GCU HIM650 All Weeks Discussions Latest 2020 May

HIM650 Health Care Data Management

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 Consider the following scenario: You are in a hospital setting that uses an enterprise EHR system with multiple interfaces to other health information platforms. What types of data would be kept in each system and what steps would be needed to allow for analytics to be performed across multiple disparate platforms?

DQ2 Compare traditional paper health records to electronic records. What can one do that the other cannot? Some of the formats of electronic data include spreadsheets and databases. What are some of the trade-offs between using a spreadsheet versus a database to record, analyze, and retrieve data in a health care setting?

HIM650 Health Care Data Management

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 What are the benefits or disadvantages of ER diagrams? Why bother with logical design and not just create tables and columns (physical design) directly?

DQ2 How does understanding the logic of a database assist clinical resources? How does being involved with workflow development assist IT resources?

HIM650 Health Care Data Management

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 Who would be the ideal candidate(s) to elicit information from during the requirements gathering and analysis phase? Explain why.

DQ2 Compare bottom-up to top-down modeling. What is the best approach to arrive at an effective data model?

HIM650 Health Care Data Management

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 How important are naming conventions in database modeling? What comes first: the need for a report or the data?

DQ2 Recall the Y2K bug or the quote "640K [of memory] ought to be enough for anybody" misattributed to Bill Gates. What lessons can one learn from these examples when it comes to database creation?

HIM650 Health Care Data Management

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1 Can you think of ways to validate the information from SQL queries or reports, to assure a level of accuracy in the results? When, if at all, is it better to extract raw data instead of summary information and what are the best ways to present any retrieved information (e.g., tables, diagrams, narrative)?

DQ2 What is the primary reason and the need to aggregate data in health care? Explain your answer with examples.

HIM650 Health Care Data Management

Week 6 Discussion

DQ1 Utilizing the ideas from parts of your proposed Database Design Proposal and other associated assignments, consider the following scenario: An academic researcher wants to conduct a study on the distribution of various medications over the past 10 years.

1) What steps are required before the researcher can obtain any data?

2) What would be the applicable policy and regulations based on the module lecture notes and other knowledge of data security?

3) What will constitute your plan on how to provide the necessary data to the researcher—which pieces of information can and cannot be provided?

4) Explore and weigh options on providing restricted access to the database directly to the researcher (specify the necessary SQL statements to establish database accounts, configure privileges, and create restricted views of the data) versus exporting the required data.

Summarize your answers to these questions and post it into the Discussion Forum. Compare your ideas with those of your colleagues.

DQ2 Find two examples of data/security breaches that resulted in theft/loss/exposure of confidential data, preferably health care related data. Describe the incidents and explain what could have been done to prevent or mitigate them.

HIM650 Health Care Data Management

Week 7 Discussion

DQ1 What are the benefits and challenges associated with accessing health data through forms and reports?

DQ2 Consider the CMS core measures and the data used to support the reporting. Which do you believe are the easiest to collect and which do you think are the most difficult to collect?

HIM650 Health Care Data Management

Week 8 Discussion

DQ1 Consider the idealized cycle of health information in evidence-based medicine where database systems offer information sharing service for doctors, medical researchers, medical institutions, and patients. In this scenario, doctors and researchers can easily query and analyze medical information with much greater speed, security, and ease. What would facilitate achieving this ideal, and assess the benefits and challenges of these achievements. How soon do you realistically expect to see these to be implemented on a large scale?

DQ2 What is the greatest challenge with reports produced for health care providers, managers, directors, and executives?