U.S. Lags Behind in Health IT, Says Study

While some countries have made dramatic progress in advanced health IT systems, the United States has struggled to make progress and is far behind international best practices, according to a study released today by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).The study: Explaining International IT Application Leadership: Health IT, identifies elements contributing to success with health IT, including strong national-level leadership, the use of incentives and mandates, and the deployment of shared IT infrastructure in the health-care sector, and recommends strategies for policymakers to jumpstart progress on health IT adoption. "Countries like Denmark, Finland and Sweden demonstrate that widespread use of mature technologies like electronic health records improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health care," said Daniel Castro, ITIF senior analyst. "Policymakers in the United States should heed the lessons learned by the leaders. This isn't high school -- it's okay to copy from your neighbors."