Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)

Value of HIT

We Need to Bring Every Doctor, Outpatient Office, Hospital and Nursing Home into Information Age

• Our medical research is the world’s best. We have state-of-the –art diagnostic and procedural technology. But we lack the ability to get critical clinical information to the doctor at the point of care.
• Vital data sits in paper records that is hard to access or combine. We rely on paper files and hand-written notes to the pharmacist.
• Information gets lost. Problems with drug interactions are not systematically checked. Preventable medical errors are made – and patients get hurt.
• IT is changing American industries. But health care hasn’t kept up. At the end of the 1990s, most industries were spending about $8,000 per worker for IT. But the health care industry was investing only about $1,000 per worker.

The Benefits Health IT Can Bring to Our Nation – Fewer Mistakes, Lower Costs, Less Hassle, Better Care

• It is estimated that HIT can reduce healthcare costs up to 20% per year – by saving time and reducing duplication and waste.
• It is also estimated that HIT can reduce medical errors by providing complete patient histories, computerized ordering, and electronic reminders.
• HIT enables true partnerships and collaborations with doctors. Consumers make more informed choices about treatment options and doctors become more involved in their care.
• Electronic health records not only save lives:
  • They reduce errors such as when a pharmacist can’t read a physician’s handwriting, or when the wrong drug is prescribed by the physician.
  • They save time, so that patients don’t have to give their address, insurance information and other basic information over and over again.
  • They reduce duplication and waste by showing physicians when tests or treatments may not be necessary.
  • They make it easier for consumers to get care from different physicians by making sure that their information follows them throughout their care.
  • They give us better information to track public health problems and advance clinical research.
  • They protect privacy by making sure that only authorized people see the medical record.

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