Right Patient, Right Drug, Right Dosage, Right Route and the Right Time are factors that hospitals around the country strive to achieve without technology. The health care industry has made headway in patient care and treatment options while often lagging behind using the benefits of information technology. Late reports, lost samples and ID Errors are a few bugs and costs dearer to every hospital in the country. Yet, many hospitals do not invest in technology to overcome these bugs.

With the health sector going digital, it is not surprising to witness a nurse pull out a tablet PC, log into the hospital system and receive details for drug administration. Its quite a jolt when a doctor enters a prescription and gets a warning message that it might contradict with the drug the patient is already taking. According to a recent report by BusinessWeek, doctors can now log into their hospital systems from their homes into a life-size robot to do their rounds and prescribe drugs! Nurses and doctors could also use the television set perched in a patient’s room to access medical records with a flick of the remote!

Welcome to the world of Health Care Information Technology. The digital age has finally dawned; hospitals are seeking to revolutionize their networks with state-of-the art technology and high-end customization that meets every need.

The Dorenfest research group estimated that HIT would grow by 9.3 percent, rising to $30 billion next year from $25.8 billion in 2004. Rising medical costs, worker shortage, and Federal mandates has steered the focus of the health care industry toward improving quality and patient safety. The number of hospitals in the U.S. has dwindled to 5,200 from 12,000 in the last ten years. In Pennsylvania, the aging population is only second to Florida with 16 percent of people over the 60 years of age.

These facts have forced hospitals such as the Reading Hospital to concentrate on their patients and their safety. Steering the Pennsylvania-based hospital into the world of IT is its Vice-President and Chief Information Officer, Jayashree Raman.