Health IT Policy, Compliance, and Workflow

This unit examines federal and state health IT policies, incentive programs, and regulatory requirements (including ARRA/HITECH, Meaningful Use, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and state laws) and applies them to EHR/PHR adoption and provider eligibility. It also addresses revenue cycle operations, medical coding/billing, clinical and operational workflow (including nursing processes), and technology implementation to prepare students to identify compliance risks and optimize health IT workflows.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze federal and state health IT policies and incentive programs (ARRA/HITECH, Meaningful Use stages, Medicaid incentives) to determine provider and hospital eligibility and funding implications
• Apply privacy, security, and regulatory requirements (HIPAA, PCI-DSS, state breach laws, and other compliance frameworks) to protect patient information and respond to potential breaches in EHR/PHR systems
• Demonstrate the revenue management cycle by mapping workflows from charge creation through coding, claims submission, and collections, and identify opportunities for health IT to improve billing accuracy and reimbursement
• Evaluate clinical and operational workflows, including the nursing process and technology implementation considerations, to recommend evidence-based improvements that enhance patient impact and operational efficiency