Thinking back over the multiple reading assignments we have been given in class, I have identified a few sections that will influence how I proceed in my risk communication effort for Health Information Technology (HIT).
First, my chosen topic is a fairly technical one that needs to be communicated clearly to appropriately influence my chosen audience. I should not assume everyone in the large employer group community fully understands the risks associated with not implementing HIT. Nor should I assume they clearly understand HIT, its components, or its benefits. In our reading “A Rhetorical Toolbox for Technical and Professional Communication,” the first section indicates the communicator needs to “make information accessible and user-friendly” and keep in mind the needs of the audience. It will be important for me to continuously define complicated, technological terms in a clear and concise manner while also considering any potential limitations the audience may have in this subject matter area.
I began my memo and fact sheet by listing the risks associated with not implementing HIT – the risks to the company’s employees (or consumers), the risks to the company’s productivity, and the effect medical errors ultimately have on the company’s health care costs. I cited legitimate, well-known sources this audience will recognize. The point of citing experts and providing other valuable supporting information is to establish credibility, or the rhetorical appeal of ethos as outlined in “A Rhetorical Toolbox for Technical and Professional Communication.” By providing further evidence and sources in future communication pieces, including efforts other large employer groups are making in this area, this additional support will also focus on persuading the audience through the third means of persuasion, logos.
Finally, a third area of influence combines two readings that focus on the way the information is presented and communicated to the audience. The first includes using the canon of arrangement, as outlined in the reading “A Rhetorical Toolbox for Technical and Professional Communication,” to provide this audience with information in a clear, strategically selective manner to gain their attention above competing priorities and other distractions they encounter on a daily basis.
Determining the most effective way to arrange the information will lead me to determine the most appropriate method to communicate the risk. In Chapter 10 of our textbook, Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental, Safety, and Health Risks, the authors touch on several methods of communicating risk including informational materials, visual representation, and face-to-face communication. In my issue analysis, I indicated the need to determine the most effective medium to communicate to this audience. Again, with competing priorities, deadlines, and other distractions, this audience will need clear, concise mediums to effectively communicate the risks and equip them to influence change.
Communication efforts on this topic will require a unique approach to gain the full attention and focus of the large employer who juggles multiple priorities and goals within the organization. By keeping this audience in mind at all times, understanding their constraints and potential limitations, I look to determine an effective method of communication for large employers to bring about change and influence hospitals to adopt health information technology.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Category of Risk Communication
When I first began to consider the type of risk communication for my topic, I initially thought it matched up well with care communication. This was supported by one of the early chapters in our book we use for class that featured a diagram graphically representing examples of the different risk types. Specifically, Medical Communication was listed under care communication and from that I assumed that was probably the appropriate category.
Looking at it from a care communication standpoint, the purpose of this particular risk communication type is to encourage the audience to act. Care communication also assumes the danger has been determined through research and accepted by the majority of the audience. While some of the audience members in my topic understand the dangers associated with preventable medical errors and its impact to patient safety and quality, this is not a widely-accepted “risk” area within the main employer group community. While interest and acceptance of these issues as true risks have been gaining momentum in recent years, there continues to be a small subset of larger employer groups who have embraced this focus and have begun to take action.
For those employers who understand the risks associated with lower patient safety and quality and the potential benefits to be gained by implementing health information technology, there are a handful of sites to find more information, if interested. My previous post included a link to the Health and Human Services Health Information Technology website. For those who may want some background on what initially piqued the interest of these larger employers who have taken action, please visit this link to download the Institute of Medicine’s brief “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.”
Upon further review of the definitions and specific examples provided in the book, I began to realize this topic may fit better with consensus communication. Given the purpose of this type of communication is to inform others and encourage change with group support, health information technology and its interest to employer groups certainly fits in line with this category. It encourages groups with similar interests or “stakes” to become involved to bring about change.
