HIT....

A comment to “structural organization” and quality care.The issue of structural organization really hits home for me since my group project focusd on the implementation of Health Information Technology (HIT). HIT is a stepping stone in the re-structuring and re-organizing of the way the U.S. healthcare system works. Before we can begin to see drastic changes in outcomes, specifically improved health behaviors of patients, we do need to alter our current “reactive” model of healthcare definitely towards more of a “proactive” model. According to Obama’s administration and health experts, HIT will assist in improving quality of care for patients through the creation electronic medical records. These records will not only be accessible to providers, but to patients as well. Thus, both patients and providers will have the ability to manage and coordinate healthcare together. HIT systems are also expected to improved quallity of care for patients and help them modify their health behaviors through better disease surveillance and chronic illness maintenance through HIT. HIT is indeed a prime example of the re-structuring the U.S. healthcare system.

But quality of care should not just be viewed in a macro level. Quality of care is measured through individual patient outcomes, for instance if their health has improved, health quality can also be measured through the consumer’s experience with their provider.

Although HIT is highly expected to make out healthcare system more efficient, I do not think it is the sole savior of our flawed health care network. It is again one stepping stone. I think HIT will improve orgarnizational processes and will further encourage research with all the data being eletronically saved, but other factos of our healthcare system is in need of alteration such as the our ideology of what healthcare is, here in the U.S.it is a commodity you can purchase, or is it an essential human right? Other factors to consider include the training of our providers…..Are U.S. institutions really gearing our doctors with the correct tools to deal with such diverse populations?