The Productivity Paradox in Health Information Technology

"Health information technology connects doctors and patients to more complete and accurate health records ... This technology is critical to improving patient care, enabling coordination between providers and patients, reducing the risk of dangerous drug interactions, and helping patients access prevention and disease management services."— President Barack Obama, Presidential Proclamation on National Health Information Technology Week, September 12, 2011

Health information technology (HIT)—the application of information technologies to enable and enhance the delivery of healthcare services—has been a central point of focus for U.S. healthcare policy since 2007. Both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama outlined bold goals for HIT adoption as a key facet of each of their healthcare reform efforts, promising significant benefits for healthcare providers and patients alike.²⁰ Clinical HIT systems, including electronic health records (EHRs), health information exchanges (HIEs), computerized provider order entry (CPOE), and telemedicine technologies, are seen as critical remedies to the complexity and inefficiency that have long plagued the U.S. healthcare industry.^a