Putting Health IT on the Path to Success

• Published in: JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association Vol. 309; no. 10; pp. 989 - 990
• Main Authors: Yasnoff, William A, Sweeney, Latanya, Shortliffe, Edward H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Medical Association 13.03.2013
• Subjects: Access to Information; Computer Security; Cost Control; Cost reduction; Databases as Topic; Electronic health records; Electronic Health Records - trends; Health care expenditures; Health Records, Personal; Humans; Medical Informatics - organization & administration; Medical Informatics - trends; Patient Care - standards; Quality of care; Quality of Health Care; Uncertainty; United States; United States
• ISSN: 0098-7484; 1538-3598
• DOI: 10.1001/jama.2013.1474

The promise of health information technology (HIT) is comprehensive electronic patient records when and where needed, leading to improved quality of care at reduced cost. However, physician experience and other available evidence suggest that this promise is largely unfulfilled. Comprehensive records require more than having every physician and hospital use an electronic health record (EHR) system. There must also be an effective, efficient, and trustworthy mechanism for health information exchange (HIE) to aggregate each patient's scattered records into a complete whole when needed. This mechanism must also be accurate and reliable, protect patient privacy, and ensure that medical record access is transparent and accountable to patients. Here, Yasnoff et al examine reasons why health IT is on the wrong path.