Connect the dots: Patient safety and health information technology

摘要

We're well into the year 2013, and that means there is less than a year before a large number of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will take effect. For all health care professionals, that means big changes for nurses and for our organizations, especially in the area of health information technology.The ACA, signed into law in 2010, and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 both commit the US health care industry to using enhanced technology systems, such as electronic devices and applications, to improve communication between patients and health care professionals, thus creating better patient outcomes and reducing the costs of health care by eliminating overlap and paperwork. Electronic health records, health information exchanges, and personal health records will provide electronic resources for practitioners and patients. Diagnostic and therapeutic devices are also an important part of the equation, and ultimately they should all be able to share data. The US government will provide monetary incentives for using the technology efficiently.