ldye2

This discussion is much like the debate to streamline standards and expectations in education. The Common Core legislation seeks to make standards national so that if a student moves from one state to the next, he or she will be in the same curriculum and held to the same standards as they were in their previous state. This is done so that no student will suffer and be left behind because of a standards shift from state to state. Now, let's take that same platform and apply it to healthcare. It is true that it is the patient's responsibility to be aware of the information contained in their medical record. After all, it is their personal health that is at stake. However, it is the ultimate responsibility of the healthcare provider and network to be aware of what is contained in a patient's record. It is with this knowledge that providers are adequately equipped to provide the best possible care. Imagine a patient who is unable to communicate the information about his or her own health. Take it a step further and imagine the patient changing providers, ultimately ending with a provider who knows nothing beyond what they've assessed. Being able to access a record with common abbreviations and terminology, as well as a common organization and format will go quite a ways in providing patient care in this and any other case similar.

I agree with you UTDGC. Standards should exist and function as a governing system in an effort to ensure that all healthcare professionals adhere to the expectations and privacy laws of HIPPA. However, standards should also function in a "streamlining" approach to ensure that every healthcare provider is "on the same page", literally and figuratively. Some one in an earlier post commented that not having access to the same patient information, including any updates would severely compromise the level of care provided to the patient no to mention, put the patient at risk for medical errors. Hammond (2005)states " Health data standards are key to the U.S. quest to create an aggregated, patient-centric electronic health record; to build regional health information networks; to interchange data among independent sites involved in a person's care" ( Hammond 1205). Aggregation involves a meeting of the minds and coordination of the system. For without this coordination, vital information would be lost and in turn , point-of-care services would not be successfully implemented. Hammond, W.E.(2005). The making and adopting of health data standards. Health Affairs, 24 (5), 1205-1213. The Making And Adoption Of Health Data Standards

According to The National Alliance for Health InformationTechnology, interoperability, in healthcare, is defined as "the ability ofdifferent information technology systems and software applications tocommunicate, to exchange data accurately, effectively and consistently, and touse the information that has been exchanged". The ultimate goal of informatics and the interoperability therein is toprovide information equipped, data-driven patient specific care. This goal can not be achieved withoutexpecting a certain level of standard. Specifically, those that denote theoutcomes of interoperability, as well as those that govern the healthcare teamthat will have access to the private information of patients should be included in any plan for interoperability. The standards of interoperability should bepresent in every facet of the healthcare team. There are standards that identify the benefits of it forhealth professionals, health managers, health researchers, and mostimportantly, the patients. Withoutinteroperability, necessary data and information will not be shared or may be erroneously shared and thiswould undoubtedly compromise the level of care provided to patients. Standards are key to creating a healthcare record that is patient-centered and successful in providing point of care services for clients. Interoperability in Health Informatics Systems. 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014 from http://www.openclinical.org/interoperability.html