Minding the public's health IT

[Commentary] The fervor over health insurance reform and electronic medical records in the HITECH Act seems to have sucked all the oxygen away from health information technology that is not about direct patient care.

Public health, health research and other parts of the broader health system have less healthcare IT influence than ever in the face of market forces geared toward healthcare delivery and the push to demonstrate the accomplishments of health insurance reform accomplishments. Even less prominent now are the distinct IT needs of these vital other health areas. The irony is that much of the actual "meaningful use" of health IT comes from areas that are not exclusively about direct patient care. Many of the outcomes that can actually improve health depend on supporting broader public health requirements than those of just electronic medical records (EMRs). Some public health needs that do not seem to be even on the horizon include: case reporting, disease investigation, vital statistics, prevention, integration with drug and immunization delivery, and well standardized data exchange.