Provides healthcare practitioners with diagnostic and treatment recommendations.
    • Examples: drug interaction warnings, clinical pathways.

Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

  • Digital patient health records accessible across various healthcare settings.
  • Growth spurred by the HITECH Act (2009) and Meaningful Use Program.

Meaningful Use Criteria

  • Involves patient portals and computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems.
    • CPOE enhances medication order accuracy and error checking.

Interoperability

  • Ability for computer systems across organizations to communicate for patient information sharing.
  • Challenges include proper patient identification and master patient indices (MPI).

HIPAA Regulations

  • Establish security and privacy standards for health information.
    • Affect billing processes, require electronic claims submission, and ensure concern over patient information confidentiality.

Electronic Materials Management

  • Enables efficient tracking of medical supplies and inventory control through technologies such as barcoding.

Challenges in Patient Registration

  • Involves collecting personal, financial, and insurance information at initial healthcare entry.

Speech Recognition Software

  • Converts spoken words into text for easier data entry in medical contexts.

Mobile Technology

  • Portable devices (laptops, tablets) enhance access to patient information but risk loss/damage.

Cloud Computing

  • Virtualization of servers poses privacy/security challenges addressed by health IT.

Patient Confidentiality

  • Governed by HIPAA to protect health information, with specific security measures required to mitigate breaches.