Practice Question
The HITECH Act has impacted nursing practice by which of the following?
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
Providing incentives for the adoption of electronic health records (EHRS)
Rationale:
🔷 The HITECH Act was specifically designed to encourage adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) across healthcare settings.
🔷 It offered financial incentives to organizations and providers who implemented certified EHR technology and used it to improve care quality and safety.
🔷 This has greatly impacted nursing practice by increasing reliance on digital documentation, clinical decision support, and electronic communication.
🔷 Nurses now routinely interact with EHR systems, electronic order entry, and health information exchanges because of HITECH-driven adoption.
🔷 Therefore, this option correctly reflects HITECH’s role in promoting EHR use rather than reducing or replacing documentation.
Reducing the need for nursing documentation.
🔷 The need for documentation has not decreased with HITECH; it has largely shifted from paper to electronic form.
🔷 Nurses are still required to chart assessments, interventions, outcomes, and education thoroughly to meet legal and professional standards.
🔷 HITECH actually emphasizes complete and accurate electronic records, not less documentation.
🔷 Electronic systems can make documentation more efficient, but they do not eliminate the requirement.
🔷 Thus, this option misrepresents the Act’s impact by implying a reduction instead of a transformation of documentation.
Mandating the use of paper charts in healthcare facilities.
🔷 HITECH promotes the opposite of paper charts by encouraging migration to electronic systems.
🔷 The Act supports digital documentation, interoperability, and electronic exchange of health information.
🔷 Mandating paper charts would undermine goals such as improved accessibility, data analysis, and error reduction.
🔷 Healthcare facilities have moved increasingly toward EHR-based workflows because of HITECH incentives.
🔷 Therefore, this option is directly contradictory to the intent and outcome of HITECH.
Requiring nurses to serve as IT specialists in healthcare organizations.
🔷 While nurses often collaborate with informatics and IT teams, HITECH does not require nurses to become IT specialists.
🔷 The Act expects organizations to provide appropriate training and support so nurses can competently use EHR systems.
🔷 Nurses may participate in informatics roles, but that is a specialized area, not a universal requirement from HITECH.
🔷 The primary goal is improved use of technology in care delivery, not redefining every nurse’s role as technical staff.
🔷 Thus, this option overstates the impact of HITECH on nursing roles.
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This question is from Examplify RN Informatics which contains 8 questions.
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Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: Examplify Exam(s)
- Domain: RN Informatics 🌐
- Answer Choices: 4