At times the process of designing state reporting systems seems to neglect the perspective of software vendors and local health agencies. Often state requirements are promulgated via a set of forms to be filled out, even though the submission in this era is typically electronic. But the data on the forms is only as good as [...]
Local health agencies have been reporting to their state counterparts for decades. Of course state health agencies have an important role to play in the public health system, as they set policy through legislation and regulation, and dispense funds. The natural consequence of policy and funding is reporting, to ensure services are provided and funds properly [...]
You're telling me I need to take the laptop out to a home visit? Are you serious?? There is no way I can take the laptop out- it will be ruined! These were my thoughts when I first heard that we were going to go paperless. We have been using our laptops out in the [...]
Today’s fiscal constraints and emphasis on accountability push us to demonstrate the outcomes of our services at all levels: individual, family, group, community, system. This is a daunting task. Agencies using Nightingale Notes EHR and the Omaha System have an advantage because the Omaha System has a built-in outcomes component that can be applied to [...]
The term electronic signature is a rapidly evolving term, used both as a generic term encompassing a variety of ways that an electronic record can be signed (attested) as well as a specific type of method. Depending on the software in use, E-signatures can be entered in many ways, such as: Clicking on an “I [...]
Submitting a billing claim, getting a list of vaccinations for a client, faxing orders to a physician and emailing a client about their next visit; what do all of these have in common? Well, you likely wouldn’t be able to do any of them without the power of the internet. With recent technological advances you’re [...]
This is the last in our series of blogs on electronic health record security. The first two covered physical security and digital security. The focus of this article is data confidentiality. Client data should only be viewed on a need to know basis. There are a number of things your software can do to allow you [...]
This is the second in a series of 3 blogs on EHR security. The first one covered physical security. Now we'll talk about digital security. This is the type of security that gets the most attention these days. While there will never be an application that is 100% safe against hackers, there are a number [...]
Ensuring that an EHR software application is secure is a crucial step before you start sending it any confidential information. There are a few different types of security and EHR security measures that you’ll want to be aware of with any software application. The categories we’ll be covering are Physical Digital Confidential This is not [...]
Public/Community Health and Home Care agencies are being asked to be accountable for Quality Improvement activities on a number of different levels. Some agencies are beginning to prepare for national public health accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board. Others have been part of the Multi-State Learning Collaborative that brought state and local health departments [...]