Benefits of health information technology There is the possibility of improving patient safety through the use of drug alerts and reminders, better monitoring and reporting of appointments and diagnostic tests, supporting clinical decision-making and the availability of comprehensive patient data. Information technology (IT) is particularly critical for patient safety and the reduction of human errors11.It is the basis by which information is provided to the health worker through an automated system. In the past 50 years, there has been an explosion of medical knowledge. The vast amount of medical information, even within a single specialty, is often beyond the power of a single person to understand.
In a sense, modern medicine is a humanly impossible task; the human brain simply cannot cope with the volume and complexity of information needed to ensure patient safety. For example, more than 600 drugs require dose adjustment for multiple levels of kidney dysfunction, an easy task for a computer, but one that inevitably a person will perform poorly. These systems are designed to prevent medication errors by ensuring that the right patient receives the right medication at the right time. Automatic dispensing cabinets (ADC) are electronic drug cabinets that store medications at the point of care with controlled dispensing and monitoring of the distribution of medications.
Barcode medication delivery systems are electronic systems that integrate electronic drug administration records with barcode technology. There is substantial evidence that implementing an electronic medical record reduces medical errors and improves patient safety. Medical alerts, clinical signs and reminders are also ways in which technology can help reduce medication errors and improve patient safety.
