Health Information Systems

Instructions

The purpose of this Take-Home Final Exam is to demonstrate your understanding of key IT concepts that are important for all healthcare students. Since this is a take home final, your answers should be comprehensive and well-constructed.  Answers should include facts learned in class and informed opinion. Pay attention for Grammar.  For reading ease, please type your responses in blue.

As you are answering these questions, think about the purpose of the questions. These are intended to be important concepts for you to retain as you advance in healthcare management/administration.

The course syllabus lists the following course objectives. The final exam tests your comprehension of these topics.

Course Learning Objectives

By the end of the semester, students will achieve the following learning objectives.

• Students will be able to describe the roles and responsibilities of health information systems and alignment within the health care environment.
• Students will be able to describe the importance of health information exchange and interoperability and its impact on improving health and healthcare.
• Students will be able to examine environmental influences, such as federal government programs, to estimate the impact to a healthcare organization.
• Students will be able to describe how value-based care is creating an increased importance for analytics and clinical decision support to improve population health.
• Students will be able to describe how to properly secure health information and avoid information security problems such as data breaches, malware, and ransomware.
• Students will be able to describe the important role of information to have an effective public health infrastructure as demonstrated by the recent COVID pandemic.

NOTE: Each question has multiple parts – please read thoroughly. Use as much space as you need, including additional pages.

Exam Essay Questions are below:

1. (45 points) Health Information Technology (HIT). This question has three parts.
   1. Describe the sequence of events and five (at least) important characteristics of strategic planning and budgeting for major software investments. (1-2 pages)
   2. Describe the sequence of events and five (at least) important characteristics of implementing major software investments. (1-2 pages)
   3. Describe five (at least) important management responsibilities you learned regarding privacy, security, and confidentiality of protected health information (PHI). (1-2 pages)

{Type your response in blue font here. Answer all parts}

1. (45 points) Health Information Exchange and Interoperability. This question has three parts.
   1. Describe the levels of interoperability discussed in class. What is a key characteristic of each level. (1-2 pages)
   2. Describe five (at least) challenges of HIE/Interoperability in a fee for service environment. (1-2 pages)
   3. Describe five (at least) reasons why interoperability is critical in a value-based care environment? (1-2 pages)

{Type your response in blue font here. Answer all parts.}

1. (30 points) Environmental Influence. This question has three parts.
   1. Describe five (at least) key characteristics of the ARRA HITECH legislation that was intended to influence behavior in hospitals and physician practices? (1-2 pages)
   2. Describe five (at least) key characteristics of the value-based care portion of the Affordable Care Act (not the insurance exchange portion). (1-2 pages)
   3. Describe five (at least) key characteristics of the 21^st Century Cures Act and ONC Interoperability Roadmap. (1-2 pages)

{Type your response in blue font here. Answer all parts.}

1. (10 points) COVID has had a significant impact on public health. Hospitals have been required to report COVID test results, bed capacity, and PPE availability to their state health department. Describe three reasons why it is important for the state health department to have this information. (1-2 pages)

{Type your response in blue font here. Answer all parts.}

1. (10 points) Value-based care programs are expected to reduce the costs of healthcare. Describe three important things health systems must do as they transition to value-based care. (1-2 pages)

{Type your response in blue font here. Answer all parts.}

1. (10 points) What every Healthcare Leader should know about IT. This course provides a conceptual framework for healthcare leaders regardless of their career path. What are the 5 most important things you learned from this course? Please be thoughtful about your answer, so I know what content resonated most with the class. (1-2 pages)

{Type your response in blue font here. Answer all parts}