Published in:
Open Access
01-04-2008 | Editorial
Achieving the Potential of Health Information Technology
Author:
Helen R. Burstin, MD, MPH
Published in:
Journal of General Internal Medicine
|
Issue 4/2008
Login to get access
Excerpt
According to the dictionary, “potential” means “existing in possibility.”
1 For many of us who desperately want health information technology (IT) to be the long, sought after panacea that will lead to dramatic improvements in quality and safety, there is a strong desire to get to “existing in reality.” A growing sense of awareness and urgency around the current state of health care quality in America continues to push us toward action and health IT. The ability to standardize high-risk processes, such as drug prescribing, and remind providers to order evidence-based preventive services seems so logically connected to better care. There is also a growing sense of impatience among the public with low uptake. …