Employer groups have begun to understand the negative effects preventable medical errors have on their employees’ health, their productivity, and perhaps most importantly, its contribution to increasing health care costs. The Leapfrog Group is a great example of a group with similar interests coming together to bring about change. As previously explained in my last post, this group is an organization comprised of large employer groups and public agencies focused on patient safety with the intention of influencing quality in the health care industry. The point is they are a committed group of companies focused on the same goal.
Ultimately, I think this topic incorporates characteristics of both care and consensus communication. As I continue to explore this topic and refine my focus, I anticipate it becoming clearer which type of risk communication best fits.
Looking at it from a care communication standpoint, the purpose of this particular risk communication type is to encourage the audience to act. Care communication also assumes the danger has been determined through research and accepted by the majority of the audience. While some of the audience members in my topic understand the dangers associated with preventable medical errors and its impact to patient safety and quality, this is not a widely-accepted “risk” area within the main employer group community. While interest and acceptance of these issues as true risks have been gaining momentum in recent years, there continues to be a small subset of larger employer groups who have embraced this focus and have begun to take action.
For those employers who understand the risks associated with lower patient safety and quality and the potential benefits to be gained by implementing health information technology, there are a handful of sites to find more information, if interested. My previous post included a link to the Health and Human Services Health Information Technology website. For those who may want some background on what initially piqued the interest of these larger employers who have taken action, please visit this link to download the Institute of Medicine’s brief “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.”
Upon further review of the definitions and specific examples provided in the book, I began to realize this topic may fit better with consensus communication. Given the purpose of this type of communication is to inform others and encourage change with group support, health information technology and its interest to employer groups certainly fits in line with this category. It encourages groups with similar interests or “stakes” to become involved to bring about change.
Employer groups have begun to understand the negative effects preventable medical errors have on their employees’ health, their productivity, and perhaps most importantly, its contribution to increasing health care costs. The Leapfrog Group is a great example of a group with similar interests coming together to bring about change. As previously explained in my last post, this group is an organization comprised of large employer groups and public agencies focused on patient safety with the intention of influencing quality in the health care industry. The point is they are a committed group of companies focused on the same goal.
Ultimately, I think this topic incorporates characteristics of both care and consensus communication. As I continue to explore this topic and refine my focus, I anticipate it becoming clearer which type of risk communication best fits.
Narrowing the Focus
My underlying topic remains health information technology (HIT) and its impact on patient safety, quality, and efficiency within the health care delivery system. However, the focus has been narrowed to employer groups, specifically larger corporations, and how HIT, or the lack thereof, can impact them. Most importantly, what they can do to influence the creation of solutions to bring about change in the system.
Thousands of individuals die in hospitals each year due to preventable medical errors. These “preventable” mistakes include prescribing errors due to illegible paper-based prescriptions, overlooked drug interactions and allergies, drug overdoses, and mistaken patient identities, to name a few. Many factors contribute to these incidents including inadequate technology and health care professionals’ unawareness of their patients’ receiving multiple treatment plans from multiple providers. This lack of awareness, and a lack of efficient technology, can lead to duplicative services and potential drug interactions, to name a few.
Employers are affected by lost productivity when medical errors result in conditions that force employees to miss work. The financial costs associated with these preventable errors are eventually passed on to employers in the form of increased health care premiums. U.S. employers currently face double digit health care cost increases and they struggle to find solutions that will keep their costs under control. Medical errors that affect employees impact worker productivity and can result in increased absenteeism.
While technology has been identified as the solution to effectively and efficiently bring about improvements in the health care system, it is expensive. Cost is noted as the main barrier for physicians and hospitals to implement these types of solutions. Other issues include physician adoption of technology and challenges in implementing a universally-accepted system.
