The impact of clinical information technology on information quality in US hospitals

The healthcare industry today is information-intensive. The quality of healthcare and the reduction of medical errors are directly related to the quality of information for clinical decision making in hospitals. Therefore, it is an imperative to improve the quality of information in these organisations. Information Technology (IT) is one resource that has proven to improve information quality in other industries. This study examines the prospect of clinical IT in hospitals improving the quality of information. The study found that IT does improve several aspects of information quality, that of accuracy, reliability and timeliness, although the impact is currently rather low. Implications of these findings are discussed.