Make the Leap to Health Care IT by Studying Up on Compliance

Health Care IT Still Needs Critical Care

Despite focusing on compliance and security issues, progress to date has been somewhat limited.

The federal mandate for transitioning from paper to electronic health records is creating a boom in tech hiring, as Susan Hall wrote about in a recent post. And the October 2013 deadline for states to set up health care exchanges is creating a demand for support workers.

As Hall mentions in her post, the problem for most IT workers is that health care organizations are requiring new hires to have health care IT experience even though, in reality, the job isn’t that much different from any other IT job.

If you’re interested in making the switch to a health care IT-related field, the IT Downloads library has several tools to help you familiarize yourself with various compliance issues surrounding electronic health records and health information exchanges. You’ll also find a reference guide to get a leg up on terminology used in the HITECH Act.

NIST Guide to the Processes Approach for Improving the Usability of Electronic Health Records: This document provides NIST guidance for those developing electronic health record (EHR) applications who need to know more about processes of user-centered design (UCD).

Security Architecture Design Process for Health Information Exchanges (HIEs): Electronic Health Care records offer enormous efficiencies, but passing such sensitive information between organizations creates challenges. This guide provides a framework for securing health care info exchanges.

HITECH Terminology Quick Reference: Understanding what the HITECH Act means for you and your business is crucial. ManageMyPractice.com founder Mary Pat Whaley’s terminology list helps you make sense of the alphabet soup of acronyms and extensive list of key agency players.