Long Term Care Administration

Long-Term Care Administration

Long-term care (LTC) administrators are expected to establish standards of care delivery and implement strategic policies and systems that improve care delivery in LTC facilities. Therefore, it is important to analyze and understand the considerations to make when adopting an EHR system and identify their benefits, challenges, resident rights, and compliance measures.

Benefits of Adopting an Electronic Health Record (EHR) System

EHRs support instantaneous remote and real-time access to health records improving the effectiveness and efficiency of care and benefiting patient outcomes. They allow patients to access and review their medical records, improving patient-physician communication and supporting a more patient-centered care plan. EHRs reduce errors by quickly flagging errors in patient care and treatment information stored.

Challenges of Adopting an EHR System

EHR systems are mostly challenged by the increase in privacy and security threats to patient information. LTC residents and patients may have a limited understanding of health information stored in EHR systems. Therefore, they are more likely to misinterpret the information. Another challenge to adopting EHRs is the time spent to fully implement EHR systems and the concern over the benefits compared to costs.

Benefits of Using the System to Care for Residents

EHR systems can be modified to meet individual LTC resident needs. EHRs automate patient care and can be upgraded with individual patient health tracking gadgets to support continuous resident monitoring. Caregivers using EHRs have access to accurate health information and can provide a timely response in case of emergencies. Caregivers in LTC settings can also share information and coordinate to provide better care for residents.

Criteria to Consider to Select the right EHR Product

LTC administrators must ensure the user-friendliness of the EHR system. The system must have a free interactive trial demo and be able to improve user experiences. The EHR system must be able to adapt to usage in long-term care settings. The system’s provider should be able to provide instant and all-time user support.

Regulatory Compliance Measures to Implement EHRs

EHR systems must meet compliance requirements to achieve meaningful use and for the facility to qualify for CMS incentives (Aguirre et al., 2019). The administrator must ensure that the system meets updated regulatory requirements, educate the users on compliance requirements, have a clear EHR implementation roadmap, constitute an implementation team, and set EHR usage policies.

Ownership of Medical Records and The Rights of the Residents

The health care facility has ownership of the medical records they develop and store about an individual patient. However, based on the provisions of the HIPAA rules, patients have a right to access and review their medical records held by a healthcare provider (Chiruvella & Guddati, 2021). They can request copies and also for revision of such medical records.

Protocols For Residents with Mental Issues and Their Rights to Their Medical Records

Residents with mental issues have the right to determine their course of care and treatment. Only patients or their legal representatives have a right to access the patient’s medical records. The patient must approve the sharing of any of their health records. It is important to help mental health patients understand their rights related to medical records.

Security And Privacy Concerns and HIPAA Compliance

EHRs are constantly threatened by hackers and other parties, internally and externally. There is a growing concern over the privacy and security of patient information and the adoption of EHRs (Keshta & Odeh, 2021). The facility must first address the concerns and ensure the security and privacy of EHR systems to comply with HIPAA regulations.

Benefits of Effective Communication when Relaying Resident Information

Effective communication improves the residents’ perception of respect, quality of care, and connection with caregivers. It helps grow trust and openness between the caregivers and the residents. In addition, it can also improve understanding of patient needs (Pehlivan & Güner, 2020) and the engagement of the residents in the development of their care plans.

Conclusion

EHR systems improve the quality and efficiency of care in long-term care facilities. However, concerns exist over the security and privacy of user information and the usability of such systems. LTC administrators should support user training and ensure the EHRs comply with existing regulations.

References

Aguirre, R. R., Suarez, O., Fuentes, M., & Sanchez-Gonzalez, M. A. (2019). Electronic Health Record Implementation: A Review of Resources and Tools. Cureus, 11(9). https://doi.org/10.7759/CUREUS.5649

Chiruvella, V., & Guddati, A. K. (2021). Ethical Issues in Patient Data Ownership. Interact J Med Res 2021; 10(2):E22269 Https://Www.i-Jmr.Org/2021/2/E22269, 10(2), e22269. https://doi.org/10.2196/22269

Keshta, I., & Odeh, A. (2021). Security and privacy of electronic health records: Concerns and challenges. Egyptian Informatics Journal, 22(2), 177–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EIJ.2020.07.003

Pehlivan, T., & Güner, P. (2020). Compassionate care: Benefits, barriers and recommendations. Journal of Psychiatric Nursing, 11(2), 148-153.

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*Select a publicly traded company that is traded on the U.S. exchange. Locate the annual report for at least the last three fiscal years.

Long-Term Care Administration

*Analyze the financial statements for the company and review for large movements in specific accounts from one year to the next. In addition, review the notes to the financial statements, as these are an integral part of the financial reporting package. Evaluate the balance sheet to determine if there are large changes in the company’s assets, liabilities, or equity accounts. In addition, analyze the income statement and statement of cash flows.
*At a minimum, calculate the following ratios for two years: the debt-to-equity ratio, current ratio, quick ratio, return on equity, and net profit margin. For each ratio, explain what the ratio tells you about the company.