Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Emergency Room Use By Undocumented Mexican Immigrants, Ayse Akincigil, Raymond Sanchez Mayers, Fontaine H. Fulghum

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examined emergency room use by undocumented Mexican immigrants and their sources of health care information. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents reported that they would use a hospital emergency room (ER) for primary medical care. ER use rates declined with time spent in the United States. Emergency room use rates varied significantly by region. Respondents receiving information from a church reported less ER use, compared to all others; respondents receiving information from U.S. newspapers reported higher ER use rates. Lack of health care access for undocumented immigrants remains a public health issue as well as a social justice concern.

Health Service Access For Rural People Living With Hiv/Aids In China: A Critical Evaluation, Xiying Wang, Xiulan Zhang, Yuebin Xu, Yurong Zhang

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The increasingly serious HIV/AIDS epidemic creates a significant burden for the public health system; however, little attention has been paid to the issue of health service access in rural China. Based on a qualitative study of 34 Chinese rural People Living with HIVIAIDS (PLWHA) and 13 health providers, this study fills a gap by examining health service access from both the demand and supply-side. Utilizing access theory, this study explores the availability, affordability and acceptability of health services in rural China. Moreover, this study focuses on access barriers and institutional obstacles that PLWHA meet during their illness and considers the …

Transactions Of The First International Conference On Health Information Technology Advancement Vol. 1, No. 1, Center For Health Information Technology Advancement

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

Full proceedings of The First International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement held at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan on October 28, 2011.

Conference Co-Chairs:

Dr. Bernard Han, Director of the Center for HIT Advancement (CHITA) at Western Michigan University

Dr. Sharie Falan, Associate Director of the Center for HIT Advancement (CHITA) at Western Michigan University

Transactions Editor:

Dr. Huei Lee, Professor in the Department of Computer Information Systems at Eastern Michigan University

Towards The National Health Information Network In The United States Of America, Andrew Targowski

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

The Health Infrastructure in the U.S. is called the National Health Information Network (NHIN) which is composed of regional Health Information Exchange (HIE) hubs. This approach has been exercised since 2008. However, there is a lack of one top-down comprehensive architecture of this system, which is being developing by each state individually. This paper provides the top-down model of such architecture, perhaps the first one which is made. The paper defines basic components of that system. Also some issues of security and privacy of stored and exchanged data are disputed. In the end, the paper provides conclusions regarding the issues …

Electronic Health Records (Ehr) Implementation And Post Implementation Challenges, Muhammad A. Razi, Christopher Emmert, Dan Mcalpine-Austin, J. Michael Tarn, Khandaker N. Islam

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

The US Healthcare Industry lags behind other industries in its use of technologies for process improvement and improvement in quality of services for its patients. Globally, United States is significantly behind some European and Australian countries in implementation of EHR. While the federal government is now mandating this change and also offering incentive programs, healthcare providers remain slow to comply because of challenges they face regarding EHR implementation. This paper discusses EHR architecture, presents implementation challenges, provides a case study and offers future research ideas. The information provided in this research could be beneficial for successful EHR implementation.

Examining The Use Of Institutionally Designed Documentation Templates As A Vehicle For Changing Values And Practices In Health Care, Doris J. Ravotas

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

Changing values and requirements are common occurrences in today’s health care settings. Institutionally designed documentation templates are often developed to demonstrate that these changes have been incorporated into clinical work. Little research has been completed to examine whether the use of these institutional templates leads to the intended change or whether the changes clash with other influences on clinical work. This paper illustrates how two qualitative methods: think aloud interviews and frame analysis can be combined to examine the use of the templates, the changing values themselves, and the influences on changes in clinical practice. An analysis of local change …

Factors Impacting Use Of Information Technology By Physicians In Private Practice, Jim Demello, Satish P. Deshpande

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

This research examines the impact of various factors on the use of IT in clinical practice, prescriptions, and patient information. This was done using a national sample of 3425 physicians who worked in a solo or group practice in the United States. Besides the extent of use of electronic medical records by physicians and number of physicians in practice, none of the other factors consistently impacted the use of IT in clinical practice, prescriptions, and patient information, respectively. The results of this study highlight the need to develop specific strategies to increase the use of information technology in healthcare.

