1. Health information technology (Health IT) Page 1
Health information technology (Health IT)
Health information technology (Health IT) is an area of information technology that includes the
design, development, creation, use and maintenance of information systems for the healthcare
industry. Automated and compatible healthcare information systems will continue to improve
healthcare and healthcare, reduce costs, increase efficiency, reduce errors and increase patient
satisfaction, and optimize cost recovery for outpatient and inpatient health care providers.
Nowadays, the importance of Health information technology services stems from a combination of
evolving technologies and changing public policies that affect the quality of patient care.
Types of Health IT
EHR is a central component of healthcare IT infrastructure. EHR, or Electronic Medical Record Card
(EMR) is an official & digital human medical record and is used by several healthcare providers and
agencies. Other key elements of a healthcare IT infrastructure are a personal health record (PHR),
which is a personal health record, and medical information exchange (HIE), a medical data exchange
center, or a group of medical organizations that are part of a compatibility agreement and consent to
share data between various healthcare IT systems. Thanks to smartphones and other mobile
devices, PHR will grow in popularity over the coming years as consumers will be more comfortable
using digital health information. Thus, PHR will need to be further integrated with EHR technology.
As a result of the huge amount of patient information that medical organizations are currently
engaged in, data analytics has become more important in everyday work. The ability to collect
patient information, analyze it and then base treatment on results, goes well with population health
management (PHM) and value-based healthcare. Artificial intelligence will take analytics to a higher
level, although AI has not relied on diagnoses since 2018. Analytics also raises the question of who
owns the data: the patient, the healthcare organization, or the provider who produced the analytic
software? Health trends indicate that patients will eventually become owners
In addition to EHR, there are other important medical IT technologies. Image archiving and
transmission systems (PACS) and manufacturer-independent archives (VNAs) are two commonly

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used types of healthcare information technology that help healthcare providers store and manage
patient medical images. In the past, radiology departments were the main repositories of medical
images, but PACS and VNA integrated radiology into the hospital’s main workflow. And other
specialties, such as cardiology and neurology, have also become major producers of clinical images.
In some cases, VNAs have been established as a way to combine image data stored in image banks
of individual departments into a multi-purpose healthcare system.
Developments in healthcare technology include portals for patients. In earlier days, the patient portal
may have been a clumsy site that allowed patients to view upcoming visits and possibly see raw
laboratory test results.
In comparison, modern portals provide more options for patient care. The portals allow patients to
communicate safely with their doctors, pay bills, verify services against what the insurance plan
allows, download complete medical records, order prescriptions, and possibly interact with the
chatbot for other services. Portals can also integrate with telemedicine systems that provide secure
video communications between patients and providers. As the convenience and convenience of
videoconferencing improves, telemedicine will become an important part of patient care, which may
have to talk to a doctor or nurse face-to-face, but do not have to visit a doctor in the office.
More recent innovations in healthcare IT include the wider use of an application program interface
(API) to improve interoperability, the ability to access and interact with medical data through mobile
devices, and further explore the blockchain as a way to improve access and protection medical
records. ,
Regulations and supervision
The implementation of EHR systems has increased dramatically over the past few years since the
adoption in 2009 of the Law on Medical Information Technologies for Economic and Clinical Health
(HITECH), which presented EMC incentive programs and their associated significant use program.
Doctors and hospitals that have proven their use of government-certified EMC systems have met
significant usage criteria – established and controlled by the Centers for Health and Medical Care
(CMS) and the Office of the National Health Coordinator (ONC) – to receive incentive payments
totaling tens of billions of dollars in the US healthcare industry.
Reasonable use is changing to a new cost-based reimbursement system under a law passed by
Congress in 2015, called MACRA, the Medicare Access and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance
Program) Reauthorization Act. Meanwhile, the 21st Century Treatment Act of 2016 allocated $ 6
billion for medical research using advanced technology and science.
In addition, healthcare organizations and their business partners, such as third-party billing
companies that process protected health information (PHI), are subject to the Health Insurance
Mobility and Accountability Act (HIPAA), created and implemented by the Ministry of Health and
Human Rights USA. Services (HHS). The law requires patients to have full access to their PHI and
protects the confidentiality of their information by restricting access to it by other parties. A
healthcare provider who has a PHI violation may be fined by the HHS Civil Rights Office (OCR).
Security and privacy rules

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The HIPAA Safety and Privacy Rules have long directed healthcare organizations to provide patients
with access to their medical records and to protect this information.
Such goals are becoming increasingly relevant, given that since 2010, data leaks and malware
attacks have endangered the healthcare industry. In 2017, nearly 5.6 million patients violated their
records, and although the number of hacking data on patients this year has decreased, attacks by
malware and ransomware on the number of health sites have increased, according to a report by
Protenus, a company protecting privacy and security in the field of information technology for 2018
year.
In response, traditional healthcare IT systems are now often integrated with data protection and
cybersecurity technologies. Employee training is also part of the solution, as human errors can lead
to data leakage.
As in many industries, IT managers and directors of information technology (CIO) in healthcare
organizations have gained credibility as technology is becoming more common.
The growing position of computer science or computer science is directly related to the expansion
of IT healthcare. Within the framework of medical informatics and its options, professionals jointly
manage and study information technology and health data. Computer scientists may have IT
experience or clinical education, but in both cases, these people combine science, treatment, and
information technology. For example, a clinical computer scientist may be someone with experience
working as a bedside nurse and transitioning to an IT-based role.
In addition, there are a subset of medical practitioners and nurses who have also become experts in
healthcare information technology and patient data. Although these clinicians are still deeply rooted
in patient care, it is easier for them to communicate with IT professionals about their needs and
available technologies.
In a broader sense, health information technology has affected every doctor who has been trained in
EMC or telemedicine systems, and working with this technology has become a core skill.
Benefits of Health Information Technology
Although some critics argue that EHR has led doctors to spend more time entering data than
communicating with patients and developing cumbersome federal rules, there is widespread
consensus on the benefits of IT in healthcare. These benefits include:
 the ability to use data analytics and big data to effectively manage public health management
programs and reduce the incidence of costly chronic diseases;
 the use of cognitive computing and analytics to perform accurate medicine (PM) for individual
patients;
 the ability to exchange health data between academic researchers to develop new treatments and
drugs; as well as
 The rights of patients to receive and use their own health data and to work with doctors.
 Currently, most obstetrician-gynecologists use electronic medical records. They quickly began to be
used due to the recognition of their potential benefits and government programs that stimulate their
use. The benefits of health information technology (IT) include the ability to store and retrieve data;
the ability to quickly transmit patient information in a readable format; increased drug safety due to

