June 2008

For hospitals and long term care facilities, full utilization of health information technology (HIT) offers an opportunity to improve quality, prevent treatment errors, and boost the efficiency of the care they provide. However, as the findings in this snapshot show, the vast majority of California hospitals and long term care facilities have been slow to implement HIT. Barriers include the cost of new technologies, slow acceptance of them by staff, and a dearth of technology products that can readily be integrated into existing information systems.

Among the snapshot highlights:

• Only 13% of hospitals have fully implemented electronic health records (EHRs).
• Only 12% of hospitals have fully implemented bar coding to track pharmaceuticals, and 25% of hospitals use this technology to track lab specimens.
• The initial cost of information technology tops a long list of HIT barriers, followed by staff acceptance of new technologies and an absence of well-trained clinical staff for process redesign.
• About one-fifth of long term care facilities use HIT for clinical purposes. The large majority use it exclusively for business or administrative purposes.

Until the business case for adopting HIT becomes more apparent -- and the tools become more user friendly and useful -- the safety, efficiency, and quality advantages that HIT can foster will continue to elude these institutions.