Health & Fitness - HIT in hospitals linked to fewer deaths

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HIT in hospitals linked to fewer deaths

NEW YORK (UPI) -- U.S. hospitals that use health information technology have fewer deaths, fewer complications and lower healthcare costs, researchers said.

Study leader Dr. Ruben Amarasingham of the Parkland Health & Hospital System and University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and Dr. Neil Powe of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, surveyed physicians from 41 hospitals in Texas treating a diverse group of patients for a variety of conditions including heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia.

The survey measured physicians using health IT in a hospital setting. Respondents were asked about their use of several different types of health IT including electronic notes and records, order entry and clinical decision support.

Researchers found that relatively modest increases in technology use had dramatic results -- a 10 point increase in the use of electronic notes and medical records was associated with a 15 percent reduction in the likelihood of patient death.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, also found where physicians electronically entered their instructions for patient care, there was a 55 percent reduction in the likelihood of death for some procedures.

"But, in order to save lives and keep costs downs, health information technology has to be used to its fullest extent," Dr. Anne-Marie Audet of the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation supporting independent research on health policy reform, said in a statement.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 01/28/2009

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