Guiding Health Care Policy Through Applied Public Health Modeling And Simulation, Jonathan P. Leidig, Chris L. Barrett, Madhav Marathe

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

The risk of a widespread epidemic is a primary public health concern with implications for healthcare providers and organizations. Modeling and simulation techniques have been successfully applied at the national level to set governmental polices and mitigation strategies through simulation-based predictions. Existing research in this field has been non-uniform in its coverage of local systems and region-specific findings. New collaborations between on the ground providers and modeling groups are required for successful simulation-based experimentation of region-specific health systems. These proposed collaborations are expected to contribute high-quality sub-population datasets to be used in experiments at the national level and allow for …

Changing Health Care Business Models And Costs, Thomas Rienzo

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

Changing the health care system has universal support in principal, but has proven contentious in practice. This paper draws upon the theories and publications of three leading business thinkers, and the frameworks they developed for applying business practices to the health care industry: Drs. Clayton Christensen, Robert Kaplan, and Michael Porter of Harvard University. It reviews the disruption theories of Christensen as he has applied them to the health care industry, and connects them with medical costing recommendations of Kaplan and Porter. Two possible disruption possibilities for clinical care and venue are presented.

Communication And The Pragmatic Condition, Gregory J. Shepherd

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Presented March 9, 2011

Examining Structural Constraints And Electronic Health Record Use In Acute Care Hospitals, David D. Dobrzykowski

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

Electronic Health Record (EHR) use is expected to quickly increase in the USA. It is the hope of the federal government and many hospitals that EHR use will not only increase, but also mature from basic applications such as EHR for results viewing (ERV) to more advanced applications such as Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE). Today, considerable heterogeneity exists among hospitals with regard to EHR use and the movement toward advanced EHR applications. Examining this heterogeneity is useful as hospitals move toward advanced EHR. Survey data collected from 297 acute care hospitals in 47 states suggests that critical access hospitals …

Rcq: Inter-Clinician Relationships, Practice Audit And Communities Of Practice For Healthcare Quality Improvement, Michael S. Dohan, Joseph Tan

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

Inter-clinician relationships and communities of practice have the ability to support continuous quality improvement efforts within healthcare organizations, by offering a means of sharing necessary knowledge that is generally not possessed by clinicians. Sustained adherence to the processes critical to quality improvement is necessary for durable improvements in quality, and knowledge sharing is necessary for supporting these skills, such as practice audit, change management and use of the associated technology. This paper unveils the RCQ (Relationships, Communities, Quality) model, which provides a framework for the purpose of sustaining practice audit for quality improvement in healthcare.

It's My Ipad! Protecting Critical Data On Personal Mobile Devices In The Medical Setting, Michael R. Lehrfeld, Rita M. Barrios, Chris Phillippe

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

The pervasiveness of mobile devices has forced many organizations to support connectivity of corporate and private devices. Corporate devices are highly configurable regarding authentication, encryption, and remote wiping. BlackBerry devices can be fully deployed and managed using a centralized Blackberry Enterprise Server, however when a user owned device connects to enterprise servers, data security becomes a concern. Introduce a litany of complex legislative rulings and laws concerning protected data across various business domains and now personal mobile devices become security risks. This paper will discuss current issues in securing personal mobile devices in the healthcare environment and present possible solutions.

