A guide to navigating the modern health IT infrastructure

Editor's note

Healthcare has traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies, often lagging behind other industries such as retail and finance, despite the benefits they may bring to providers and patients. However, it isn't because they are trying to slow or stop progress -- healthcare organizations are risk-averse when it comes to change because of the effects it might have on patient safety and their ability to provide quality care. With lives at stake should something go wrong, rigorous testing and planning is critical before a healthcare organization can transition to a modern health IT infrastructure.

EHRs are the cornerstone of most organizations' health IT infrastructure, though they continue to suffer from a lack of interoperability. Fortunately, government interventions and efforts from EHR vendors could change the tide toward finally getting disparate systems to speak to each other. Additionally, work is being done that will allow other systems -- such as prescription drug monitoring programs -- to integrate with EHRs.

The cloud, AI and IoT are just a few technologies that the healthcare industry can update to upgrade their existing health IT infrastructure. This can allow for improved remote patient monitoring and patient engagement.

Finally, cybersecurity is becoming increasingly crucial for healthcare organizations as cyberattacks become more sophisticated and threaten to disrupt hospital operations and jeopardize patient safety.