Health IT as a Tool for Prevention in Public Health Policies

Health IT as a Tool for Prevention in Public Health Policies examines the current state of Health Information Technology (HIT) in the United States. It investigates the converging problems of chronic disease, societal welfare, childhood obesity, and the lack of healthcare for the economically disadvantaged in the U.S. It considers various providers of care for disadvantaged groups and outlines innovative public policy solutions to a wide range of community problems.The book starts by detailing the major problems the U.S. has faced with its healthcare system. Next, it describes current federal efforts to solve these problems and unveils novel solutions to these challenges. Each chapter examines a different technological solution that the U.S. is currently investing in and allocating time, resources, and energy to.Supplying a basic theoretical foundation on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, the book discusses the effects of geographic disparities and HIT at the meso, macro, and micro levels of society. It also demonstrates how individuals can use a range of HITs to improve prevention of health concerns, including mobile health apps, video games, self-management technologies, crowdsourcing, and other e-health technologies. The book describes HIEs, RHIOs, and NHIN and explains how they connect to Community Health Centers (CHCs). It also explains how CHCs can use HIT to improve care for the disadvantaged and Medicaid population. It includes a case study of electronic health literacy and cancer patients and another on how equipping private practice physicians with EMRs can help them tackle prevention and improve organizational functioning.The book concludes by providing a comparative perspective between the use of HIT in the U.S. and the United Kingdom and by suggesting the direction that the U.S. should take toward cloud-based solutions to its e-health infrastructure.

INTRODUCTIONTheoretical Underpinnings: Comparing the PPACA and HITECH ActsIntroductionTheoretical Perspectives Social Cognitive Theory Measuring Progress and OutcomesConclusionReferencesGOVERNMENT AND TECHNOLOGY POLICIES Impact of E-Government on Electronic Health LiteracyIntroductionTheorySources of E-Health Initiatives by E-Government Mobile Health Initiatives Initiatives to Reduce the Digital DivideLegislation Impacting E-Health Literacy Key Legislation for Furthering E-HealthHealth Insurance ExchangesRHIOsWeb Design and E-Health Non-health-Related Legislation Furthering E-HealthPolicy Analysis: Summary of Importance of E-Government on E-Health Literacy Trust in Information Sources and Impacts on E-Health Literacy OutcomesMethods New Contribution to the Field: New E-Government TermInterpretation and ResultsPolicy Recommendations and ConclusionsReferences Financial, Social, and Environmental Impact of Government HIT Adoption PoliciesAssessment of the Barriers to Health Information Technology (HIT) Adoption across Organizations and the U.S. Policy SolutionsOrganizational Variation in EMR AdoptionBarriers to EMR Adoption Economic Costs of EMR Adoption Economic Policy Strategies to Help Organizations with Slow Rates of Adoption Social Barriers to Technology Adoption Social Policies to Help Organizations that Are Unable to Adopt EMRs Environmental Barriers to Technology Adoption Environmental Policy Strategies to Help Organizations with Slow Rates of AdoptionConclusionReferencesINDIVIDUALIZED TECHNOLOGICAL PREVENTIONSTRATEGIES FOR CHRONIC CONDITIONS Self-Management Technologies and Type 2 DiabetesThe Effects of Self-Management Technologies on Type 2 Diabetes Patients Purpose Introduction and Background Policy Relevance Theoretical Backing Web-Based Technologies Mobile and Telephone Interventions Video Games DiscussionConclusionLimitation of the Chapter and Possible Sources of BiasReferences Individualized Prevention Solutions to Childhood ObesityUnderlying Causes and Consequences of Childhood ObesityConsequences of Childhood ObesityNational Policy SolutionsState Policy SolutionsLocal Policy Solutions Environmental Policies Physicians and Health Providers Media Impacts Economic Policies Political Community Relationships/PartnershipsChild Care Policies Technological Policies and Social Media Political ImpactsConclusionReferencesSuggested ReadingsNATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMPACTS OF HIT ONTHECOMMUNITY Health Information Technology in Community Health CentersThe Formation of Community Health Centers (CHCs)Theory for the DesignLiterature ReviewResearch Design Research Experiment 1: Randomized Experimental Design Research Experiment 2: The Survey DesignConclusionReferences Small-Practice Physicians and HITWhy HIT? What Is It and How Can It Help Small-Practice Physicians?Physicians and Organizational LeadershipLiterature and Theories Relating to Technology Diffusion Technology Diffusion Customer Service and Quality Barriers to AdoptionLooking to the Future: New Research How Do Small Practices Deal with Change and Regulation? Methods Hypotheses Survey Findings Results and Analysis Conclusion and RecommendationsReferencesThe Micro, Meso, and Macro Perspectives of HIT AdoptionIntroductionMacro-Level Policies and ConsiderationsMeso-Level Challenges to Electronic Medical Record (EMR) AdoptionMicro-Level Challenges to EMR AdoptionConclusionReferencesGeographic Disparities in HealthcareGeographic Disparities in Health ResourcesGeographic Disparities in Healthcare ProfessionalsPolicy Solutions to Geographic Maldistribution of Resources and Care Solutions to the Shortage of Health Resources and Services: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Community Health Centers (CHCs) Solutions to the Shortage of Health Resources and Services: Telemedicine Resources Solutions to the Shortage of Health Resources and Services: Concierge MedicineConclusionReferencesInternational Comparisons: Differences in U.K. and U.S. Preventive HealthApplying the Reforms of the U.K. NHS to the U.S. Health System: A Comparative Perspective IntroductionGeneral Differences: The U.K. versus the U.S. Health SystemReforms to the U.K. Health System in the Early 2000s The U.K.’s QOF SystemCriticisms of the U.K. Health Reforms and the QOF Comparing and Applying the U.K. to the U.S. Health SystemComparisons and Additions of the U.K. QOF to Concierge MedicineConclusionReferencesConclusionPutting It All TogetherIndex

Divya Srinivasan Sridhar works in the field of public policy. She has developed her knowledge and experience at a number of public policy organizations including the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), National Housing Trust (NHT), Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS), Verité Healthcare Consulting (VHC), and more. She has delved into a variety of public policy issues during her internships and graduate programs, and has published and written papers on electronic government, social policy, and healthcare, including health reform, healthcare IT, and health informatics. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M University in Finance, her master’s degree in Public Policy from UT (University of Texas) Dallas, specializing in social policy/health policy research, and is now working on her PhD in Public Policy at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia. Srinivasan is the author of Impact of Healthcare Informatics on Quality of Patient Care and Health Services (CRC Press, 2013).