Health Information Technology (IT)

Health Information Technology (IT)

One of the essential advantages of health information technology (IT) is to make it easier to communicate amongst health care providers at all levels, i.e., improving medication safety, tracking, and promoting quality of care through optimized access and adherence to guidelines (Committee opinion no. 621: Patient safety and health information technology, 2015). Healthcare delivery is possible by utilizing IT systems and collecting and sharing patient data. According to Dowding (2015), the use of IT to monitor health through personal devices and social media has immensely increased. The improvement in the availability of technology, both in healthcare settings and in the broader population, provides unique opportunities for supporting evidence-based practice (EBP) across healthcare settings. Interoperability additionally is key in achieving IT systems to work to their maximum potential. Interoperability is defined as the ability of health information systems to work together within and across organizational boundaries to advance the effective delivery of healthcare for individuals and communities (Reis et al., 2017, as cited in Li et al., 2021). To promote evidence-based practice and clinical information, policymakers must encourage the integration of IT systems to deliver effective, safe care. There are many ways to violate patients’ privacy through IT (Savage & Savage (2020). Health data may be collected from different sources, i.e., EHRs, insurance claims, social media posts, etc. In the process, patients’ privacy can be violated. Therefore, it is imperative to protect patient information by managing it effectively. When used effectively, health IT can facilitate healthcare data collection and directly improve patient care. Studies have determined that the use and configuration of health IT to collect HIV data, for example, can increase the availability of data to monitor HIV care (Institute of Medicine, 2012). References Committee opinion no. 621: Patient safety and health information technology. (2015). Obstetrics and Gynecology (New York. 1953), 125(1), 282-283.  https://doi.org/10.1097/01.AOG.0000459867.14114.7a Dowding, D. (2015). Using health information technology to support evidence-based practice. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 12(3), 129-130.  https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12093 Institute of Medicine, Committee to Review Data Systems for Monitoring HIV Care, & Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice. (2012). The role of health information technology and data system integration in the collection of HIV care data. In Carol Mason Spicer, & Morgan A. Ford (Eds.), (pp. 273-298). National Academies Press. Li, E., Clarke, J., Neves, A. L., Ashrafian, H., & Darzi, A. (2021). Electronic health records, interoperability, and patient safety in health systems of high-income countries: A systematic review protocol. BMJ Open, 11(7).  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044941 Savage, M., & Savage, L. C. (2020). Doctors routinely share health data electronically under HIPAA and sharing with patients and patients’ third-party health apps is consistent: Interoperability and privacy analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9), e19818-e19818.  https://doi.org/10.2196/19818