Electronic Health Records Essay Example for Free

Electronic Health Records Essay Introduction Electronic health records (also known as ‘e-notes’) have commonly replaced the conventional paper records used in medical facilities. This discussion describes how electronic health records have provided a solution to a range of health care procedures, have offered cost savings and benefits, and still have greater potential for improvement through future efforts. Overall, this discussion documents the progress and demands for further convenience in regards to electronic health records, presenting concepts, statistics, and recent analyses published by authorities on the topic. Through this, it is evident that electronic health notes still have shortcomings that are commonly noted and targeted, but as they have solved many more problems inherent in previous systems, they are the ideal path for development and improvement in this area. Electronic Health Records Since the development of electronic health records, healthcare managers have been able to reach numerous solutions to previous problems in their systems; this has included improved capacities to record and store the clinical and demographic information patients, the capacity to observe or manage the results of laboratory tests, the capacity to give prescriptions, improved ease of managing billing data, and improved facilitation of analysis for clinical decisions. These improvements reveal the nature of challenges and demands relevant to operations using the previous form of records (paper), with electronic health records being substantially more organized, convenient, and manageable. According to Al-Ubaydli (70), the use of paper records â€Å"had several implications. On the one hand, writing on paper fast and easy, so it fits well with clinical workflow. On the other hand, notes are only useful to the person who reads them, no to the one who writes them. When writing, speed and brevity are essential as there are always more patients to visit and care for. But for the reader, speed means illegible handwriting and brevity means incomplete notes. This leads clinicians to ask patients questions to which the answers already exist in the notes† (Al-Ubaydli 70). Moreover, as the author pointed out, paper is more difficult to transfer or copy, leading to it ultimately becoming easiest to keep the records confined to one central place. With this, they cannot move as easily as the patient, and the chore of copying tended to result in the patients being without a complete set of easily accessible records. Meanwhile, there are substantial space and cost requirements associated with storing paper records. The development of computer hardware, software, and improved data storage techniques eventually led to the development of efficient and effective software capable of storing patient data in secure databases, further allowing all data to be stored in a size-efficient manner that could also be easily transmitted. With the development of the internet, patient files could even be stored and transmitted online, providing an ideal backup for databases while improving the capacity for patients to have complete record sets sent to a range of facilities. The general motivation for creating these electronic health records was to address the problems inherent in the paper records, with the most convenient aspect being the cost-effective nature of storage and transmission; the nature of this being a virtually free cost and nearly instantaneous transmission made the desire and changes especially significant. Moreover, electronic health records would allow users to improve the capacity for users to index, sort, and search through records faster than the time demanded to sort through the paper files manually (Al-Ubaydli 70). An additional benefit is the reduced potential for illegible notes, as the nature of the systems means that all data is entered in using clear computerized text characters. As mentioned, similar to the nature of demands and problems evident in the paper records, there are now demands for improving aspects of the electronic records. However, these problems can be addressed through improved organization, software, and other means that does not demand a drastic change in mediums, as was required to address the problems of the paper records. Al-Ubaydli (71) reported that electronic health records â€Å"must include checks and balances to audit and control access. Second, the user interfaces for adding to the records must become easier to that they fit better into clinical workflow and allow clinicians to do more in less time. Speech recognition continues to improve, and the designers of templates continue to innovate.† The author further points out that similar to the improved search engines of the internet (first challenging and then drastically improved with developments like Google), electronic health records can be similarly improved without restructuring comparable to restructuring paper records. Other researchers have analyzed the nature of electronic health records, further elaborating on the nature of solutions and remaining demands. DeVoe et al. (351) pointed out that the clear and detailed recording of all received and recommended services should be considered the most vital aspect of health records, which is most effectively addressed through electronic records rather than paper records. This further assists with insurance aspects, as the detailed and accurate aspects of recording services can improve coordination with claims and related demands. DeVoe et al. (352) further asserted that electronic health records have the potential to assist researchers and policy makers with overcoming prior restrictions in examining services provided in CHCs. Meanwhile, Hoffman and Podgurski (425) reported on the growth of health care and pharmaceutical costs, frequency of unnecessary medical procedures, evoked healthcare reforms, and critical roles of records in all of these processes. With this, comparative effectiveness research (CER) has commonly been coupled with electronic health records to show that many expensive procedures have had less desirable outcomes for comparable conditions that less expensive ones, pointing out the nature of some health care facilities and physicians. Meanwhile, however, some have argued that CER is likely to lead to limited patient choices, improper rationing of health care, homogenized care, and potentially refusal of needed treatments (Hoffman and Podgurski 425). Congress allocated $1.1 billion to CER through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, which included other aspects of improving and restructuring facilities. Soon it became evident that a unique application of CER could allow physicians to improve their decisions regarding treatment, as when coupled with electronic health records, physicians could conduct computer inquiries across a large database of patient records. Naturally, this would provide a valuable supplement to the patient’s history and literature. Hoffman and Podgurski (425) recommended that software be designed to summarize findings of queries by presenting the most relevant outcomes of patients with the most comparable conditions, while records be developed and stored in a manner which facilitates this. Thus, personalized comparison of treatment effectiveness or PCTE could become a phrase more common than CER in the future. Conclusion Electronic health care records have solved many of the problems that could not be effectively addressed through developments in the paper systems, with major improvements in the capacity to copy and transfer records, cost of storage, and clarity of information. Although this has led to implications for security and excessive copying, databases have been developed to improve the concerns in these areas. Moreover, researchers have proposed additional improvements in development as well as use, with records having the potential to serve as an informal accessible databank, thereby improving understanding and decision making. Works Cited Al-Ubaydli, Mohammad. Personal Health Records: A Guide for Clinicians. John Wiley Sons: New York, NY, 2011. DeVoe, Jennifer, Rachel Gold, Patti McIntire, Jon Puro, and Susan Chauvie. â€Å"Electronic Health Records vs Medicaid Claims: Completeness of Diabetes Preventive Care Data in Community Health Centers.† Annals of Family Medicine 9.4 (2011): 351-358. Hoffman, Sharona and Andy Podgurski. â€Å"Improving Health Care Outcomes through Personalized Comparisons of Treatment Effectiveness Based on Electronic Health Records.† Journal of Law, Medicine Ethics 39.3 (2011): 425-436.

