IT Adoption Can Improve Health Care—AHQA Tells Congress
—But Effective Implementation Is Critical

QIOs To Help Doctors Use IT For Safer, Better Care

Washington, D.C.— In testimony submitted today to a key House subcommittee, AHQA Executive Vice President David Schulke warned that adoption of information technology will not by itself have a major impact on the quality of health care most Americans receive. Most physicians need support to get started, he said, if IT is to help doctors redesign their practices to provide safer and more effective care.

Schulke stressed that information technology can be a valuable tool for improving processes of care—if applied effectively. “The promise of IT will not be realized by simply automating current practices. The most important work to be done is to help physicians use IT to see how they can improve, and then lower the barriers to making those changes,” he said. Schulke submitted written testimony to the Health Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the national network of Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs). The subcommittee has scheduled a hearing for July 17 to look at how the federal government can encourage greater use of IT in health care.

Studies show that physicians can use IT to track patient outcomes, analyze whether care is actually being delivered as physicians intend, help doctors more reliably provide quality care, and highlight inefficiencies. Despite this potential, only about 8 percent of practices have invested in IT. Major barriers include an assumption that physician practices don’t need to improve, concern about the financial investment required, and perceived initial loss of productivity while personnel learn how to use new technology, Schulke said.

“Providers and practitioners need support—support that goes far beyond what IT vendors can and typically do provide,” he pointed out. “They need support from health care systems change experts who can help office practices reexamine the way they provide care and help them implement solutions.”

The national network of QIOs will begin next year to focus intensively on promoting adoption, implementation, and effective use of health care IT in every state—an effort endorsed by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and other key national organizations. QIOs are private organizations located in every state and territory that serve as a national infrastructure for the spread of evidence-based health care practices.

Full text of David Schulke’s testimony is available at www.ahqa.org