Health Information Technology

HIT

A phone call and e-mail invitation last week brought me to Philadelphia to be part of a small discussion group talking about health information technology (HIT) this week. This group was brought together by the US Department of Health and Human Services to explore the consumer’s perspective of healthcare technology.

Ironically, this has come at the same time a local RHIO or Regional Health Information Organization is focusing on learning the patient’s perspective through research trials. Over the years I have learned that Health Information Technology, opportunities to use the internet to correspond with your doctor’s office or share information between hospitals and doctor’s offices is actually potential life-saving technology.

It occurred to me that in my own son’s case so many years ago, as he was bleeding from a tonsillectomy and I brought him to 4 different doctors on 5 different occasions during that week to be examined, if they each knew I did that, they may have taken my concerns more seriously. Not knowing at that time that I went from doctor to doctor may have actually made them think they were the first visit. Not stressing that I made numerous visits with continued bleeding may have made them not aware of how much he was actually bleeding sending us home with the comforting words “don’t worry, he will be fine” each time.

Could health information technology saved my son’s life? That’s a question that will never be answered but knowing the full history of a patient is important to each doctor’s decisions of care and presently they are trusting us, the patient and family to share information appropriately and fully.