The economic motivations for clinical information systems.

For three decades (1960-1990) the primary use of computers in hospitals' in the U.S. was to ease the task of reimbursement for care rendered and to automate results reporting for high-volume, time-critical tests such as clinical laboratory procedures. Hospitals were regarded as independent organizations/revenue centers which could pass costs to third party payers. Beginning in the mid-eighties, U.S. hospitals were no longer reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis for many patients, but received a fixed payment regardless of the actual cost of treating a patient. The size of the payment depended upon the patients' type of illness (Diagnostically related group). This approach gave hospitals incentives to reduce costs, but did not foster a fully competitive environment. Now, in the mid-nineties, hospitals in the U.S. are seen as cost centers in an integrated health care delivery system. Within this environment, a longitudinal patient record is necessary to increase levels of communication between healthcare providers. While certain management functions remain hospital-centered, clinical information systems must now cover a spectrum of patient activities within the ambulatory and inpatient arena. Several of the leading healthcare providers use computer-based logic to alert care givers whenever standards of care are not being achieved. These institutions feel that such capability will be the real impetus to reduce cost and improve the quality of care. Based upon observations over four decades, it appears that economic considerations play the major role in determining which kinds of information systems are deployed in the healthcare arena.