The Evolution of Health Information Technology Policy in the United States

The potential of Health Information Technology (Health IT) to transform the nation’s healthcare system can only be realized through a realignment of competing priorities and interests in the public and private sectors. Consumers, clinicians, and health systems will benefit when health information flows more freely and is available at any point of care, but it has taken longer than anticipated to implement policies that develop Health IT infrastructure and operationalize the flow of health information. This chapter provides an overview of the development and implementation of Health IT policy, describing relatively recent federal laws, regulations, and other policies created to realize a federal information infrastructure consistent with a diverse array of federal, state, and private-sector priorities. We review the accomplishments of the Directors of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) to illustrate the broad set of challenges faced by public-private sector collaboration and provide a narrative summary and timeline of key legislation that has created the current Health IT ecosystem. We conclude by identifying major trends and challenges that Health IT and health policy professionals will face in the years ahead.