Article | Harvard Business Review

The IT Transformation Health Care Needs

by Nikhil R. Sahni, Robert S. Huckman, Anuraag Chigurupati and David M. Cutler

Abstract

In recent years, health care organizations have made sizable investments in information technology. They’ve used their IT systems to replace paper records with electronic ones and to improve billing processes, thereby boosting revenue. But so far, IT has been of little value in making medical care delivery more effective or less expensive. How can health care organizations change this? One key is to prioritize quality improvement over cost cutting. By harnessing IT to help design better clinical practices, it’s possible to achieve better patient outcomes and better financial performance. It is also vital to gather good information—by using simpler, more-organic collection methods—and to make it actionable by applying analytics. Finally, many organizations will need to forge new business and operating models, expanding their IT staffs, revamping how their clinical staffs work, and creating new payment structures. The authors provide numerous examples of health care organizations that are taking these steps—and seeing impressive results.

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Information Technology; Performance Improvement; Business Model;

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Citation:

Sahni, Nikhil R., Robert S. Huckman, Anuraag Chigurupati, and David M. Cutler. "The IT Transformation Health Care Needs." Harvard Business Review 95, no. 6 (November–December 2017): 128–136.

About the Author

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Robert S. Huckman
Albert J. Weatherhead III Professor of Business Administration
Chair, MBA Required Curriculum
Technology and Operations Management

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