Health IT Policy, Workflow, and Revenue Cycle

This unit examines the regulatory, financial, and operational environment for Health IT adoption, including federal/state incentives, meaningful use requirements, and data security/privacy laws. Students will learn revenue cycle and clinical workflow concepts and explore nursing workflow and technology implications to support effective EHR implementation.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze federal and state health IT policies, incentive programs (ARRA, Medicare/Medicaid), and meaningful use stages to determine provider eligibility and funding opportunities for EHR adoption
• Evaluate data security and privacy requirements (HIPAA, PCI-DSS, Massachusetts 201 CMR 17.0, California SB 1386, Sarbanes–Oxley) and recommend compliance controls to protect electronic protected health information and payment data
• Apply revenue cycle management and medical office workflow principles (charge creation, coding and billing, claims processing, collections, contracts, third-party billing) to propose process improvements that enhance reimbursement and operational efficiency
• Demonstrate how nursing process, evidence-based practice, and operational workflow considerations inform technology implementation by designing a basic adoption plan that addresses patient impact and staff roles