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increased legibility, which potentially reduces the risk of errors when taking drugs; and ease of
finding patient information.
 Potential for improving patient safety exists through the use of medication warnings, clinical flags
and reminders, better tracking and reporting of counseling and diagnostic testing, support for clinical
decision making and the availability of complete patient data. Data collected using health
information technology can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions, and it
has been demonstrated that they lead to improved medical practice. Warnings can optimize
adherence to guidelines and evidence-based assistance. Record uniformity can be designed to
reduce deviations from practice, conduct systematic reviews to ensure quality, and optimize
evidence-based care for common conditions.
 Health IT increases the involvement of patients as consumers of care. This allows patients to
access their medical records, which helps them feel more aware of their conditions and encourages
them to participate actively in joint decision-making.
 Out of contact with the patient, this can improve the monitoring of missed appointments,
consultations, and diagnostic testing. A healthcare professional can search for specific patient
groups as part of a practice to track and improve compliance with specified care, such as a
mammogram, Pap test, or hemoglobin measurement Level A.
 EHRs reduce your paper documents. The clipboard and a new patient questionnaire may remain part
of your doctor’s office for some time. But as additional information is added to your EHR, your
doctor and hospital will have access to more of this data as soon as you arrive. This means that you
need to fill out smaller and shorter forms, reducing the “troublesome” health factor.
 EHR accurately transmit your information to people who need it. Even if you have relatively simple
health care needs, coordinating information between health care providers can be a daunting task
that can lead to medical errors if performed incorrectly. When all your providers can share your
health information through the EHR, each provider gets access to more accurate and up-to-date
information about your treatment. This allows your providers to make the best possible decisions,
especially in times of crisis.
 EHRs help your doctors coordinate your treatment and ensure your safety. Suppose you visit three
specialists in addition to your doctor. Each of them can prescribe different medicines, and
sometimes these medicines can interact in a harmful way. EHRs can alert your healthcare providers
if they try to prescribe a medicine that can cause this kind of interaction. EHR may also alert one of
your doctors if another doctor has already prescribed a drug that did not help you, saving you the
risks and costs associated with taking ineffective drugs.
 EHRs reduce unnecessary tests and procedures. Have you ever had to repeat medical tests
prescribed by one doctor because the results were not readily available to another doctor? These
tests can be uncomfortable and uncomfortable or pose a certain risk, and they also cost money.
Repeated tests – whether a blood test for $ 30 or an MRI for $ 1,800 – lead to higher costs in the
form of increased bills and increased premiums. Thanks to EHR, all your healthcare providers can
have access to all the results and records of your tests at the same time, which reduces the
likelihood of unnecessary retesting.
 EHRs provide you direct access to your medical record. In the United States, you already have a
federal guaranteed right to review your medical records, identify incorrect and missing information,
and make additions or corrections as necessary. Some health care providers using EHR systems
provide their patients with direct access to their health information on the Internet in ways that help
maintain confidentiality and security. This access allows you to better track your service, and in
some cases answer your questions immediately, rather than wait hours or days for a phone call
back. This access can also allow you to communicate directly and safely with your healthcare
provider.
 Faster and more accurate prescriptions: e-prescription systems automatically send prescriptions to
your pharmacy because your medicine is ready to be taken out upon arrival, which saves you time.

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Electronic prescribing can also reduce the chance of medication errors, for example, due to dirty
handwriting on a paper prescription.
 Reducing unnecessary tests: doctors sometimes order tests that you had before, simply because
they do not have easy access to previous test results. If all the results of your tests are recorded in
EHR, which can communicate with each other, and the health care provider can see the results of
previous tests available to you and order only really necessary tests and procedures, saving time,
money and discomfort while reducing risk.
Other Health information technology Issues
Some serious problems persist in the healthcare sector. Chief among them are barriers to
collaboration, including the lack of generally accepted standards for sharing medical data, although
HL7 International (Health Level Seven) has developed and promulgated several popular standards –
most recently, FHIR (Fast Health Interaction Resources).
In addition, federal officials and patient advocates have identified the alleged practice of blocking
information by some providers and providers as a common problem in an attempt to prevent the
ability to share health data on their systems. Healthcare regulators are increasingly saying that they
will not tolerate information blocking.
Noways, All of these sellers are now looking over their shoulder at the fact that huge, non-health IT
companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon are embracing the healthcare industry.
For example, in 2018, Apple began successfully testing technology that allowed the Apple Health
app to integrate a patient’s PHR with the hospital’s EHR, and Cerner and Epic also participated in
these tests. Meanwhile, Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway planned to create an
independent medical company for their employees, using information technology to help the project.
In addition, Google and Fitbit have announced a collaboration within the new Google API for cloud
healthcare based on FHIR.