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Mary Jane, I agree with the idea that technological advances are not jut for the sake of technology but instead to create an efficient health care system (Sewell, 2013). But that raises another question. How is the health care system expected to stay up to date in the technology that they use, if the technology continues to improve daily? Mrs. Putman mentioned in class the price of our laptops are several hundred dollars and this price excludes the programs like “Microsoft Word” that we then pay to have access to. What if an entire hospital bought new computers and a new program every time a “better” electronic medical record program became available? This would be wasteful and impossible. As I alluded to in a previous post, our society is fueled by money. If a hospital organization can save dollars by using an out date but still functioning computer system then I believe that they will do so. I noticed at Le Bonheur hospital that nothing is complimentary. If a patient needs a new pair of socks, that patient’s room number must be inserted into the Omni-cell and charged for that pair of socks. I do not mean to say that hospitals are cheap, but instead present this example to support my point that the hospitals will try to save money anywhere that they see the opportunity. - Abi Edwards Sewell, J. P., & Thede, L. Q. (2013). Informatics and nursing: opportunities and challenges (4th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

UTDKS makes a great point when she stated that policies are not clearly defined for abbreviations. Supper is a geographical term used primarily in the south and some one working in California may not understand this order. But what or who creates the rules and standards to what is accepted and what is not? The book lists about 35 groups involved in establishing a standard (Sewell,2013). Each of these companies may support a different computer program that they believe is the best to use and attempt to introduce it as the standard for electronic medical records. How do they come to an agreement on which is best? I cannot help but to hypothesize that these companies are promoting computer programs that would promote their own monetary gain. The use of the electronic health records works as a way to keep tract of what a health care provider or hospital charges to a patient and works as a record for insurance reimbursement. The use of interoperability is key to the success in the health care system but I believe it would be more effective if a single governing body established the standards that all health care workers must follow. This would ensure an unbiased and fair standard that truly promoted the best outcome for the patient. The real goal of interoperability is for the nurse to be able to spend more time at the bedside of the patient and provide the best care possible (Mcbride, 2012). -Abi Edwards Sewell, J. P., & Thede, L. Q. (2013). Informatics and nursing: opportunities and challenges (4th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Mcbride, S., Delaney, J. M., & Tietze, M. (2012). Health Information Technology and Nursing. AJN, American Journal of Nursing, 112(8), 36-42.

As discussed in the previous post, interoperability is how systems share and exchange information (Sewell, 2013). The previous student mentioned the book’s example of establishing time zones to regulate train schedules in the early 1900s. This standard to change the time zones was necessary to promote effective communication involving travel. Now, the world of health care is faced with a similar issue yet the standards that must be created to provide the proper communication are extremely complex. This standard will effect all aspects of hospital data; it will interfere will how, what, when, and where the data is recorded in an Electronic Health Record (Sewell, 2013). The use of interoperability can help prevent errors and be cost effective. This establishment of standards to promote interoperability in electronic medical records is vital. From personal experience as a nursing student, I deal with the issue of consistent medical terminology and this is only the beginning of the problems with unstandardized data. For example, many nurses that have been working for a long period of time use abbreviations that are out of date. For example, the use of “w b/s.” This abbreviation can be interpreted as with breakfast and supper or with bowel sounds. Misunderstanding of this can cause medication errors. According to the article, “The Value of Health Care Information Exchange and Interoperability” interoperability not only can reduce errors, but is also cost effective (Walker, 2005). By using one common electronic medical record program across a variety of health care providers, the cost for the patient will be less. Standards are required to create an effective and cost efficient health care system. Sewell, J., & Thede, L.Q. (2013) Informatics and nursing: Opportunities and challenges. (4th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott. Walker, Jan, Eric Pan, and Douglas Johnston. "The Value Of Health Care Information Exchange And Interoperability." The Value Of Health ​Care Information Exchange And Interoperability. Institution: Partners Community Healthcare, 19 Jan. 2005. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.