Health information technology (IT) is a vital component in ongoing efforts to improve healthcare quality and reduce costs. September 16–20, 2013, is National Health IT Week, as recognized by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), as well as the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).
This week, more than any other time during the year, patients, providers, and healthcare organizations have an opportunity to learn about health IT and become more involved in the future of healthcare.
The ONC has scheduled daily Webinars covering five key topics:
- Patient Engagement
- Building Trust
- Transforming the Health Care System through Health IT
- Defining the Path to Interoperability
- Using Health IT to Improve Quality through Learning Health Systems
Many National Health IT Week discussions are also taking place on Twitter via Twitter chats. A Twitter chat is a scheduled time when users are encouraged to Tweet about specific topics using a predetermined hashtag (searchable topic marker). Twitter users are encouraged to Tweet throughout the week using the hashtags #NHITWeek and #HealthITWeek. Those not on Twitter can view Twitter chats or monitor discussions taking place on any hashtag using TweetChat.com. Twitter chats already announced include:
- #mHIMSS: September 18, 3 to 4 p.m., ET.
- #HITchicks: September 19, 12 to 1 p.m., ET.
- #HITsm: September 20, 12 to 1 p.m., ET.
Don’t forget – you can also follow ECG on Twitter: @ecgmc.