pain is inevitable :: essays research papers

Pain is Inevitable Pain, a word that is always associated with getting hurt. The real question now is how it hurt. There are two different kinds of pain; physical and mental. The physical aspect of pain is like falling from something, cutting your arm, or stubbing your toe. The mental part is hurting someone’s feeling from saying something harsh or doing something to them emotionally, which hurts inside. The causes and effects of physical and mental pain are very different but can be both equally devastating and even more dramatic with emotionally disturbed people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Causes for physical pain are purely explainable. In all cases it hurts. In most cases I get hurt physically; it is from doing something really stupid. One great example is the time I was twelve and broke my leg. I was in a swing with my eyes closed, not paying attention, and my leg got caught under the swing coming back around and broke my leg. The cause was my not paying attention to what I was doing and it hurt. The actual cause for physical pain can be very different scenarios, but it can also be terribly dramatic. One of my best friend’s brothers was riding in a car with someone who was high, drunk, and tired. They had just gotten done with a party and were heading home. As they were going home, the truck went off the road and flipped on his head. He is now mentally and physically disabled and can not do anything without help from his parents.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The effects from physical pain can be something easy or something very difficult to deal with. When I broke my leg the effect was I had to wear a cast for two months. The effects are always going to be different as well. For my friend’s brother, he will be a paraplegic for the rest of his life. The effects of physical pains are the broadest ranged category because anything can happen, or not happen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The cause for mental pain is a very complex category. Some people don’t even know that they have hurt someone mentally. It could be from saying something, doing something, or from not doing anything at all. Emotions are the most unstable and unpredictable feelings. Saying something like this doesn’t taste good can be the effect of getting slapped, or making someone cry. Driving over an animal will not only hurt the animal, but the person who owned it will definitely not be happy.

