US HEALTHCARE SYSTEM:
The quality of healthcare in the US is not good. One of the studies that was done in 2004 by Rand Corporation-Elizabeth McGlynn (http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9053-2/index1.html) reports that people only get recommended care half of the time. That's like tossing a coin: will I get good care today or not? And we spend the most of any developed nation. Our per capita expenditure is over $6000, which is at least 3 times what the closest developed country spends. In quality we are at the bottom of the developed world. And also we have 40 million people who are uninsured. After 2014, hopefully everybody will have coverage. In 1965, when Medicare was passed, the Congress was very close to actually approving universal healthcare, but they backed down and only granted healthcare for the elderly (over 65 years).
Even when technology can do a lot of things, what makes healthcare difficult is people. Human errors when putting information in, like transposing a number. CDS. Data security.
CPOE & CDS:
After a provider enters information into a certified EHR, using a CPOE (computerized provider order entry system), what if the clinician doesn't know about everything? And they don't, because the amount of information that they have to keep up with, yearly, is phenomenal. So the CDS (clinical decision support system) lets the clinician know that he should do something. For example, they are entering an order for a medication, and because there is a history of the patient in the system, an alert flashes up: THE PERSON IS ALLERGIC TO THIS DRUG. The clinician has the power to override it, but he has been warned. This technology makes care safer.
DATA SECURITY:
The data that is collected electronically can be compromised if it is not securely hosted. Technology is a good place for securing data but people who are responsible often are the weakest link. How many times how you been told not to give your password ID to anybody? Have you complied?
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