Overview

Privacy and security requirements for health care information, in addition to the spreading adoption of health care information technology systems, are driving the growth of the industry that provides software and other solutions for these needs. As a professional in the field, you must acquire knowledge of the industry, its players, and what they provide.

In this assignment, you will examine health care software vendors with that goal in mind. You will research recommendations for information systems adoption to clarify the qualifications vendors must have. This work will help you understand the types of organizations active in the field.

Instructions

Create a Vendor System Specifications section for your Project Charter. This section is composed of two parts, a summary of EHR system specifications from the Vendor Meaningful Use Compare Tool you will download and a brief comparison of two pieces of EHR software based on the features identified by the Vendor Meaningful Use Comparison Tool.

To create the first part of your assignment:

• Explore the guidelines at How to Implement EHRs by Healthit.gov, located in the Resources section, to learn about Certified EHRs.
• Download the Vendor Meaningful Use Compare Tool, located in the Resource section.
• Read the introduction, including the description of rankings by number. Proceed to the Vendor MU Compare spreadsheet and read about all features (1–20) and subfeatures.
• Create an Excel spreadsheet in which you summarize each of the features on the Vendor Meaningful Use Compare Tool (1–20). Taking into account each feature and its subfeatures, write a brief summary of each feature on the Tool. This will provide you a list of EHR system specifications.

Part two of the assignment should be done after you are finished with part one:

• Research two different examples of health care software. Recommended examples are Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) and openEHR.
• Pay attention to two of the rating subfeatures from the Vendor Meaningful Use Compare Tool, numbers 13.1 and 13.5, as you research the software.
• Rate each piece of software on points 13.1 and 13.5, using the rating scale explained on the Vendor Meaningful Use Compare Tool.
• Write a summary in which you explain how you ranked each piece of software and which software ranks more highly.

Submission Requirements

• Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• Format: Include a title page and reference page.
• APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and format guidelines.
• Length: 2–3 double-spaced, typed pages, not including title and reference page.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.