Benefits Of Health Information Technology

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Health Information Technology (HIT) is certainly in the stage of infancy but on the verge of immense growth. The development of wearable health technology and phone applications that track the number of steps taken, caloric intake, and sleep patters reflects our society’s call for more accurate and transparent data regarding a patients’ health. The development these innovative health apps exist and thrive mainly the private market, which emphasizes the lack of the patient-facing technology in doctor’s offices, public hospitals, and nursing homes. These disparities have even been gaining political momentum: policymakers see HIT as the silver bullet to improving access and quality healthcare in the U.S. (Blumenthal, 2006). However, the literature …show more content…

In nearly every other sector, organizations rely heavily on technology to improve efficiency and quality—this in not the case with healthcare. One reason for the lack of HIT expansion is that there is no economic incentive for technological advances, especially in fee-for-service reimbursement plans. Hospitals may actually benefit from lack of coordination in a fee-for-service model by duplicating or performing extra tests that could be prevented through electronic medical records (EMRs) (Blumenthal, 2006). A pay-for-performance model, on the other hand, may better facilitate the growth of HIT more effectively since physicians and hospitals are driven by quality instead of the number of procedures …show more content…

Expanding health technology has been a political hot topic since the conception of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). While innovative health technology can certainly improve quality and efficiency of care, it has it limitations. What is important to take away from these conversations about HIT, however, is that politicians realize the breadth of technology in our healthcare system and the desperate need for policy reform. As previously mentioned, one major implication associated the expansion of health technology is simply the ambiguity in the outcomes from HIT initiatives. Especially since the implementation of PPACA, there has been a push for evidence-based medicine and health technology is no exception. The critiques that surround the HIT literature are valid, but it ultimately calls for further

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