Health information technology (HIT)

The twenty-first century has already seen incredible growth in the diversity of electronic devices on the market. These include smartphones, tablets, e-readers, and an ever-increasing array of personal computers. Many of these devices combine broadband Internet and high-speed wireless networks and permit fast data transfer. The field of health information technology has benefited greatly from these circumstances. This communications technology is now used to benefit the health and well-being of millions of people, with the goal of increasing the accuracy of health-related information and the speed with which it is communicated. The field has made great strides, but patients, doctors, and other medical professionals believe it can get even better.

Overview

Health information technology, commonly abbreviated as HIT, refers to all computer hardware and software that is used to store, analyze, retrieve, and share data related to human health. This includes not only computers, but also a variety of diagnostic tools that includes electronic data recording components. For example, a heart monitor registers key information about a person’s cardiovascular health, and then the data is transferred to a computer that has analytical software. That software analyzes the data and reports it into a variety of forms that medical professionals and patients can use. Then decisions can be made based upon the data, such as whether surgery or a simple change of lifestyle is the best approach for a specific problem. HIT improves the accuracy of diagnoses and the speed with which they are made. In addition to diagnosis and analysis, HIT is used to store patient records. Electronic medical records are more rapidly accessible than paper copies on shelves and require fewer labor hours to manage. This saves hospitals and other medical facilities a lot of money. It also frees up time for them to focus on patients, which will hopefully result in a better quality of care.

Even though people are aware of the benefits of HIT, many remain concerned about privacy issues. A common contention is that when patient records are stored electronically, a hacker could break into the medical facilities computer and obtain access to other people’s private medical data. Those who design and build HIT systems are very aware of this concern and build systems with the most up-to-date security on the market. After all, the more comfortable people are with having their records stored electronically, the more medical facilities will make the switch and realize the benefits of doing so.

The US government has become involved with advocating for HIT. Their advocacy includes the 2004 President’s Health Information Technology Plan, an executive order signed by President George W. Bush. Its goal was to speed up the development of electronic systems for medical records. Interest in the issue has proven to be bipartisan, as illustrated by President Obama signing into law the allocation of billions of dollars for the same purpose. The allocation, part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was meant to help hospitals shift away from paper medical records and toward electronic records.

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