Health IT Data and Studies

Authors from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) published a review in the March issue of Health Affairs focusing on the effects of health information technology (health IT). The study found predominantly positive effects on key aspects of care including quality and efficiency. In addition, providers outside of large integrated care networks, the original innovators in health IT, are beginning to implement, evaluate, and achieve benefits from similar systems...

...E-prescribing is a no-brainer. It is more convenient, cheaper for physicians and pharmacies, and safer for patients. With e-prescribing, patients have to make only one trip to the pharmacy, to pick up the prescription. E-prescriptions make jokes about a doctors' illegible handwriting, and the very not-funny medication errors that can result, a thing of the past.

Advanced e-prescribing systems can save lives by, for example, checking for potential interactions among the drugs a patient is prescribed. All told, electronic prescribing is an important component of health information exchange that can save lives, lower costs, and improve care. Evidence of the benefits of health information exchange such as e-prescribing is mounting. Some relevant recent studies include the following...