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Role of Information Technology in Medicine

Information technology plays an important role in the medical field. According to the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems, it has advanced the health care industry in ways that benefit providers and patients. The significance of information technology is in its ability to impact so many different areas of the medical field, from the way patient information is stored, to enhancing robotics that can perform surgeries.

  1. Electronic Health Records

    • Information technology has transformed the way that patient information is stored and accessed, as well as revolutionized billing and insurance procedures. Electronic health records function as a database that store patients' health-related documents, such as their medical progress notes, immunization records, payment and account information and insurance data. They eliminate the need for doctors and hospitals to maintain hard copies of medical records, and have provided medical staff with an easy and efficient way to access patient information. They have also created systems that make it easy to submit claims and be paid by insurance companies more efficiently.

    Medical Equipment

    • According to Carnegie Mellon, information technology is providing the medical field with improved capabilities to perform tests, evaluate medical conditions and even perform surgeries with more accuracy. It is being integrated into machines and equipment, such as MRI's, to enhance a doctor's ability to see images more clearly. Information technology is also abetting the creation of medical robotics, which are computer-operated machines that perform surgeries through the use of information technology navigational systems.

    Disease Registries

    • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services explains that information technology is used in the developments and advancement of disease registries. Disease registries are databases that track and monitor types of diseases that affect a group or large population of people. Information technology allows researchers to store this data electronically, and lets them perform automated updates, generate reports and perform analyses.

    Quality Management

    • Information technology allows health care organizations to have a better handle on their quality management efforts. Health care organizations can set up computer systems to perform automated quality assurance audits and generate reports on the findings. For instance, information technology systems can digitally pull information from electronic patient files and perform a quality audit on how many times in a month that patient received a particular treatment. Then, the system can generate a report of the findings. This information may be used for quality management purposes, and to determine if there are deficiencies that need to be addressed.

    Health Insurance Exchanges

    • According to a 2010 article on CivSource, information technology will play a big part in the health care reform that the United States undergoes. As the article explains, information technology will be used as a means to exchange medical information between health insurance companies. Patients will not have to be responsible for serving as middlemen between their providers and their insurance reps, as the information technology systems can take care of this for the patient. The information system that is set up on the doctor's side can communicate directly with the information system that is established on the insurance company's side.

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