Managing Technology, Healthcare
Information Technology and the Healthcare Industry
BUS 615: Managing Technology
March 13, 2013
Information Technology and the Healthcare Industry Today, implementation of Information Technology (IT) in the healthcare industry is aimed towards reaching a level of interoperability which allows healthcare stakeholders to seamlessly share Electronic Health Records (EHRs) safely and efficiently. In healthcare, interoperability is considered the ability to use IT applications to exchange data and information accurately, effectively and consistently to make use of such information ("What is Interoperability? | HIMSS.org", n.d). The information should be accessible to stakeholders such as hospitals, clinics, labs, and patients, regardless of the specific IT application or vendor used to create the information channel. EHRs entail what is essentially a complete record of a patient’s information and data gathered by each healthcare stakeholder (Garets & Davis, 2006, p. 2). Accessibility of this data allows for health information to be shared amongst each entity. EHRs allow a patient’s medical history to follow him or her through the various modalities of care engaged by the patient (Garets & Davis, 2006, p. 2). However, before a fully functional EHR system can be realized, healthcare providers must establish a sustainable Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. EMRs are digital versions of the traditional medical records kept within a single medical facility such as a clinic or hospital (Rouse, 2011). In February 2010, the United States (U.S.) government launched the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, better known as HITECH. This legislation was designed to combat the nation’s costly and operationally inefficient healthcare systems and processes. It promotes the adoption of EMRs for the healthcare industry by the end of the decade and is expected to be a driving force to improve interoperability.
BUS 615: Managing Technology
March 13, 2013
Information Technology and the Healthcare Industry Today, implementation of Information Technology (IT) in the healthcare industry is aimed towards reaching a level of interoperability which allows healthcare stakeholders to seamlessly share Electronic Health Records (EHRs) safely and efficiently. In healthcare, interoperability is considered the ability to use IT applications to exchange data and information accurately, effectively and consistently to make use of such information ("What is Interoperability? | HIMSS.org", n.d). The information should be accessible to stakeholders such as hospitals, clinics, labs, and patients, regardless of the specific IT application or vendor used to create the information channel. EHRs entail what is essentially a complete record of a patient’s information and data gathered by each healthcare stakeholder (Garets & Davis, 2006, p. 2). Accessibility of this data allows for health information to be shared amongst each entity. EHRs allow a patient’s medical history to follow him or her through the various modalities of care engaged by the patient (Garets & Davis, 2006, p. 2). However, before a fully functional EHR system can be realized, healthcare providers must establish a sustainable Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. EMRs are digital versions of the traditional medical records kept within a single medical facility such as a clinic or hospital (Rouse, 2011). In February 2010, the United States (U.S.) government launched the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, better known as HITECH. This legislation was designed to combat the nation’s costly and operationally inefficient healthcare systems and processes. It promotes the adoption of EMRs for the healthcare industry by the end of the decade and is expected to be a driving force to improve interoperability.