Peer Networks Drive HIT Success

By Ken Congdon, editor in chief, Health IT Outcomes

The patient data, claim information, and other "critical content" referenced in this special print issue have always been crucial to the success of a healthcare facility. However, we as an industry have only begun to appreciate how inefficiently this content is often managed. Manual paper processes often lead to exorbitant administrative costs, data inaccuracies, delayed turnaround times, and subpar patient care. In fact, the administrative costs associated with inefficient health data and revenue cycle management have been blamed for as much as 21% of the approximately $2.5 trillion spent on healthcare last year. The federal government took notice of this trend years ago and took action in 2009 with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This piece of legislation is designed to drive the adoption of EHR technology through monetary incentives. The hope is that by recording and exchanging patient data electronically, we can improve universal patient care while driving much of the administrative costs out of the system.