New IOM Book Explores Benefits and Risks of Healthcare IT Implementation

Safe implementation of healthcare information technology (IT) is a complex, dynamic process that requires a shared responsibility between vendors and healthcare organizations, posits a new book from the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Patient Safety and Health Information Technology. Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care explores how health IT can be a positive transformative force for delivering safe healthcare when it is appropriately designed and applied. However, when designed and applied inappropriately, health IT can add an additional layer of complexity to the already complex delivery of healthcare.