I need two replies answered:

 Jane Satterfield

The makeup of information governance are the structures and protocols that electronically preserve health information. With health information technology being a relatively new concept, collecting, storing and maintaining electronic health records can be a daunting task that takes collaboration from many different people. Information governance plays a large role in ensuring the private health information is being kept safe and regulated to protect the privacy of patients and consumers. “The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) defines information governance as an organization-wide framework for managing information throughout its lifecycle and for supporting the organization’s strategy, operations, regulatory, legal, risk, and environmental requirements,” (McGraw-Hill Education, 2021).

One way health information is being used is in healthcare reforms. The most prominent health care reform is that of the Affordable Care Act that was passed in 2010. This law has three primary goals:

• Make affordable health insurance available to more people. The law provides consumers with subsidies (“premium tax credits”) that lower costs for households with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL).
  • If your income is above 400% FPL, you may still qualify for a premium tax credit.
  • If your income is at or below 150% FPL, you may qualify to enroll in or change Marketplace coverage through a Special Enrollment Period.
• Expand the Medicaid program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the FPL. (Not all states have expanded their Medicaid programs.)
• Support innovative medical care delivery methods designed to lower the costs of health care generally. (Affordable Care Act; HealthIT.gov).

This act allowed for more citizens to have access to healthcare coverage, as well as gave initiatives for providers who offered quality care while being affordable. Through the ACA, affordable care organizations (ACOs) were established. This gave providers and health care systems a distinction where they provide quality, affordable care to a population of patients, and receive reimbursement based on that quality of care. These classifications are based on CMS models as well as models provided by commercial payers. Health information comes into play because these models and qualifications are proven by data. This data comes from electronic health records. Data and electronic health records prove that these requirements are being met, implemented, monitored, and maintained.

Now. personnel are needed to aid in insuring data is collected, is correct, is coded, reimbursed properly. The bandwidth of people needed to make sure all of these procedures and regulations are happening and being done fairly is extensive. And as health governance grows and changes, the people needed grows and the training needed changes. Many projects and collaborations have also been a product of health information governance. These include: Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN), National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC), Direct Project, and CONNECT. All of these are important to help navigate the world of health information to be accessed and used appropriately while also keeping the patients and consumers safe and protected. HIPAA and HITECH acts are used in conjunction to ensure the safety and privacy of patients and consumers. HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge. HITECH is the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was signed into law on February 17, 2009, to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology. These two laws give clear regulations to the use and protective of private health information. A large basis of health information governance is defined by these two laws. HITECH in conjunction with HIPAA holds those accountable who misuse patient information. “It appears that HHS has sent a message with the HITECH Act that everyone, not just the usual suspects (i.e., covered entities), should be very, very scared of failing to comply with HIPAA’s highly technical and sometimes confusing requirements. Those who fail to comply are likely to be on the wrong end of an extremely pricey civil monetary penalty (or settlement agreement),” (Kempfert, A. E., & Reed, B. D., 2011). Psalm 41:1 says, “Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.” This challenges us as Christians to protect the vulnerable and do what we can to keep them and their information safe. 

Cameron Welch

The recent years within the American Healthcare system have demonstrated rapid innovation in information technology department and roles. More importantly, Information Technology governance roles and positions have sky-rocketed, creating several new, exciting opportunities for healthcare professionals across the country. Information technology governance roles provides leadership with the ability to shift focus to several long-standing issues in healthcare including cost, public health, policy, and overall ethics (Bigdeli et al., 2020). Additionally, information technology governance ensures compliance with public health policies and procedures (Bigdeli et al., 2020). Information technology governance is complied with healthcare professionals who understand and apply complex medical and professional data to mandated healthcare policy. Within the last decade, information technology governance has focused on applying information and data to ensure compliance and maintenance with the Affordable Care Act across the nation.

IT Governance and the Affordable Care Act

The main goal of the Affordable Care Act, enacted March, 2010 is to reduce the amount of uninsured individuals across the United States through the expansion of Medicaid, Medicare, and financial assistance with American insurance policies (Weil, 2020). Additionally, changes to healthcare facility and organizational payments were significant (Weil, 2020). Instead of a flat rate, insurance companies began observing and analyzing quality of care and patient health outcomes. Additionally, hospitals and healthcare facilities nation-wide now have mandated reporting of several key-pieces of information including sentinel events including falls and hospital-acquired infections. Hospitals and healthcare facilities also have new policies and procedures to implement, follow, and maintain. Americans across the nation are finally closer to higher-quality, more affordable access to healthcare (Weil, 2020). However, how do we ensure that the requirements of the Affordable Care Act are being met, implemented, monitored, and maintained?

The concept of IT governance is to ensure investments, including staffing, costs, and efforts align with the facility or organization’s objectives and goals (Ebert et al., 2020). Additionally, Information Technology Governance obtains data-driven results and analyzes this data in order to determine adherence to policy, procedures, and potential improvements to be made (Ebert et al., 2020). Simply put, information technology governance committees and organizations acquire data and information and turn it into knowledge.

This data and information is then applied to mandated policies including the Affordable Care Act. The American healthcare system constantly collects vast amounts of data using rapidly evolving information technology concepts and ideas. This data is then analyzed and discussed within information technology governance committees and leadership organizations for the implementation and monitoring of progress. Today, the mandated changes to American healthcare organizations have already been implemented for over a decade, however it is now time to ensure that we continue to meet and maintain compliance. Information technology governance provides more than simply data, but rather knowledge and understanding of information.

Biblical Integration

While some may criticize policy, including the Affordable Care Act, it is the responsibility of healthcare facilities to enforce and abide by policies and regulations set forth by the federal government. Thus, information technology governance positions create opportunities for enforcement improvements within facilities and organizations through the collection and analyzation of data and information.

In 1 Timothy 4:15 we are told to “take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all” (New International Version Bible, 2023). As healthcare professionals, it is our responsibility to understand and make a great effort to make progress within the American Healthcare system. With the use of information technology governance, healthcare professionals are able to target and apply knowledge of policies, including the Affordable Care Act for the betterment of patient care, quality, and patient health outcomes.