Ji Sun Sally Kim IWA #2
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Harrisburg University of Science and Technology *
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Course
500
Subject
Health Science
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by JudgeEchidnaMaster1024
Ji Sun “Sally” Kim
HCIN 500-50 A
Dr. Steven Hardy
September 5, 2023
Assignment #2
1.
List at least 6 public health uses for health information exchange
While there are many public health uses for health information exchange, some of the
major ones are detecting changes in infectious diseases, detecting epidemics, estimating the
significance of the problem, determining the distribution of an illness, outlining the natural
history of a disease, identifying epidemiological and laboratory research needs, evaluating
programs and control measures, monitoring changes in health practices and behaviors, assessing
the quality and safety of health care, drugs, devices, diagnostics and procedures, and supporting
public health planning (Dixon & Rahurkar, 2018, pp. 1070-1071).
2.
Discuss at least 3 major differences from the US in the implementation of healthcare
informatics among industrialized countries
The U.S. does not have a nationalized health plan or service; accordingly, there is no
nationalized health data registry or government funding that goes into allowing more
underserved populations to have access to healthcare through the utilization of technology.
Unlike the U.S., many countries in Europe have universal healthcare, a national health data
system, and government funding that allows underserved populations to utilize mobile health.
The current European informatics leader Denmark has a national health service in place with a
central citizen health data registry with unique personal identifiers assigned for each citizen
(Fields et al., 2019, p. 1157—1158). Denmark’s success in health informatics can be partially
attributed to its universal healthcare that is publicly financed. In addition, the health data system,
MedCom, is owned by the Danish government and it allows “the secure transfer of digital
messages between all patients, hospitals, labs and pharmacies, such as, ‘discharge letters,
referrals, lab test orders, e-prescriptions and insurance reimbursement’” (Fields et al., 2019, p.
1158). There is also Sundhed.dk, which is the official health portal for Danish patients to “access
their health data, make appointments…access informational resources…also see waiting list
times, ratings of public hospitals, and access online patient support groups” (Fields et al., 2019,
p. 1158) which is a lot more information and quality control that is allowed in the hands of the
consumers than it is in the U.S. Although the Danish government did not have to specifically
fund technology for underserved populations due to Denmark’s small population size and high
income, 90% of the population have smartphones and/or PC access, allowing mobile health to
thrive (Fields et al., 2019, p. 1159).
Germany, which was the previous leader in European Informatics, issued the national
Electronic Health Card to its citizens in 2013 that has chips embedded with PIN for security and
covers “insurance and pharmacy data, diagnoses, blood type, operations, lab results, and disease
diary” (Fields et al., 2019, p. 1165). The card serves not only as a method of identification, but it
also has access to services like “electronic patient file, diagnoses, labs and x-rays, and e-
prescribing” (Fields et al., 2019, p. 1165). With 95% of the German population having been
equipped with these cards, one can imagine the efficiency of healthcare and health information
exchanges in Germany. In addition, in 2014, the German government announced its new efforts
to implement “a standards framework at the federal level to increase interoperability” (Fields et
al., 2019, p. 1166) and to innovate electronic health. As part of this effort, the German
government created a national telemedicine portal that serves as the central telematics
infrastructure in conjunction with the existing Electronic Health Card (Fields et al., 2019, p.
1166).
Moving away from Europe to the other side of the globe, Japan also has a decently
developed health informatics infrastructure, with the Japan Association for Medical Informatics
being formed in the 80s (Fields et al., 2019, p. 1190). Health information exchanges began
between hospitals, labs, and clinics in the 90s, and in 2013 a personal electronic medical records
system, “My Hospital Everywhere” was launched (Fields et al., 2019, p. 1190). After the 2011
earthquakes in Eastern Japan, there was a huge drive to move medical records to electronic
platforms as many physical records were destroyed or lost in the disasters (Fields et al., 2019, p.
1190). In 2016, the Japanese government introduced a new unique identifier system for its
citizens which went hand-in-hand with electronic medical record creation and access to it (Fields
et al., 2019, pp. 1190-1191). Additionally, to provide better connectivity to underserved
populations, the Japan Post and Apple joined forces to give the elderly population iPads with
apps that have senior-specific information (Fields et al., 2019, p. 1191).
While there are, of course, countries that are far more behind in progress in healthcare
informatics, amongst the industrialized countries, there are obvious differences between the U.S.
and the previously mentioned countries in terms of how nationalized the systems are and how tax
payers accept the tax dollars going towards supporting the implementation of healthcare
information technologies and assisting underserved populations.
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References
Dixon, B. E., & Rahurkar, S. (2018). Public Health Informatics. In Hoyt, R. E., & Hersh, W. R.
(Eds.),
Health Informatics: Practical Guide
(7th ed., pp. 1070–1071). Lulu.com. Retrieved
September 1, 2023, from https://www.scribd.com/read/485889587/Health-Informatics-
Practical-Guide-Seventh-Edition.
Fields, A., Paton, C., Marques, G. N., Muinga, N., Magare, S., & Hoyt, R. E. (2018).
International Health Informatics. In Hoyt, R. E., & Hersh, W. R. (Eds.),
Health
Informatics: Practical Guide
(7th ed., pp. 1157—1191). Lulu.com. Retrieved September 1,
2023, from https://www.scribd.com/read/485889587/Health-Informatics-Practical-Guide-
Seventh-Edition.