Mexican Drug War Essay

Mexican Drug War Introduction The Mexican Drug War is perhaps the deadliest and most devastating battle this country has encountered in it’s history. Its’ violence affects both civilians and its’ very culture. Since 2006, the border of Mexico has been a place of hostility, turmoil, and outright warfare which has transitioned throughout the countryside. Unlike traditional military solutions, Mexico and the United States must work together to quell the hostility by creating economic opportunities for those in Mexico, stop the flow of drugs into the US, and stop the feed of guns into Mexico. Background The Mexican Drug War is based in Mexico, although the United States can be blamed for making a large contribution to it. Mexican organizations that deal in illegal activities started during the US prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s. It seems that when there is a demand for an item in the US and no supply, Mexico has always been there to supplement our â€Å"needs†. A Mexican Cartel is a criminal organization developed with the main purpose of promoting and controlling drug trafficking operations both interstate and intrastate. They range from loosely managed business agreements among various drug traffickers to formal commercial enterprises. The main Mexican Cartels consist of the Sinaloa, Gulf, La Familia, Tijuana, Beltran, and Juarez cartels. These cartels cover the majority of the territory in Mexico. There are two main cartels that control most of the market, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel. The Sinaloa Cartel is led by a man nicknamed â€Å"El Chapo†. He was in jail in 2001 but escaped allegedly in a laundry basket. He is the most wanted man in the world with a bounty of eighty-seven million dollars. No one has drawn so much law enforcement attention since Al Capone. He and the Sinaloa Cartel are so successful that he has his own Forbes profile, he is estimated to be worth one billion dollars, making him the 1140th richest man in the world and the 55th most powerful. There are also allegations that the Sinaloa Cartels teamed up with the the Mexican government to take out other cartels. The Gulf Cartel is reknowned for hiring a private mercenary army of corrupt elite military soldiers to work for them in 2001. The Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels worked together as partners up until February 2010, when their partnership dissolved. The dissolution  was so involved and violent that it turned some border towns into ghost towns. (Mexico’s Drug Wars). Most recreational drugs are outlawed in the United States and the main ones Mexico supplies are marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines, and heroin. Marijuana has accounted for 858,408 arrests in 2009 in the US. It can have a lasting effect on young people with effects such as â€Å"structural and functional deficits of the brain†. Cocaine is a very dangerous drug, due to its power to get people hooked very quickly. The effects are scabs on mucus membrane, damage to the nasal septum, and eventually make your nose collapse. Heroin is a very addictive drug, in fact, one fourth of the people who try it, become addicts. The effects are infection of the heart lining and the valves, liver disease, lung disease, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS from needle use. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug that can cause loss of weight, teeth, the development of scabs and open sores on the face. It can also cause psycotic behaviors, such as paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions. ( Above the Influe nce) Defining the Problem In the city Juarez, a border city next to El Paso, violence has escalated to a point that people are actually moving their businesses to El Paso for safety precautions. The Mexican National death toll for the month of January 2013 was issued and it had 1104 related to the Mexican Drug War, that is an average of 34.45 deaths per day during that month. Juarez is the best example of how the Mexican drug war can ruin a town. The deaths in Mexico from the drug war amount to about 60,000 since 2006; 67 reporters, 3,500 officers, and over 1000 children. It has displaced over 1.6 million people, many of whom were forced to leave their possessions behind. The violence is astounding and is the main problem in this war. ( Mexico’s Drug War Violence and the Role the United States Plays) and (An Uneasy CoExistence: Security and Migration Along the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez Border) Causes There may be corruption in the Mexican government, and there is no way to be sure. They have denied everything, but claims say otherwise. If this is true, there has to be a new power in the Mexican government. Certain allegations say that the government has been turning a blind eye towards the  activities of the cartels or have taken bribes. When the cartels are allowed to run free, lives are lost. (Key issues on Obama’s Mexico trip: Trade, immigration, and drug war) The demand for drugs seems to be ingrained in the American culture. There are movies that portray the taking of drugs as a very cool, and natural thing to do, when really it can destroy lives. As long as we accept drugs as the thing to do, we will keep relying on the drugs that come from Mexico. Positions/Perspectives People all see the Mexican drug war with different views, and many want to approach it different ways. The world leaders are the people with the most influential views. United States President Barack Obama has said that the US will try to prevent demand for drugs and stop the illegal sale of guns but legalizing drugs is not our best choice. â€Å" I personally, and my administration’s position is, that legalization is not the answer†. (Key issues on Obama’s Mexico trip: Trade, immigration, and drug war) Pena Nieto, the current president of Mexico, has said that creating more economic opportunities for the citizens of Mexico will turn out to be Mexico’s greatest solution. Countrymen and others have to go to the drug cartels to make money and pay the bills, but when there are more choices for people, they don’t give the drug cartels life.( Key issues on Obama’s Mexico trip: Trade, immigration, and drug war) Another top Mexican official has said â€Å" Economically, there is no argument or solution other than legalization, at least of marijuana.† . He said that it would move nearly all production of marijuana to California. He also said â€Å" Mexico’s objective should be to make the US self sufficient in marijuana.† Also three former Latin American presidents have said that governments should very seriously consider the legalization of marijuana. (Saving Mexico) Solutions Overview of the US and Mexico working together efficiently means the US doing its part in stopping illegal gun sales and trying to douse the demand for drugs by its citizens while Mexico must attempt to stop the violence, and create more economic opportunities for people. Analysis of Solutions The US needs to regulate its gun laws. The Mexican authorities have seized 70,000 weapons of US origin from 2007 to 2011. When there are no guns, there  are no fire fights in the streets of Mexico. The guns going to Mexico are just gasoline on the fire. ( Mexico’s Drug War Violence and the Role the United States Plays) The countrymen of Mexico are subjected to producing for the cartels, and have no where else to go, but with more jobs and choices they are able to avoid this dirty work and go do anything else. (Mexico’s Drug War and the Role the United States Plays) If you can clear the drug cartel out of one town, you save that town. There may be other towns that need to be saved, but if you can make a difference in that one town, the difference will mean the world to them. Locally Mexico needs to try and fix a town at a time. Legalization of marijuana could be the best option, but according to the president, that cannot happen, off the table, not possible. The most efficient and effective solution is that Mexico and America work together by stopping the guns coming coming in and increasing the job diversity in Mexico. Conclusion

