ABSTRACT
Healthcare information technologies (HITs) encompass a growing range of data collection, processing, and analyzing devices and procedures. The healthcare industry in general is a highly regulated field, and at times agencies impose regulations on healthcare technology and data use can conflict with each other as well as with healthcare and computer industry standards. The field of HIT emerged slowly beginning in the 1960s, but advances in computer technology and declines in technology costs accelerated growth. Technologies include electronic health records, e-prescribing, computerized physician order entry, and clinical decision support systems. Beyond use for data storage and analysis are technologies such as radiological scans, robotics, and lasers, which use data to deliver healthcare services. Big data plays a growing role in the HIT area, and data governance gains importance due to the need to ensure accurate and secure data on demand.
