Intersection of social determinants of health on health information technology and patient outcomes

HEALTH LITERACY, HIT AND HEALTH ECONOMICS

The Intersection of Social Determinants of Health on HIT and Patient Outcomes

Health Literacy, HIT on Patient Outcomes, as well as Health Economics could be of great relevance in clinical settings. For instance, Health Literacy, as Buchbinder and Shanks (2007) observe, could come in handy in efforts to prevent illnesses and help in the better management of diseases if and when they occur. On the other hand, HIT could be instrumental in the achievement of efficient and patient-centered care. For example, thanks to HIT, healthcare providers are able to significantly minimize the probability of errors – resulting in better outcomes for patients, i.e. in relation to reliable and accurate prescriptions. Lastly, with regard to Health Economics, better resource utilization can be achieved and more superior decisions made. In this case, it becomes possible to attain efficiency and as Buchbinder and Shanks (2007) indicate, “provide equitable care for populations” (211). All three could be integrated into clinical practice via collaborative efforts between all stakeholders involved. This is more so the case given that each stakeholder has a crucial role to play in both the formulation and implementation stages.

In my opinion, Health Literacy could essentially be conceptualized as the skills as well as competencies and knowledge that patients possess in relation to the maintenance of their health and wellbeing, as well as making of sound healthcare decisions. There is need to comprehend implications for deficiencies in health literacy owing to the fact that as Carolyn and Mariann (2013) point out, “low health literacy is associated with poor health outcomes that nurses have the potential to affect” (52). Some of the other negative outcomes that could be associated with low health literacy are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; enhanced mortality risk as well as treatment plan non-adherence.

COVID-19 has had a huge impact on diverse aspects of healthcare. With regard to Health Literacy, COVID-19 resulted in increased acquisition as well as application of health information. As a consequence, better and more fruitful partnerships were forged between healthcare professionals and patients/general public. When it comes to HIT, it should be noted that COVID-19 triggered greater need for, as well as utilization of, a wide array of health information technologies. For instance, in the words of Prescott and Prescott (2021), “during the pandemic, HIT has been used to provide telehealth services, education on the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 disease, updates on epidemiology and treatments, and most recently, access to scheduling systems for the COVID-19 vaccines” (239). With regard to health economics, the pandemic has resulted in better perspectives about the need for equitable care. This is more so the case given that as Prescott and Prescott (2021) observe, low-income populations have been shown to be amongst those worst hit by the pandemic.