The CMS considers patient engagement a quality metric for a learning healthcare system.

● Patient engagement is a major focal point of stage 2 MU of HER.

● Patient Engagement in Health and Health Care Framework by Carman et al. presents different forms and levels of patient engagement across the healthcare system.

● Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care recognizes the vital role families play by providing emotional, social, and developmental support, ensuring the health and well-being of all family members

● The Level of Engagement with Health Care framework considers the engagement, quality, and safety of mobile apps. Clinicians can identify trustworthy apps that serve the engagement of high-need, high-cost populations.

Consider content covered in chapter 5 concerning policy changes in the United States and the strategic plan needed to improve care and drive down cost through health information technology. Give at least 3 examples of an information technology policy change that has supported patient engagement.

 

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Based on the content regarding policy changes in the United States and the strategic plan needed to improve care and drive down costs through health information technology (as discussed in chapter 5), here are at least three examples of information technology policy changes that have supported patient engagement:

  1. Meaningful Use Stage 2 Requirements for Patient Portals: A significant policy change that directly supported patient engagement was the mandate in Stage 2 of the Meaningful Use (MU) program for Electronic Health Records (EHRs). This stage required healthcare providers to offer patients the ability to view, download, and transmit (VDT) their health information electronically through patient portals. Furthermore, it emphasized secure

Based on the content regarding policy changes in the United States and the strategic plan needed to improve care and drive down costs through health information technology (as discussed in chapter 5), here are at least three examples of information technology policy changes that have supported patient engagement:

  1. Meaningful Use Stage 2 Requirements for Patient Portals: A significant policy change that directly supported patient engagement was the mandate in Stage 2 of the Meaningful Use (MU) program for Electronic Health Records (EHRs). This stage required healthcare providers to offer patients the ability to view, download, and transmit (VDT) their health information electronically through patient portals. Furthermore, it emphasized secure

  1. messaging between patients and providers. This policy aimed to empower patients by giving them greater access to their medical records, lab results, medication lists, and discharge summaries, fostering a more active role in their healthcare decisions and management. The policy incentivized the adoption of these technologies and functionalities, leading to a wider availability and use of patient portals.

  2. Promoting Interoperability and Patient Access APIs: Subsequent policies focused on interoperability and aimed to make patient data more accessible through Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). These policies encouraged the development and implementation of secure APIs that would allow patients to access their health information using third-party applications of their choice. This move goes beyond basic portal access, enabling a more seamless and integrated experience where patients can consolidate their health data and utilize various tools for health management, tracking, and sharing with their care teams. The emphasis on open APIs supports greater transparency and patient control over their health information.

  3. Telehealth Expansion and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Policies: While not solely focused on access to records, the expansion of telehealth services and policies supporting Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) have significantly enhanced patient engagement. These policies, particularly accelerated during the COVID-19 public health emergency, allowed for increased interaction between patients and providers through virtual visits, remote monitoring of vital signs, and electronic communication. This increased accessibility and convenience can lead to greater patient involvement in their care, improved adherence to treatment plans, and better management of chronic conditions, especially for high-need, high-cost populations. Policies that facilitate the secure and effective use of these technologies directly support a more engaged patient in their healthcare journey from the comfort of their homes.

These examples illustrate how policy changes in the realm of health information technology have been instrumental in driving patient engagement by providing greater access to information, fostering communication, and enabling more convenient and remote interactions with the healthcare system.

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