Positive And Negative Influences Of Transnational...

Since the implementation of the Agreement on Trade and Tarriffs in 1947, the global influence of cross border trade has steadily grown, to become all pervasive in the lives of many citizens around the world. Combining liberal global regulation with incremental advances in transportation and communications technology since World War two, Foreign Direct Investment has been gifted the environment to flourish. But this flourishing has brought concerns concentration regarding power that transnational corporations now possess. Currently, over half of the world’s five hundred largest corporations are based in just four countries – US, Japan, France and Germany (Source). Between 1980 and 1995 the top 100 transnational corporations increased assets by 697%, whilst at the same time employment in those organisations decreased (Mullerat, R 2010 p279). In this essay I will discuss the positive and negative influences that transnational corporations have on states, as well as examining a couple of real world examples of their impact. A transnational corporation is defined as a firm that is owned and controlled by the nationals of one country which conducts business activities or owns production across national borders (O’Brien, Williams p188a). Welcoming transnational corporations can bring direct employment generation to a state. This also stimulates indirect employment generation due to the requirement of inputs and services to such businesses (Aggarwal, A 2007, pp2,3). This is aShow MoreRelatedGlobalization And The Development Of Transnational Corporations977 Words   |  4 Pagesdevelopment of transnational corporations. Nestle exemplifies a transnational corporation established through globalisation, in both developed and developing countries, maximising resources and facilities to further the growth of the company. 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