Ethical, Legal, Regulatory Policies, and Professional Credentialing and Careers

  In your interview for the chief information officer (CIO) position, you did exceptionally well and were hired by St. Augustine’s hospital. In a staff meeting, you were asked to give a presentation to other employees with the hope of getting volunteers to work with you in setting up the new health care IT department. Address the following issues in your presentation: Explain the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on the implementation and use of health care information systems. Discuss the threats to the implementation and use of health care information systems and how these threats are overcome. Explain what happens if these threats are not alleviated. Describe professional credentialing. Discuss the importance of credentialing to HIT professionals. Explain the various areas of professional credentialing for health care professionals in IT. Describe how credentialing helps in achieving quality care. Explain the benefits of having a health care IT department at St. Augustine’s hospital.