Achieving the Potential of Health Information Technology

According to the dictionary, “potential” means “existing in possibility.”1 For many of us who desperately want health information technology (IT) to be the long, sought after panacea that will lead to dramatic improvements in quality and safety, there is a strong desire to get to “existing in reality.” A growing sense of awareness and urgency around the current state of health care quality in America continues to push us toward action and health IT. The ability to standardize high-risk processes, such as drug prescribing, and remind providers to order evidence-based preventive services seems so logically connected to better care. There is also a growing sense of impatience among the public with low uptake.