Meaningful Use of School Health Data

Abstract

Meaningful use (MU) of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) is an important development in the safety and security of health care delivery in the United States. Advancement in the use of EHRs occurred with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which provides incentives for providers to support adoption and use of EHRs. School nurses play an important role in alerting the public and key decision makers to the value of school health data to the MU of EHRs. The timeline for adopting MU of EHRs is short and school nurses must participate in the process to assure MU of school health data. This article describes MU and the importance of this federal action to school health.

The 2013 NASN School Nurse Survey

“…For example, many indicated that even data collection is done using educational software that may not be conducive to their needs. Emphasis on meaningful use of electronic health care records to improve care is critical in school health (Johnson & Bergren, 2011). To complicate matters, as health care and education reform continues, school nurses are seeing added pressures to their responsibilities.…”

Use of the Worklife and Levels of Burnout Surveys to Assess the School Nurse Work Environment

“…There is little research regarding the work environment of school nurses' organizational factors that influence work satisfaction. A review of the literature revealed that while school nurses perceive barriers and challenges to professional practice (Combe et al, 2015;Fleming, 2012;Johnson & Bergren, 2011;Krause-Parello & Samms, 2009;Magalnick & Mazyck, 2008;Mangena & Maughan, 2015;Maughan & Mangena, 2014;National Association of School Nurses, 2015), few studies have examined or empirically measured work satisfaction of the school nurse. Understanding factors that influence work satisfaction among school nurses has significant implications because the current health-care delivery system is transitioning from care of the individual with disease to one of disease prevention among populations (Bergren, 2017;Moreland-Russell, Combs, Polk, & Dexter, 2018).…”

Harnessing the Power of Student Health Data

“…However, using electronic health information systems to document care improves the efficiency and utility of school health data, allowing it to be used in a meaningful manner to support students (Johnson & Bergren, 2010). Electronic information systems allow a huge volume of data to be entered rapidly, analyzed comprehensively from multiple perspectives, and efficiently reported to key stakeholders.…”