"Meaningful Use"

Evaluate U.S. HIT

Compare with that of other advanced nations?  What contributes to this?

U.S HIT is behind when compared to other developed countries in the world. According to Davis, Stremikis, Squires, and Schoen (2014), “other countries have led in the adoption of modern health information systems, but U.S. physicians and hospitals are catching up as they respond to significant financial incentives to adopt and make meaningful use of health information technology systems.” What baffled me the most is that the U.S healthcare system remains the most expensive in the world and there is nothing to show for the high cost when compared to performance rating with other developed nations. The U.S remains at the bottom when it comes to healthcare performance in terms of quality care, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives (Davis et al., 2014).

I believe our government is to be blamed for poor HIT advancement in the U.S. This is because the U.S government is ten years late in making HIT a national major concern to support and invest in. I was surprised to find out that the U.S is one of the first nations in the world to fund and use HIT. So the question is how did end on the back bench when it comes to HIT advancement. Sullivan, Watkins, Sweet, and Ramsey (2009) reports that most of the early initiatives such as government funding and policies put in place to foster the growth of HIT have been either changed or stopped as a result of political, financial, and commercial pressures. “A National Center for Health Care Technology existed for a short time but was eliminated by the Reagan administration in the early 1980s. The Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, which conducted numerously and generally well-regarded health technology assessments, was removed by the Republican Congress elected in 1994” (Neumann, 2009, p. S45). No wonder the U.S healthcare system has suffered and lagged behind in today’s healthcare world. On the bright side, the recent enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides significant incentives that encourage healthcare providers to adopt the use of health information technology which will help close the gap of HIT advancement in the U.S (Davis et al., 2014).

References:

Davis, K., Stremikis, K., Squires, D., & Schoen, C. (2014, June 16). Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, 2014 Update: How the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally. Retrieved September 18, 2017, from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2014/jun/mirror-mirror

Neumann, P. J. (2009). Lessons for Health Technology Assessment: It Is Not Only about the Evidence. Value In Health, 12(Supplement 2), S45-S48. doi:10.1111/j.1524-4733.2009.00558.x

Sullivan, S. D., Watkins, J., Sweet, B., & Ramsey, S. D. (2009). Health technology assessment in health-care decisions in the United States. Value In Health: The Journal Of The International Society For Pharmacoeconomics And Outcomes Research, 12 Suppl 2S39-S44. doi:10.1111/j.1524-4733.2009.00557.