1. How does or can HIT influence costs, quality, or access?
Health information technology (HIT) utilization, in the words of Shekelle, Morton, and Keeler (2006), “has been promoted as having tremendous promise in improving the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, quality, and safety of medical care delivery…” With regard to quality, the authors point out that thanks to the integration of tools of knowledge acquisition and automated decision making, HIT comes in handy in medical error reduction. HIT also reduces redundancy, thus effectively bringing down costs associated with obtaining healthcare. This is more so the case with centralized medical records made possible by HIT. The said centralization of medical records could, for instance, eliminate duplication (i.e. multiple tests and medications being prescribed by different doctors). In addition to easing electronic transactions, to the convenience of patients, HIT also enhances patient access to their medical records, and thus better information regarding follow-up care.
2. How does U.S. HIT compare with that of other advanced nations? What contributes to this?
In the developed world, the U.S., in general, compares poorly with other nations as far as the embrace and implementation of HIT is concerned. Countries like the Netherlands and Australia have...
A recent study sought to examine HIT projects and advances in a number of countries including, but not limited to, the U.S., the U.K., Netherlands, and Canada. The study found out that “more than 90% of general practitioners in Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom reportedly used EHRs, whereas only 10% to 30% of practitioners in ambulatory settings in the United states and Canada used EHRs” (Balgrosky, 2015, p. 9).
3. What external influences can you identify that impact HIT?
Some of the most significant external influencers that impact HIT include, but they are not limited to, the free market and the government. While the government “regulates and passes laws concerning proper implementation and use of HIS and health information technology (HIT)...” the free market, as Balgrosky (2015) further point out not only facilitates but also pushes for HIT services and products commercialization so as “to enhance vendor company stock prices and dividends for shareholders” (p. 3).
4. Compare HIT to the information technology (IT) in the banking and credit industry. Which is more efficient and effective? Why?
HIT, just…