Effect Of Practitioner Self Care And Anxiety On Relationships Within The Context Of Organizational Change, Juanita Manning-Walsh

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

The purpose of this research paper is to review the literature and suggest the relationships between organizational change through implementation of new health information technology (HIT) and/or reconfiguration of existing HIT, practitioner anxiety, and effective caring practitioner/patient and practitioner/practitioner relationships using a conceptual framework of Relationship Centered Care (RCC). Engaging in frequent and regular self-care interventions has been shown to be related to practitioner/patient caring ability and caring efficacy. According to a published model of RCC, it may be anticipated that selfcare may decrease practitioner anxiety in the context of organizational change and increase ability of the practitioner to engage …

Curriculum Development On Healthcare Information Systems, Healthcare Supply Chain Management And Healthcare Operations Management, David Dobrzykowski, Nesa L’Abbé Wu, Huei Lee

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

This paper presents the foundation for curriculum amendment in the College of Business at Eastern Michigan University to prepare our students for the tremendous job opportunities that are presently available in the healthcare arena. Specifically, this curriculum change incorporates three major areas in healthcare management: Healthcare Information Systems, Healthcare Supply Chain and Healthcare Operations Management. In order to properly chart the changes in the curriculum, research is presented that defines and discusses these components for suitable curriculum building that will enable graduates to effectively perform in the healthcare industry. Additionally, presented in this paper are the detailed objectives and teaching …

Say Good-Bye To The Silos And Hello To Collaboration: A New Curriculum Approach, Sharie Falan, Bernard Han

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

In sharp contrast with the customary traditions of educational silos in the delivery of knowledge and understanding, this paper presents a true interdisciplinary curriculum that is designed to supply the community with graduates who are prepared to take on diverse roles in health care and information management. The complexity of our modern communities and their anticipated futuristic needs suggest that graduates in health care must be able to apply more than a traditional singular knowledge domain to articulate problems and provide solutions to those problems in meaningful ways. The curriculum approach presented will facilitate interdisciplinary knowledge learning from existing classes, …

Health And Information Technology, Aaron D. Tremblay

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

The healthcare industry continues to grow to meet demands of a changing environment and a growing number of people. Moreover, the Information Technology space continues to expand to meet customer’s needs and the continuing desire of people and companies to be the most technologically advanced. In order to allow the healthcare industry [or any industry] to continue to grow, it has to allow itself to expand with technology to help serve its customers more effectively. Through this partnership, it is possible for healthcare to become something more to its customers through more efficient and effective healthcare management.

The Active Bundle Scheme For Protecting Electronic Medical Records, Raed M. Salih, Leszek T. Lilien

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

Adoption of the electronic medical records (EMRs) or electronic health records (EHRs) by healthcare providers will improve the quality of the American healthcare and reduce the annual bill. However, it will also increase privacy threats due to easier dissemination of EMRs/EHRs than “paper” medical records. Current privacy protection solutions for patient EMRs/EHRs have two main limitations: (1) they require an extensive exchange of messages between computer systems of healthcare providers; and (2) they depend only on data encryption.

In this position paper, we propose a solution that provides protection for the patients' EMRs/EHRs disseminated among different authorized healthcare provider systems. …

The Social Networking Adoption Matrix (Sam) Prototype: Helping Healthcare Organizations Effectively Choose Social Networking Technologies, Alan Rea, Robert Landeros, Tristan Stempien

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

Healthcare organizations looking to increase communication and educational offerings to their community, providers, and healthcare consumers need to implement social networking technologies. However, without a thorough needs analysis a healthcare organization may waste valuable limited resources with very little return on investment. In this paper, the authors discuss preliminary research targeted to help organizations adopt relevant technologies using a Social Networking Adoption Matrix (SAM). SAM helps organizations decide which social networking technology categories are necessary to meet their strategic goals via the Social Network Adoption Matrix Expert System (SAMES). As a result, organizations can successfully increase communication opportunities and balance …

Electronic Payments In Healthcare, C.R. Krishnaswamy

Transactions of the International Conference on Health Information Technology Advancement

In this paper the author has developed a theoretical framework for addressing the healthcare costs and based on it he has analyzed the payment system that is an integral part of healthcare payments. The author concurs with the recommendations made in earlier studies that switching from a paper-based system to an electronic system would not only reduce costs but also improve the efficiency of the system. By using an electronic payment system for payment of healthcare claims, huge savings can be achieved on an annual basis, as the numbers of claims processed each year are in the billions.

