1.) Why is the electronic health record (EHR) so important in providing quality patient care?

2.) Perform research on the costs to implement meaningful use EHR for a physicians office, for a dentists office, and for a hospital setting.

3.) Riverside Medical Center is a community hospital providing for the medical needs of the local population. The community is fairly small with most townspeople knowing each other through school, business, or spiritual practices. Riverside prides itself on providing excellent medical care coupled with a caring attitude. Staff members have been trained to keep family and friends updated on each patients progress when they call in for status reports. Patient names are clearly posted on doors so visitors can easily find the right room. With the passage of HIPAA in 1996, Riverside was forced to make significant changes to their patient privacy policies. Now with the implementation of EHR and ICD-10-CM, the medical center faces additional challenges.

Identify some of these challenges and possible solutions facing Riverside Medical Center.

4.) A number of nursing homes have been fined for violations of the security of patient medical records under HIPAA.

Research the Internet for examples of these violations and assessed fines.