RUNNING HEAD: A CRITIQUE OF HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
A Critique of Health Information Technology: Information Technology Adoption in the United States
Kimberly Moriarty
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
October 16, 2008
Robert Kolonder, Simon Cohn and Charles Freidman discuss the benefits and recommendations for integrating information technology into the electronic health records within their article. The article is called “Health Information Technology: Strategic Initatives, Real Progress”. It can be found in the Journal of Health Affairs. Robert Kolonder is the national coordinator for health information technology in Washington D.C. , and Charles Friedman is the deputy national coordinator for health information technology. They present their opinions within the article which pushes for the adoption for information technology within the healthcare system in order to move the health care system into one that promotes health, consistency and efficiency. In response to a previous article written, these authors describe their agreement in the necessity of information technology integration but support further momentum in the system. They briefly describe the current state of the system, and explain how the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, alongside the presidential Executive order has set the stage for integration. They explain how the foundation has been set to allow more technology to influence and guide transformation in the health care system. The Strategic Plan from 2008 is outlined, stating, it’s “a broad spectrum of activities necessary to achieve the nationwide, secure, interoperable health IT infrastructure essential for health care transformation.”(Kolonder, 2008). This sets up goals to focus on patient centered health care, and supporting health activities.
They then cover four areas within the Strategic Plan; Adoption, Collaborative governance, privacy and security, and finally, interoperability. The adoption section covers certification processes, survey methods, decreasing premiums for those adopting EHRs, and Medicare details. The Collaborative section outlines The American Health Information Community, and working to develop a public-private sector. Privacy and Security outline the policy needed to ensure an efficient and safe system. Finally, interoperability ensures that all electronic information can be available to maintaincontinuity of care (Kolonder, 2008). The authors then go into explaining how policy and technology do have to interact, and that policy is usually written sometime after the technology has already been introduced. They then touch briefly suggestions for future integration and successful implementation.
Overall, the article was extremely informational. They did a great job of discussing the new policy in government pushing for an increase in electronic technology in healthcare. They don’t give very specific recommendations in moving the field further; instead they focus on stating what has been done, and the guidelines within the current progress. The authors seem very intelligent and well versed on their area of expertise. As far as Advance Practice Nurses and Nursing in general is concerned, the article helps to describe where the health record is going to be driven. Nurses must become more electronically knowledgeable as more and more systems are relying on the electronic medical record. Furthermore, in the future, Advanced Practice Nurses may see the electronic record to be accessible from system to system. The article is good information and update for all health care professionals. It touches on the idea of how involved and diverse the information technology field is. It will take many interdisciplinary fields to fully integrate the medical records electronically. Although it seems improbable, the ultimate goal is to make health care records electronic and available from provider to provider while maintaining privacy and safety.
References
Kolodner, Robert M., Cohn, Simon P.,& Friedman, Charles P. (2008). Health Information Technology: Strategic Initiatives, Real Progress. Health Affairs. 27(5) 391-395.