Patient-Centric Healthcare Practices

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Possible Codes That Might Be Related to “Superbugs”

“Superbugs” are bacterial infections whose origin cannot be predicted and whose treatment is highly complicated (Miller, 2015). Multidrug-resistant bacteria create severe challenges to people’s health since the existing antibiotics have proven to be ineffective in the fight against “superbugs” (Khan & Khan, 2016). Since “superbugs” are immune to many antibiotics, the following ICD-10 codes may be regarded as possibly related to these bacterial infections:

A49: “bacterial diseases of unspecified site”;
B96: “other bacterial agents as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere”;
B99: “other and unspecified infectious diseases”;
Z16: “resistance to antimicrobial drugs”;
Z20: “contact with and (suspected) exposure to communicable diseases” (“2018 ICD-10-CM codes,” 2018).

Patients exhibit the symptoms of a bacterial infection that cannot be stopped from expanding. The selected codes are related to patients’ symptoms since all of them are associated with some unidentified bacteria. Code Z16 was picked because these bacteria are resistant to all the antibiotics that have been tried so far. Code B96 was chosen because the bacteria may prove to cause other diseases. Code Z20 was selected because there is a possibility that the infection will spread. All of these codes have one or several components pertaining to “superbugs”: they include bacterial diseases that are either unspecified or resistant to drugs.

Reasons for Changing from ICD-9 to ICD-10

There are several reasons why the federal government replaced ICD-9 with ICD-10. The major cause is that ICD-9 needed essential conceptual and structural changes in order to become more comprehensible (American Medical Association, 2014). ICD-9 was short of specificity on the data contained in the codes. With the help of the supplementary codes included in ICD-10, it is easier to identify the time and place of injury. Another problem with ICD-9 was that there was no opportunity to add new codes to it. As a result, some codes were added to inappropriate sections, which made it difficult to find them. In ICD-10, character length has been increased (American Medical Association, 2014). Thus the number of available codes is much larger.

The second reason is that diagnosis codes needed to be improved. In ICD-10, there are 68,000 codes available whereas in ICD-9, there were only 13,000. The length of characters grew from 3-5 in ICD-9 to 3-7 in ICD-10. ICD-10 is quite specific in comparison with the relatively imprecise ICD-9. In ICD-9, there was no laterality, but in ICD-10, it is present and allows identifying codes right versus left. Due to the increased number of characters in ICD-10, it is easier to establish many details about the disease. The first three characters stand for a category, characters 4-6 explain the etiology, severity, and anatomic site of illnesses, and characters 5-7 are used for additional specifications. Another advantage of ICD-10 is the extended use of combination codes: the single codes employed either for two diagnoses or one diagnosis with a related secondary process or complication (American Medical Association, 2014). The expanded distinction of ICD-10 makes it more adaptable, easier to use, explicit, and relevant.

The third explanation of the change is the need for new approaches to procedure codes (American Medical Association, 2014). ICD-10 is not going to change the Current Procedural Terminology, but its procedure codes are much more convenient than those of ICD-9. Having seven characters instead of three to four, ICD-10 makes it possible to generate nearly 87,000 codes in comparison with 3,000 in ICD-9. Also, ICD-10 has replaced the outdated technology with modern devices and terminology. It is quite specific, has laterality, and suggests precise description for parts of the body as well as procedures and methodology (American Medical Association, 2014). The movement from ICD-9 to ICD-10 is not an easy matter, but it grants many new possibilities and simplifies the process of determining diagnoses.

Patient-Centric Healthcare Practice and Technology

Of the majority of PCHP methods, patient advocacy and the family’s role in decision-making seem to be the most crucial ones (Smith & Topham, 2016). Patient advocacy incorporates the following issues:

considering the patient as the major object of the treatment process;
striving to provide the best health outcomes and eliminate risks;
arranging for the most comfortable conditions for patients;
feeling responsible to patients, coworkers, and managers;
continuously working on self-improvement and evaluating one’s work, developing new approaches to the enhancement of patient care quality;
conducting professional communication at the highest level;
taking into consideration patients’ decisions regarding their health;
explaining the benefits of scenarios not chosen by the patient;
respecting patients’ opinions;
making sure that patients are not exposed to additional harm while staying in a hospital (Smith & Topham, 2016).

