ABSTRACT
Typically in today's healthcare environment, evidence dissemination involves the use of health information technology (HIT) through mechanisms such as clinical decision support. The combination of highly developed methods of bringing evidence to the practice of healthcare and the evolution of HIT would seem to be sufficient to ensure that patients remain safe, errors are avoided and best outcomes are achieved. This chapter argues that evidence-based medicine and health information technology solutions are not sufficient in and of themselves to improve patient safety. It also argues that three types of intellectual resources are essential to improving patient safety: evidence, information and knowledge. The chapter pays particular attention to evidence and its distribution via health information technology in the form of a well-developed electronic health record (EHR) against the backdrop of a safety culture that facilitates openness and sharing. It provides insights from high reliability organizations (HROs) along with their potential application to healthcare organizations.
