Public health informatics
Discuss what you find most interesting and relevant on the overall topic of public health informatics based on readings, film festival, and class discussions.  How can informatics, apps, and greater connectivity help improve the health of communities?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcYvV39M160 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0deZxlqOzro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tilbJUsZWvI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J42CLZH1NlE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VEyeGoQacY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA0zkOGj4wY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2KSYsvRA5c https://vimeo.com/12258781 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4LbAUa4ZwY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAUH1lX54z8

Future Trends
Share your thoughts on emerging healthcare informatics trends and what you think will become much more valuable and widely used in the next 5 years for improving health of of all of us.

Description

The Technical Infrastructure of Healthcare DiscussionI would like to begin this week’s discussion based on a recent scenario that I experienced. I called and made an appointment with my physician, whom I’ve used for many years. I was told to arrive about 30 minutes early for my appointment because they had a new system and I would have some paperwork to complete. This physician’s office is not a part of any other healthcare system and he had been using another EHR system for quite some time, maybe 10 years. Upon arrival for the appointment, I was given all the paperwork to complete as if I were a new patient, including all of my past medical history. I could remember most of it but I know I missed some things. It did take quite a bit of time to complete but I was finally able to be seen.The medical assistant took all of my vital signs and told me that I was the second patient of the day and this was the first day of using their new system. She thought I was a new patient since I had all new paperwork and I told her I had actually been a patient there for a number of years. After clicking around in the system for several minutes, she said she just didn’t know where to input my vital signs and she left the room. I could hear the conversation outside of the room I was in and there was someone from the software company there to reassure her and help her, so my vital signs were added. So, as we are talking about the technical aspects of systems this week, I would like to ask you for your thoughts on how interoperability might play into this scenario. Do you see any evidence of interoperability? If not, how might it be incorporated and what might the outcomes of that be? How might this impact patient care?