Another important aspect of PCHP is the involvement of patients’ families in the decision-making process. This includes the following:

educating families on the patient’s condition and answering their questions regarding any issues;
respecting people, focusing on them rather than medical problems;
inviting family members to participate in the recovery process;
encouraging families to support their loved ones and strengthen their spiritual condition;
respect the presence of patients and their families in the room by speaking only on professional topics;
determining and addressing the concerns of patients’ families (Smith & Topham, 2016).

Patients’ access to high-quality healthcare may be increased by means of patient-centric technology. There are many ways of using this technology to enhance quality care. The first of such options is telemedicine (Kvedar, Coye, & Everett, 2014). With its help, patients save time and the costs of visiting a hospital. If the patient’s condition is not serious and a consultation with a specialist suffices, telemedicine may be employed. The second patient-centered technology is with the use of self-monitoring devices for patients with chronic illnesses (Chiauzzi, Rodarte, & DasMahapatra, 2015). This option is highly advantageous since it allows patients to keep records of their vital signs and notice when something is out of the normal range. These devices are also helpful because a patient can send results to a therapist and receive a consultation. The third way of employing patient-centric technology is the use of personal health records (Krist et al., 2014). Such records help to save time and make patients more aware of their health condition.

Improving Patient Experience Through Healthcare Information Management Systems (HIMS)

HIMS play an important role in improving the patient experience within a healthcare organization or with a healthcare provider. The primary function of HIMS is data governance (“HIM functions,” 2017). Governing data is the basis of IM policies. Data governance incorporates several committed team members who make decisions regarding IM and establish a framework for technology education and training (“HIM functions,” 2017). Data governance also involves overseeing compliance with the rules. Data governance incorporates an inventory of the company’s resources and the approaches to managing them. Patient experience in this case is improved due to all data being strictly controlled. The possibility of one’s private information being disclosed is minimized while the quality of records is maintained.

The second HIMS role is the standardization of data. This crucial element impacts the use of data with the aim of providing quality and patient safety. Standardization of information enables the efficient operation of data governance. HIMS specialists may advocate with the organizational leadership to make standardized data a strategic goal of the institution. Creating, applying, and supporting a “data dictionary” guarantees a common understanding of the company’s data quality in the process of establishing reports and scrutinizing information (“HIM functions,” 2017). With the help of data standardization, patients may be sure that the information analyzed when making decisions regarding their health is consistent.

The third crucial function of HIMS is data capture and analysis. This role requires critical thinking about forecasts of healthcare outcomes. With the help of data capture and analysis, it becomes possible to draw conclusions by evaluating information (“HIM functions,” 2017). The ability to evaluate the quality of services given to patients allows clinicians to choose the best care practices. Moreover, healthcare specialists become more able to eliminate infection rates, prevent negative outcomes, and manage possible adverse situations.

Using PCHP Principles for Enhancing the Quality of Care

In order to improve quality of care measures within an organization, the following three ways of using PCHP may be suggested: a holistic approach, a patient-centered approach, and the principle of transparency (American Institutes for Research, 2017). With the help of a transparent approach, it is possible to increase the quality of care provided within the healthcare institution. This method involves allowing patients to make decisions and informing them about other options. The principle of patient-centeredness involves treating patients as the most important elements of the healthcare process. Under such circumstances, all efforts of the organization are dedicated to the enhancement of quality. The holistic principle entails learning as much as possible about the patient and not only taking into account the present health condition.

References

American Institutes for Research. (2017). Principles for making health care measurement patient-centered. Web.

American Medical Association. (2014). The differences between ICD-9 and ICD-10. Web.

Chiauzzi, E., Rodarte, C., & DasMahapatra, P. (2015). Patient-centered activity monitoring in the self-management of chronic health conditions. BMC Medicine, 13(1), 1-6.

HIM functions in healthcare quality and patient safety. (2017). Web.

Khan, S. N., & Khan, A. U. (2016). Breaking the spell: Combating multidrug resistant “superbugs.” Frontiers in Microbiology, 7, 1-11.

Krist, A. H., Woolf, S. H., Bello, G. A., Sabo, R. T., Longo, D. R., … Cohn, J. (2014). Engaging primary care patients to use a patient-centered personal health record. Annals of Family Medicine, 12(5), 418-426.

Kvedar, J., Coye, M. J., & Everett, W. (2014). Connected health: A review of technologies and strategies to improve patient care with telemedicine and telehealth. Health Affairs, 33(2), 194-199.

Miller, K. (2015). Superbugs: What they are and how you get them. WebMD. Web.

Smith, K., & Topham, C. (2016). Patient-centered care. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, 47(4), 373-375.

2018 ICD-10-CM codes. (2018). Web.

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