"A Computer Never Healed Anyone"

"Health information technology is just another way for consultants to make money, after all, a computer never healed anyone."

Those are the sentiments I've read and heard from some skeptical physicians. While it's true that a computer never healed a person of its own volition, I do believe that health information technology can play an important role in improving outcomes.

Now, there's another piece of evidence supporting that belief. A study released this month by the Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA) suggests that there is a positive relationship between adoption and use of information technology in physician-hospital organizations (PHOs) and the quality of care delivered to patients.

The study assigned a score to PHOs and their adoption of HIT, and those PHOs with the highest scores had a statistically significant correlation to improved quality of care. A picture of the key chart is in this post above.

The executive summary of the report can be found here, and the data supporting the summary can be found here.

By the way, my response to the HIT-skeptical physican has been, "and neither has a telephone, but do you think the phone has helped outcomes and quality of care?"