I teach an online course in Medical Informatics at the University of West Florida. One of my prime goals is to be objective in evaluating new advances in medicine, to include technology. There seems to be an ongoing tug-a-war between the limitations and hurdles of health information technology (HIT) and the vendors who generate mainly hype. When you look at initiatives such as electronic health records, e-prescribing and health information exchanges, you have high hopes but are brought back to earth by high price tags, poor user acceptance and the lack of meaningful statistics. Most health information technology studies are difficult to conduct and control and who will pay for them, the vendor?It is fortunate that Medicare and organizations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are supporting pilot projects in disease management, personal health records (PHRs), etc. so we can collect unbiased information.
Question: What type of health information technology are you optimistic about and why?
Bob Hoyt
