There is widespread agreement that greater investment in information technology is critical to reforming U.S. health care. The use of such technologies as electronic health record systems, personal health records, e-prescribing, and computerized physician order entry holds the potential for vastly improving care at reasonable cost. The March/April 2009 issue of the journal Health Affairs, partially supported by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF), includes a series of articles exploring health care information technology: its transformative promise, the challenges to its adoption, and the dangers posed if that adoption is not done right. Among the select articles available online at no charge through CHCF:

• "What It Takes: Characteristics of the Ideal Personal Health Record," by James S. Kahn, M.D., professor of medicine, University of California, San Francisco, in the AIDS Division at San Francisco General Hospital; Veenu Aulakh, CHCF senior program officer; and Adam Bosworth, president and CEO of Keas Inc., shows wider adoption of PHRs will require greater computer competency, Internet access, and health literacy.
• "A Tale of Two Large Community Electronic Health Record Extension Projects," by Farzad Mostashari, assistant commissioner, Primary Care Information Project, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Micky Tripathi, president and CEO of the Massachusetts EHealth Collaborative; and Mat Kendall, director of operations with the Primary Care Information Project, examines what Massachusetts and New York can teach other states about overcoming barriers to adopting EHRs.
• Among the articles features in the journal's MarketWatch section: "Taking Stock of Pay for Performance: A Candid Assessment from the Front Lines," finds data from the nation's largest pay-for-performance (P4P) program show some positive changes but no breakthrough improvements in the quality of care. The piece, written by Cheryl L. Damberg, RAND senior researcher; Kristiana Raube, adjunct professor in the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley; Stephanie S. Teleki, RAND policy analyst; and Erin dela Cruz, RAND research assistant, examines findings from those physician organizations involved in the California Integrated Healthcare Association's pay-for-performance program.

These and other articles are available on the Health Affairs Web site free of charge through the External Links below.

Briefing Held in Washington, D.C.

The issue was released at a briefing on Tuesday, March 10, in Washington, D.C. Speakers discussed the public policy issues surrounding health IT, particularly those raised by the health IT provisions in the stimulus package, as well as pioneering health IT initiatives, the privacy concerns raised by health IT, and industry health IT innovations. Audio, video, and slide presentations from the briefing are available through the External Link below.

Directly below is the video excerpt of the event featuring Mark D. Smith, president and CEO of the California HealthCare Foundation.