Transformation takes time, but with the use of IT the process can be made robust. Now let’s get to the 10 ways we believe Health IT is transforming the landscape of healthcare in America.

1. Significantly lower costs: When it comes to technology one major achievement of healthcare IT is the automation process. The other important accomplishment is the reduction of cost because of the use of electronic based system in place of paper-based.
2. Health IT improves clinical decision making process:Physicians need to be extremely responsible and efficient in delivering results because human life (their patients) is at the receiving end. The tools available for accurate decision making include EHRs, HIEs, and those kind of innovations that are constantly changing and developing to produce more accurate results.
3. Patient Portals and more: The idea behind introducing Health IT tools in the lives of patients and physicians is to enhance patients’ lives and improve doctor-patient interaction making the procedures smoother. By improving the methods for patient engagement the end-benefactor (the patient) takes active part in making their lives better.
4. Prevention is better than cure: By making use of the patient information beforehand, the medical issues they are having using protocol compliance tracking tools, can be resolved. The tools alert patients who are due for lab tests. Timely checkups set by providers can be notified to the patients if their visit is due.
5. Big hub of innovation: Countless non-profit-organizations are making an effort to bridge the gap between seamless clinical and administrative processes in the healthcare industry. Providers with products like EHR, practice management, medical billing and patient portals are striving hard to not only reduce costs but to increase standards.
6. Advance Scheduling: Allows the front-desk staff to fill all appointment slots. As a result, it saves time and the work is done more efficiently. It allows more physical space in the office, and providers are able to see to their patients needs in a timely manner without the need to sit for their turns. Not only that, patients can reschedule when they desire allowing flexibility to the process of advance scheduling.
7. Reduction of medical Errors: Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) systems reduce lethal medication errors (harmful drug-drug interactions). It also allows better decision support system.
8. Streamlining processes with Health Information Exchange: HIEs are constantly evolving in order to give multiple providers access to information when desired at the point-of-care at the same time.
9. Improve clinical research through better data: EHR systems promote structured data capture and enable electronic clinical quality reporting, contributing to better quality data for clinical research.
10. Social media: Health IT is changing America’s healthcare industry by transforming the way providers think about technology. Twitter is used by healthcare professions in many ways. Providers use Twitter more than Facebook. By all means, Health IT will see its future in integration of social networking platforms in some way.

By combining all units of information under a single umbrella and the effort is being done to not only revolutionize but streamline Health IT industry, it will take our future generations to make it a reality.