HIT overview

Health Information Technology (HIT) is a term that encompasses a huge range of products and systems. The term includes all software, hardware, and infrastructure used to support the collection, storage, and exchange of patient data throughout the clinical practice of medicine.

Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Electronic Health Records (EHR), ePrescribing systems (eRx), Practice Management Systems (PMS), Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS), and Computerized Physician Order Entry systems (CPOE) can expand care providers' ability to organize patient data, reduce paperwork, replace laborious documentation processes, and prevent errors in the delivery of patient care. There are currently 59 federally certified HIT vendors in the marketplace today.

In 2004, President George W. Bush signed an executive order promoting the national adoption of EHRs, calling for every American to have an EHR by 2014. HIT is a bi-partisan issue; former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, Sr. have both promoted the adoption of HIT, along with many legislators on both sides of the party line.

In April 2004, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) opened the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONC) to oversee the development of a National Health Information Network (NHIN) and facilitate coordination between private and public-sector stakeholders as they promote and develop HIT.

A September 2005 report by the RAND Corporation estimated that $77 billion annually would be saved if 90 percent of physicians adopted HIT. The report also estimated another $4 billion in savings from reductions in prescription errors.

Despite documented advantages and federal support, physician adoption of HIT has been slow. Recent survey data estimates that somewhere between 22 percent and 34 percent of physicians in ambulatory settings currently use an EHR.

Research on HIT adoption rates indicates that concerns about HIT adoption's high cost, uncertainty of return on investment (ROI) after adoption, and worry over the usability and obsolescence of new technologies rank highest among reasons surveyed physicians have not yet adopted HIT. Doubts about the privacy and security of patient data, practice compliance with HIPAA legislation, and the potential for inappropriate disclosure of patient information to third parties rank just behind financial concerns.

There are many public and private initiatives currently promoting and developing effective HIT. Please see our section on key players and initiatives for more information on organizations working in this field, as well as the work they are doing.