There are several possible solutions under the umbrella of health information technology (HIT). However, for the purpose of this assignment, I plan to focus on one or two that employer groups have the ability to directly influence. Electronic health records, or EHRs, are examples of technology that would provide clinicians with access to treatment information to help them better care for their patients. Computer physician order entry (CPOE) systems are electronic prescribing systems that allow health care professionals to enter orders into a computer. They are designed to catch medication errors at the most critical time – at the time medications are ordered. For additional information on health information technology and how it can improve efficiencies and patient safety, please visit this website.
Large corporations across the country have recognized the need for innovative technology, and, more importantly, the need for increased quality and safety within the health care system. As an example, The Leapfrog Group, an organization comprised of large employer groups and public agencies focused on patient safety, began in 1998 with the intention of influencing quality in the health care industry. Since that time membership has grown and their influence within the industry has flourished. To find out more about this innovative group, please visit this website.
I look forward to continued research on this topic as this narrowed focus will allow me to effectively communicate with the audience to influence change.
Thousands of individuals die in hospitals each year due to preventable medical errors. These “preventable” mistakes include prescribing errors due to illegible paper-based prescriptions, overlooked drug interactions and allergies, drug overdoses, and mistaken patient identities, to name a few. Many factors contribute to these incidents including inadequate technology and health care professionals’ unawareness of their patients’ receiving multiple treatment plans from multiple providers. This lack of awareness, and a lack of efficient technology, can lead to duplicative services and potential drug interactions, to name a few.
Employers are affected by lost productivity when medical errors result in conditions that force employees to miss work. The financial costs associated with these preventable errors are eventually passed on to employers in the form of increased health care premiums. U.S. employers currently face double digit health care cost increases and they struggle to find solutions that will keep their costs under control. Medical errors that affect employees impact worker productivity and can result in increased absenteeism.
While technology has been identified as the solution to effectively and efficiently bring about improvements in the health care system, it is expensive. Cost is noted as the main barrier for physicians and hospitals to implement these types of solutions. Other issues include physician adoption of technology and challenges in implementing a universally-accepted system.
There are several possible solutions under the umbrella of health information technology (HIT). However, for the purpose of this assignment, I plan to focus on one or two that employer groups have the ability to directly influence. Electronic health records, or EHRs, are examples of technology that would provide clinicians with access to treatment information to help them better care for their patients. Computer physician order entry (CPOE) systems are electronic prescribing systems that allow health care professionals to enter orders into a computer. They are designed to catch medication errors at the most critical time – at the time medications are ordered. For additional information on health information technology and how it can improve efficiencies and patient safety, please visit this website.
Large corporations across the country have recognized the need for innovative technology, and, more importantly, the need for increased quality and safety within the health care system. As an example, The Leapfrog Group, an organization comprised of large employer groups and public agencies focused on patient safety, began in 1998 with the intention of influencing quality in the health care industry. Since that time membership has grown and their influence within the industry has flourished. To find out more about this innovative group, please visit this website.
I look forward to continued research on this topic as this narrowed focus will allow me to effectively communicate with the audience to influence change.
Determining a Topic
Given my professional background in health insurance, my first two areas of interest focus on health-related issues. Health care affects everyone – it has the potential to impact large numbers of individuals across the country, and throughout the world. It affects consumers, employers, physicians, and as evidenced by the upcoming 2008 presidential election campaign, it has become a highly-debated and topic amongst our politicians.
The first issue that interests me is pandemic and disaster recovery planning for business entities, primarily around the health care field. The dictionary defines a pandemic as an “epidemic over a large area.” Worldwide concerns around a potential outbreak of influenza, most recently the avian flu, have prompted many global organizations to consider developing an emergency response system for disaster management. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) shares their own pandemic preparedness plans on their website, http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/pandemic/en/. On a national level, many companies have begun to inquire about their health insurance carriers’ pandemic preparedness and response plans in the event such an outbreak were to occur. Employers want reassurance that, in the event of a pandemic or disaster, their members will have reasonable access to medical services in a timely manner and their health care plan’s operations will continue in a reasonable manner. In the case of hospitals and physicians, appropriate plans need to be established to guarantee medical personnel are available to assist and provide services during this event. The consequences of an influenza pandemic are overwhelming, but proper planning and effective communication will help to minimize the social, medical, and economic effects of such an event.
