Policies and Ethical Issues in Information Technology

     This has been an informative module for me.  One thing I learned, was that I need to become better at paraphrasing and citing information.  I enjoyed the podcast "Plagiarism".  The article we read about plagiarism helped me to realize that the main reason I don't always cite when I should, is because I am not proficient at APA formatting.  I find it difficult to figure out how to cite internet pages, lectures and power-point presentations.  The APA manual does not give examples that I find helpful.  I am getting better in the use of Endnote in helping me format my citations.

     The other thing I learned from this module, is the complexity of electronic medical records.  I have wondered why this process has taken so long and now I understand.  Chapter fourteen in our text, outlined regulations and legislation that I can barely comprehend.  HIPPA, turns out to be far more complicated than I realized.  I thought that I knew all about HIPPA, until now.  This process is very expensive but when it is achieved it will be a valuable tool for providers to improve the quality of care.

     Lastly, I learned to be a better consumer in relation to technology.  I found the laptop security tips very helpful.  I used to think I was so smart when I would borrow internet from unknown places.  Now I realize that it is not a good idea.      

Decision Support for Care Delivery

     This has been a hard unit for me to complete.  I really enjoyed the Daniel Kahneman lecture on Intuition.  The concept of the "illusion of validity" made me think long and hard about how I make decisions.  I am not sure that I should admit this, but I have always given intuition greater merit than it deserves.  I sometimes go with my "gut" feeling.  I am often looking for that "fast and easy" answer.  I am so grateful to be in school at this time when such great resources are available to guide my decision making process.  I realize that I cannot rely on these systems to override my expertise, but I can use them to make  safer and more consistent evaluations.  
     I have never had the opportunity to work with any of the systems described in this unit, but I look forward to learning more about them.