Functions

• Information technology performs a wide range of functions within the health care field. As identified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this technology is responsible for the "comprehensive management of information and its secure exchange between health care consumers and providers."
  
  This "secure exchange" is performed when doctors, hospitals and pharmacies exchange a patient's information for referrals and prescriptions. Beyond the management of information, technology is also used for medical coding. The recording and transmitting of electronic data enables insurance companies and medical providers to efficiently work together.
  
  

Standards Panel

• The Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel exists to provide a link between the public and private sectors concerned with the field of health care. The goal for the panel is to create a widely accepted and used set of standards for medical software applications. Given that the inherent goal of the health care field--to promote healthy lives and cure patients--is universal, HiTSP interacts within local and national health information networks in the U.S.
  
  

Types

• There are information technology areas which pertain to the business functions of the medical field and are not too different from those found in other industries. Some types of these uses for information technology are: billing, patient registration, scheduling and payroll.
  
  The clinical types of health care information technology are those which are most applicable to actually curing patients and include: electronic health records (EHRs), laboratory results, clinical decision support systems and electronic prescribing. Infrastructure areas consist of those with which a corporate Information Technology department would be concerned.
  
  

Benefits

• There are many distinct benefits to adopting an information technology in the health care field. From a physical perspective, using electronic records saves a tremendous amount of space. Retaining and maintaining paper records requires room for files. By storing information electronically, doctor offices and hospitals can utilize the space for other purposes. Beyond the physical considerations, electronic health records (EHRs) can be pulled up and shared quickly between a doctor's office and hospital or pharmacy.
  
  

Difficulties

• In a report to the U.S. Congress, difficulties regarding the use of information technology in the health care industry are identified. One such problem is the fact that precise definitions are not yet established. Similar terms are used to describe different products and this makes the establishment of uniform requirements difficult. Additionally, terms and functions used within the field of information technology are not static and change over time. This results in the necessity for frequent updates with regard to policies and practices.