Rural Spotlight

Technology Advancing Health Care

PubHub has made the following reports available:

Lessons From a Health Information Technology Demonstration in New York Nursing Homes 
 
Outlines the New York State Nursing Home Health Information Technology Demonstration Project; variations in organizational aims in adopting HIT, perceived or real effects, and resulting quality improvement efforts; and considerations for replication.

How Smartphones Are Changing Health Care for Consumers and Providers 
 
Provides an overview of health and medical smartphone applications for clinicians and consumers, including links with electronic health records and patient support; wireless Internet use by demographics and health status; and market challenges.

Consumers and Health Information Technology: A National Survey
 
Presents survey findings on the use of and attitudes toward health information technology (HIT) and personal health records (PHR) in particular by demographics, region, and source; the effects of using PHRs; privacy concerns; and interest in apps.
 
Walla Walla General Hospital: Setting Staff Up for Success in Pneumonia Care
 
Outlines education and reinforcement strategies, including building a quality culture and implementing a hospitalist program, standardized order sets, and staff supports, that enable high performance on pneumonia care core measures. Lists lessons learned.

Technology and Performance

PubHub has made the following reports available:

Widespread Adoption of Information Technology in Primary Care Physician Offices in Denmark: A Case Study
 
Describes the use of electronic medical records, standardized clinical communications, and patient identification numbers by Denmark's primary care physicians; a nonprofit organization's role in implementation and certification; and elements of success.
 
Improving Performance in Practice: Rx for Primary Care
 
Summarizes the structure of a state-based, RWJF-funded program designed to help small primary care practices improve performance in diabetes or asthma care through measurement, reporting, and analysis. Presents early outcomes and lessons learned.
 

Improving Communication when Language Barriers Exist

Improving provider communication is critical to delivering effective care for individuals with limited language proficiency and those who are deaf and hard of hearing. The Joint Commission in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights recently released a video demonstrating the importance of providing culturally competent health care to meet the needs of diverse populations.

The US Census Bureau notes that 47 million people speak a language other than English and more than 28 million people have some form of hearing loss, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Health care organizations and providers face challenges in the use of interpreters, translated materials and in caring for an increasingly aging population with possible hearing loss needs.

The video identifies effective and alternative communication strategies and highlights the importance of relevant civil rights legislation, federal and accreditation standards pertaining to language access, in addition to the rights of patients.

Central to the concept of cultural competency is, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that recognizes equality of health care and services and mandates that all persons regardless of race, color or national origin will not be discriminated against. Failure to provide language access services to Limited English Proficient persons (LEP) for federally funded programs is a form of discrimination. Likewise, similar standards apply under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which protects the rights of individuals with disabilities.

View the video by clicking here.

Making a Connection: Clinics Collaborate on EHR Deployment

The California HealthCare Foundation has released a report on clinical collaboration.  A summary of the program follows:

Outlines the work of eight grantees of the California Networks for Electronic Health Record (EHR) Adoption using four models to help community clinics and health centers collaborate to implement EHR systems. Summarizes the services EHR networks offer.

Read the report here.

Health Information Technology in the Rural Setting

The OHIT and NORC have adapted a toolkit to help individuals working to implement health information technology in a rural setting. If you're interested in learning more about the toolkit, click here.

New and Improved Intervention MICA Website

The Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has completed a renovation of the Intervention Missouri Information for Community Assessment (MICA) website.  Intervention MICA is now part of a web-based resource called “Community Health Improvement Resources,” or CHIR, that may be accessed at www.dhss.mo.gov/CHIR.  CHIR uses an evidence-based public health process to guide intervention planning and evaluation.  Ten intervention topics are now included:  asthma, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, immunizations, injuries from falls, motor vehicle injuries, nutrition, oral health, physical activity, and tobacco use.  Sexual assault prevention will be added in the near future and colorectal cancer by the end of 2009.  Evidence-based strategies and interventions are provided for each topic.  Live webinars are being planned to assist practitioners in utilizing the resource.  Watch for an announcement in future Friday Facts for dates and times.