What are the benefits of using health information technology?
The growing expanse of electronic media present significant benefits for providers and patients, such as improved quality of healthcare through coordination of clinical care among providers and reduction in redundant testing, advanced research and public safety awareness of epidemics and outbreaks, lower administrative costs and allowing for portability of records while maintaining patient privacy. What are the legal risks of using this technology? Generally, there are three categories of legal issues that arise with health information technology: (1) privacy of patient information; (2) reliability and quality of records; and (3) malpractice or fraud liability. How can a patient’s private information be at risk? Electronic information can be transmitted and reviewed more easily than information stored in paper files. This also means that identity thieves can break into networks and retrieve personally identifiable health information from online databases more easily. There also have be
