The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's website had wonderful resources and information available for both consumers and providers of healthcare. It has a wide array of general information and I would feel comfortable recommending this website to patients as another resource. There is some valuable information regarding smoking cessation, prescriptions, how to get quality care and many other subjects. Although overwhelming at first due to the large amount of information, the site is easy to navigate and is user-friendly. There are so many "unregulated" sources on the internet that confuses patients, it's nice to see a site that is straight-forward and trustworthy. It can give patients empowerment in their healthcare and hopefully won't cause more worry for them. It also has a disclaimer that tells consumers that the information on the website doesn't replace a qualified healthcare professional, which is very responsible. I'm sure it will be a resource for me in the future.
There is a definite connection between the webpage information and regulatory, accreditation and reimbursement issues and healthcare information system use and design. In this day and age, it is impossible to regulate what information is available on the internet. Consumers who are accurately informed will be able to make better healthcare decisions. AHRQ's site displays the CAHPS surveys from consumers on hospital care so that patients can make informed decisions on which hospital they want to use. It also provides data for healthcare professionals in several IT research reports and highlights EHR's, barcode medication administration, telehealth and computerized orders to name a few. This information is good to have and is an excellent resource for clinicians. All of these things can affect accreditation and reimbursement either negatively or positively.
They absolutely can affect accreditation! What do you think the ethical implications of this might be?
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