Melissa Boufaida

Reflections on my Experiences at UT Austin Health IT Summer Certificate Program

For many years now, I had a profound belief that health care in the United States was by in large dysfunctional. I often pondered how I might glean a better understanding of how it was supposed to work and what part I might play in making it somewhat better. I was offered the opportunity to take part in the Health Information Technology (HIT) program, and it was from this opportunity that I envisioned many ways the United States might improve upon its health care system. HIT taught me many interesting facets that I never fully understood prior to taking these classes. HIT taught me that medical billing can improve the health care system in many ways. Physicians are skilled in the art of healing but lack rudimentary business practices. This manifests itself by them not adeptly filling out proper insurance claims, which slows the payment to the provider and grossly bogs down the health care machine. This inefficiency escalates health care costs up and down the chain of providers. HIT allows physicians to overcome this shortfall, which in turn increases accuracy and revenue and decreases duplicity of lab orders and medication errors. The HIT program empowers physicians to obtain contemporary clinical guidelines and procedures as they relate to their individual patients. Simply stated, doctors do not have enough time to keep abreast of the requisite information flow, and this program affords them the ability to do so.

My main project was centered around e-marketing as a tool to explore viable avenues that would facilitate adoption rates of Electronic Health Record (EHR). Currently, approximately 17% of health care providers use EHR. This is alarming given that health care is a three trillion dollar industry. While we cannot accurately estimate potential savings, one thing is certain; hundreds of millions of dollars could be saved. According to a survey my partner and I developed and distributed through email, a majority of health providers cited compromising patients’ personal health information as the number one reason they have not adopted EHR. The second reason cited was a fear that clinical staff would be reduced to simple data clerks.

I have concluded through my in-depth analysis that primary education of physicians will eradicate many of these fallacies and misnomers. I am a prime example of someone who used to hold all these misconceptions. As a result of the HIT educational program, I now understand the intricacies and the benefits of EHR. I learned that through the Electronic Health Record, the United States health care system has the potential to improve health outcomes, to become one of the best health care systems in the world, and to save health care stakeholders money, time, and energy. Empirical observation at e-MDs, an EHR vendor where while I was conducting my practicum, afforded me an insider’s understanding of EHR marketing. It is my hope that after I graduate from UT, I am able to pursue this profession.

In conclusion, I would to thank the following teachers: Dr. Wanser, Mr. Ligon, Dr. Smith, Dr. Kneeland, Dr. Nauret, and Dr. Field. Special thanks to the following influential guest speakers: Dr. Sterns, Dr. Peel, and Mr. Miccio. In addition, special thanks to my practicum site e-MDs for their hospitality and mentor, Mr. Rice. They were each instrumental in instilling within me a deep-seeded belief that I possess the ability to improve our health care system one step at a time by using electronic health care system.