The History and Challenges of Health Information Technology in the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System

History of HIT in the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System

This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin®. Instructions This week, you focused on the use of HIT as an integral part of the U.S. healthcare delivery system. You have learned about the government’s contributions, which include financial and legislative mandates to HIT. Despite the sizable investment and emphasis by public and private sectors, there is mixed scientific evidence on the benefits of HIT when looking at quality and cost of care. Your assignment this week is to write a paper that includes the following: Briefly discuss the history of HIT and how it has evolved in the U.S. since the early 1960s. Be sure to discuss the role of large academic health institutions in the development and implementation of HIT. Discuss the major challenges of implementing HIT in the U.S. healthcare delivery system. Summarize strategies to overcoming these challenges. Identify and discuss areas of opportunity for improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the healthcare delivery system using HIT. Length: 2-3 pages, excluding title page, references page, and any appendices References: Include a minimum of 3 scholarly resources. The following must be part of the references (citations) using for this assignment: The completed assignment should address all of the assignment requirements, exhibit evidence of concept knowledge, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the content presented in the course. The writing should integrate scholarly resources, reflect academic expectations and current APA standards, and adhere to Northcentral University's Academic Integrity Policy. Health Information Technology (HIT) Since the early 1960s, the U.S. government, under President John F. Kennedy, has focused on the use of health information technology (HIT) as an integral part of the healthcare delivery system (Young & Kroth, 2018). In a report from the President’s Science Advisory Committee, the committee highlighted the optimistic benefits of technology utilization to improve the quality of care and reduce costs. For instance, remote consultations with specialists, targeted treatments, and the availability of mobile apps have significantly improved patient care. In addition, the newer treatment technologies have lead to better health outcomes which, in turn, enhance a patient’s overall quality of life (Jones, 2018). Since then, under different administrations, there have been coordinated efforts to implement HIT with the hope of improving the healthcare system. Under Presidents Bush and Obama, landmark executive order legislations were enacted to mandate the implementation of HIT across the healthcare delivery system. In 2004, President Bush signed an executive order to create the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT). Similarly, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) was signed into law by President Obama. HITECH budgeted $36.5 billion to promote the development of a computerized nationwide network of patient electronic health records (Young & Kroth, 2018). HITECH laid the groundwork for improving the quality of healthcare delivery. Although only short-term acute care hospitals were eligible for the HITECH’s meaningful-use incentive program, annual increases in electronic health record (EHR) adoption rates among eligible hospitals went from 3.2% prior to the passing of the Act (2008–2010) to 14.2% in the post-period (2011–2015) (Adler-Milstein & Jha, 2017). Subsequently, the financial investment in HIT continues to be relevant to patients, providers, and healthcare institutions. Nevertheless, why does the U.S. healthcare delivery system continue to face challenges? References Adler-Milstein, J., & Jha, A. K. (2017, August). HITECH Act drove large gains in hospital electronic health record adoption. Health Affairs, 36(8). Jones, M. (2018, December 26). Healthcare: How technology impacts the healthcare industry. Healthcare in America. Young, K. M., & Kroth, P. J. (2018). Sultz & Young’s health care USA: Understanding its organization and delivery. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Weekly Resources and Assignments Review the resources from the Course Resources link, located in the top navigation bar, to prepare for this week’s assignments. The resources may include textbook reading assignments, journal articles, websites, links to tools or software, videos, handouts, rubrics, etc. Essentials of the U. S. Health Care System by Leiyu Shi; Douglas A. Singh ISBN: 9781284156720 Publication Date: 2018-09-20 Access the Redshelf book in the Getting Started module of the course. Read Chapter 5.Chapter 5 discusses technology and its effects, including a definition and description of medical technology, health information technology (HIT), diffusion and utilization of medical technology, the government’s role in technology diffusion, the impact of medical technology, assessment of medical technology, and the benefits of technology assessment. Preferences for health information technologies among US adults: Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey Asan, O., Cooper Ii, F., Nagavally, S., Walker, R. J., Williams, J. S., Ozieh, M. N., & Egede, L. E. (2018). Preferences for health information technologies among US adults: Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(10), e277. This article discusses the preferences and use of information technology for information exchange among a nationally representative sample of adults with and without three chronic disease conditions (cardiovascular disease [CVD], diabetes, and hypertension) and to assess whether these preferences differ according to varying demographic variables. What is the HITECH ACT? This website highlights the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The HITECH Act was created to motivate the implementation of electronic health records (EHR) and supporting technology in the United States. Advancing the use of patient-reported outcomes in practice: understanding challenges, opportunities, and the potential of health information technology Hsiao, C.-J., Dymek, C., Kim, B., & Russell, B. (2019). Advancing the use of patient-reported outcomes in practice: Understanding challenges, opportunities, and the potential of health information technology. Quality of Life Research, 28(6), 1575-1583. This article aims to understand current opportunities and challenges with the use of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and the potential for health information technology (IT) to advance their use. Capitalizing on health information technology to enable digital advantage in U.S. hospitals Karahanna, E., Chen, A., Qianqian B. L., & Serrano, C. (2019). Capitalizing on health information technology to enable digital advantage in U.S. hospitals. MIS Quarterly, 43(1), 113-140. This article examines hospital digital advantage, defined as a hospital’s technological edge relative to its competitors across a composite of technologies supporting the hospital’s various functions and processes. HealthIT.gov HealthIT.gov This website, under the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), is located within the Office of the Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is at the forefront of the administration’s health information technology (HIT) efforts and is a resource to the entire health system to support the adoption of HIT and the promotion of nationwide health information exchange (HIE) to improve health care.