Health information technology (HIT), my second area of interest, is another recent trend gaining momentum in the health care industry – it has become the gateway to consumer education and increased efficiencies with health care delivery. Front and center in the HIT focus is the sharing of information to facilitate communication and establish a secure exchange of data. This sharing of information requires interoperability and the establishment of standards. Many health insurance companies have developed personal health records, or PHRs, whereby individuals can securely access their own personal health information online. This opens doors not only to consumers educating themselves, but also in facilitating the doctor-patient relationship and sharing their personal health information. Other areas of interoperable health information technology include electronic medical records and e-prescribing on the physician side. This focus on technology has garnered nationwide political attention as President Bush signed his Four Cornerstones Executive Order which includes interoperable health information technology as a key component to health care improvement.
The third issue is my wild card – care for animals in the event of a disaster. Hurricane Katrina brought to light an alarming fact – those who were forced to flee their homes were unable to take their pets with them. In reading more about this through the Humane Society’s website, I was shocked to learn that people who had to leave their homes were forced to leave their best friends behind to fend for themselves. This resulted in the death, abandonment, and displacement of thousands of animals. And, to this day, many have yet to be reunited with their owners. I would like to explore the area of risk communication in the area of disaster prevention for our most defenseless friends.
With further research, I will be in a better position to effectively communicate the appropriate risk for my chosen topic.
The first issue that interests me is pandemic and disaster recovery planning for business entities, primarily around the health care field. The dictionary defines a pandemic as an “epidemic over a large area.” Worldwide concerns around a potential outbreak of influenza, most recently the avian flu, have prompted many global organizations to consider developing an emergency response system for disaster management. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) shares their own pandemic preparedness plans on their website, http://www.who.int/csr/disease/influenza/pandemic/en/. On a national level, many companies have begun to inquire about their health insurance carriers’ pandemic preparedness and response plans in the event such an outbreak were to occur. Employers want reassurance that, in the event of a pandemic or disaster, their members will have reasonable access to medical services in a timely manner and their health care plan’s operations will continue in a reasonable manner. In the case of hospitals and physicians, appropriate plans need to be established to guarantee medical personnel are available to assist and provide services during this event. The consequences of an influenza pandemic are overwhelming, but proper planning and effective communication will help to minimize the social, medical, and economic effects of such an event.
Health information technology (HIT), my second area of interest, is another recent trend gaining momentum in the health care industry – it has become the gateway to consumer education and increased efficiencies with health care delivery. Front and center in the HIT focus is the sharing of information to facilitate communication and establish a secure exchange of data. This sharing of information requires interoperability and the establishment of standards. Many health insurance companies have developed personal health records, or PHRs, whereby individuals can securely access their own personal health information online. This opens doors not only to consumers educating themselves, but also in facilitating the doctor-patient relationship and sharing their personal health information. Other areas of interoperable health information technology include electronic medical records and e-prescribing on the physician side. This focus on technology has garnered nationwide political attention as President Bush signed his Four Cornerstones Executive Order which includes interoperable health information technology as a key component to health care improvement.
The third issue is my wild card – care for animals in the event of a disaster. Hurricane Katrina brought to light an alarming fact – those who were forced to flee their homes were unable to take their pets with them. In reading more about this through the Humane Society’s website, I was shocked to learn that people who had to leave their homes were forced to leave their best friends behind to fend for themselves. This resulted in the death, abandonment, and displacement of thousands of animals. And, to this day, many have yet to be reunited with their owners. I would like to explore the area of risk communication in the area of disaster prevention for our most defenseless friends.
With further research, I will be in a better position to effectively communicate the appropriate risk for my chosen topic.
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