Provision of Information by Physician Practices
In a healthcare setting, the provision of information to patients by physician practices is of paramount importance in enhancing the delivery of quality care. In reference to the case study provided, being a HIM professional and considering the position that Dr. Osgood is offering, there are several forms of information that I might include about the practice’s patient population. One of the pieces of information that I would provide to the patients about practice is the common diagnostic grounds that are involved in the process of seeking healthcare. In this case, such information would have entailed informing Alice about her group cardiologist and other heart specialists who would assist her in regaining her health. However, while providing Alice with this particular information, it would be prudent to ensure that patients’ rights to genuine information are adhered to in order to avoid any incidence of medical malpractice (Laestadius, Rich & Auer, 2017). The second type of information that I would ensure the patient gets is the common procedures associated with the proposed medical intervention. In reference to this particular case, it is quite unfortunate that Dr. Smith was hesitant to provide his patient with sensitive information regarding the new cardiologist.
I believe that the patient deserved to be provided with information regarding the new medical intervention that Dr. Osgood was proposing. Moreover, patients who suffer from heart problems unusually undergo procedures such as heart valve surgery, defibrillation, artificial pacemaker surgery, thrombolytic therapy, cardiac catheterization, cardiac resynchronization therapy, and blood transfusion, among others. Due to the possibility of such medical diagnosis procedures, the patient should be provided with real-time information in order to allow them to make sound decisions regarding their personal wishes. Another type of information that I will include about the practice’s patient population is an end-of-life protocol. For a patient like Alice, who is suffering from terminal illnesses such as heart attack, it would be much more ethical and professional to provide them with information relating to how they can willingly end their life as an approach to increasing the quality of life. As such, I would ensure that patients understand that their medical condition cannot be remedied and the only way is to end their life. I would also provide patients with information regarding advanced directives, and living will facilitate the end-of-life protocol (Kugasia et al., 2017). Information related to medical insurance coverage is another type of information that physicians should provide patients with. Health insurance, especially for patients suffering from terminal illnesses, is important to enable such people to pay their health expenses. Consequently, health practitioners ought to provide patients with credible information regarding how much insurance companies have to cater for their health and how much they can contribute. Last but not least, information regarding the pros and cons of certain drugs and therapies should be included in the practice’s patient population.
The provision of all the mentioned information will definitely have a positive impact on the patient’s care. For instance, providing the patient with information relating to the common medical background and diagnostic procedures will improve their confidence in the medical intervention, hence improving their health. In addition, information pertaining to the end-of-life protocol can help improve the quality of life of patients suffering from terminal illnesses (Polomeni et al., 2117). In summation, physicians should provide patients with the relevant information regarding their health.
References
Kugasia, A., Sehgal, N., Dollear, M., Sequeira, W., Block, J. A., & Jolly, M. (2017). Practice patterns in longitudinal lupus care provision: patient and physician perspectives. Lupus, 26(14), 1556-1561.
Laestadius, L. I., Rich, J. R., & Auer, P. L. (2017). All your data (effectively) belong to us: data practices among direct-to-consumer genetic testing firms. Genetics in Medicine, 19(5), 513.
Polomeni, A., Bompoint, C., Gomez, A., Brissot, E., Ruggeri, A., Belhocine, R., & Mohty, M. (2017). Current practices for screening, consent, and care of related donors in France: Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation coordinator nurses’ perceptions. European journal of cancer care, 26(6).
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Question 
“When Alice, a 62-year-old patient who suffered a mild heart attack in the previous year and is covered by a “fee-for-service” medical insurance product and wants to ensure that her healthcare is covered by her insurance, asks Dr. Smith to refer her to her cardiologist, he is placed in a very awkward situation. Should he tell Alice that he will refer her only to a specialist in his own group because his group’s contract with the MCO makes it difficult for him to refer outside his group for specialty care? Should he insist that Alice see his group’s cardiologist? He strongly recommends that Alice see his group’s cardiologist, Dr. Sanford, for reasons related to professional experience and quality of care. In fact, he has no reason to believe that Dr. Sanford is better equipped to deal with Alice’s case than Alice’s own cardiologist. He makes the referral for financial reasons. Alice agrees to the in-group referral, but Dr. Smith feels ethically compromised as a result and uneasy enough to bring up the matter the next day with Dr. Osgood, the head of the group practice.
Provision of Information by Physician Practices
Dr. Smith’s story leads Dr. Osgood to propose a plan he has been thinking about for quite some time. He feels it would be a novel idea to hire an HIM professional to provide information about the patient population to the physicians, such as data indicating major diagnostic groups or common procedures performed. This is something Dr. Osgood did not have during his lifetime as a physician when HIM professionals were mostly employed by hospitals, but he knows that those days are over and that the members of his practice will need the expertise of the HIM professional in the ambulatory setting.”
Questions
If you are an HIM professional considering the position that Dr. Osgood is offering, what information might you include about the practice’s patient population?
What impact do you think the information will have on patient care?”