ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses technological advances and trends in health information technology (IT) over recent years that are expected to affect future healthcare delivery and power new models of value-based care. It also discusses the adoption of the electronic health record as core health IT, the importance of interoperability as an innovation accelerator, the use of radio-frequency identification and barcodes to ensure patient safety, and patient engagement and experience technology. Health IT functions like a neural network to connect digital health stakeholders and foster transparency for reliable healthcare. Health IT describes the set of tools needed to facilitate electronic documentation and management of healthcare delivery. Electronic clinical indicators can also be used to monitor and measure quality of care and patient safety through the use of health IT. Interoperability requires appropriate standards to exchange and share information between health IT systems in a secure and reliable way.
