Health Information Technology
Health information technology (HIT) describes a wide range of technologies used to manage and share patient information electronically instead of with paper records. HIT can improve patient safety; enhance care quality and efficiency; and lower costs.
Despite its potential advantages, the U.S. health care system has been slow to adopt HIT. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that 80 percent of primary care physicians do not have even a basic electronic health record (EHR) system for their patients. And for those who do, it is often incompatible with the systems of other providers.
Making Healthy Connections
In an effort to improve efficiencies in the health care system, reduce the rate of preventable medical errors and close the gaps in the delivery of quality care for underserved populations, the Foundation established Healthy Connections, a multiyear initiative designed to improve the HIT capacity of providers serving low-income, uninsured Coloradans. Entering its second year, 21 Healthy Connections grants totaling close to $2.5 million have been made to advance the field of HIT in Colorado.
The Key Components of HIT
- Hardware, such as computers
- Software, including:
- EHR
- Practice management systems for scheduling, billing, patient flow and referrals
- Disease registries
- Data management (for reporting and decision making)
- Internet access
- Systems to allow for the exchange of information among providers across health care settings
Our Focus
To implement and create continuity of HIT among Colorado's safety net clinics, we will expand our Healthy Connections initiative to:
- Support grants for the planning and implementation of HIT
- Provide technical assistance for the implementation of HIT
- Promote regional collaborations of providers using HIT
- Communicate best practices and learnings from the Healthy Connections initiative