Psychometric Evaluation Of The Valued Living Questionnaire: Comparing Distressed And Normative Samples, David D. Cotter

Dissertations

The Valued Living Questionnaire (VLQ; Wilson, 2002) was created to measure the extent to which an individual contacts his/her chosen values, an important construct in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999). The goal of the current study was to contribute to the psychometric evaluation of the VLQ by replicating and extending the first study of the VLQ’s psychometric properties conducted by Wilson, Sandoz, Kitchens, & Roberts (2010). In the present study, the VLQ was administered to a normative collegian sample (n = 171, M age = 19.32) and a distressed sample of collegians who were participating …

Reflections On The 25Th Anniversary Of The Wmu Center For The Study Of Ethics In Society, Ronald Kramer

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society: Celebrating 25 Years - Presented November 15, 2010.

Center For The Study Of Ethics In Society: Celebrating 25 Years, Center For The Study Of Ethics In Society

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Papers presented for the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Western Michigan University.

The Center For The Study Of Ethics In Society At Twenty-Five, Michael S. Pritchard

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society: Celebrating 25 Years - Presented November 15, 2010.

Reflections On The Role Of The Ethics Center At Wmu, Shirley Bach

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society: Celebrating 25 Years - Presented November 15, 2010

Reflections On The Role Of The Ethics Center At Wmu, James A. Jaksa

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Papers

Center for the Study of Ethics in Society: Celebrating 25 Years - Presented November 15,2010.

A Review Of Literature For Osteology: Cell Biology, Tissue Biology, And The Application Of Synthetic Compounds For The Facilitation Of Bone Tissue Repair, Ryan T. Jones

Honors Theses

Bone is a dynamic matter that provides support, structure, mineral reserves, and stem cell reserves for the body. Important functions range from structural support for the body to roles in maintaining homeostasis. Structure and support for the body is the most obvious role, with the skeletal system as a whole providing a normal force for other tissues and organs to resist gravity. Protection is also inferred for tissues and organs from impacting forces, especially with axial bones covering vital organs in the thoracic cavity. Another function of bone includes the ability to store and release minerals when needed to maintain …

Analysis Of Dental Management Of Those With Physical And Mental Disabilities, Ashley M. Fleck

Honors Theses

Those with physical and mental disabilities are at an increased risk of oral complications such as gingivitis and periodontal disease. In comparison with this risk, this population struggles to access appropriate dental care that accommodates those with disabilities. This thesis reviews the demographics of those with special needs, dental education barriers to working with this population and financial barriers that hinder access to care. An overview of the oral health problems of common disabilities is presented as well as behavioral management techniques that could be easily implemented in the dental office. A general review of good oral hygiene for those …

The Implementation Of The Recovery Oriented Systems Of Care In Southwest Michigan, Gisele Tchamba

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

The Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) is in part an ecological systems theory that demonstrates comprehensive ways to meet the needs of individuals and families seeking alcohol, drug and mental health services. When compared to its alternative, Acute Care (AC) model, the ROSC provides long-term recovery outcomes, requires the participation of all stakeholders, and facilitates dialogue among service providers and clients. This study intended to increase public knowledge of the ROSC, its feasibility for practice, and its relevance for behavioral health research. Data collection was done using a purposeful sample, which consisted of N = 7 consenting adults currently …

As Life Stressors Increase, Do Emergency Department Visits Increase?, Catherine L. Kothari

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Study goal: To examine whether type of stressor and number of stressors predict emergency department utilization among perinatal women.

Methods: Study data was collected via mixed methods: Telephone survey interviews, retrospective medical chart reviews and secondary data analysis. The 326 study participants were recruited during their postpartum hospital stay. Information was collected assessing stressors across five domains: Basic living needs, relational, social, mental health and health. The outcome variable of interest was number of emergency department visits.

Results: More than four out of five (82.8%) of women experience life stressors, many of them (68.1%) across multiple domains. Only …