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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2012. Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13269.
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Appendix A

Glossary

Adverse event—An event resulting in unintended harm to a patient from a medical intervention (IOM, 2004)

Deployment—Phase when a health IT product is initially installed in a health care system

Implementation—Deployment and integration of a health IT product into clinical workflow

Interoperability—Ability for two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged (IEEE, 1990)

Maintenance—Processes for manufacturers and health care organizations to sustain the good working condition of a health IT product and keep versions up to date

Metadata—Data describing attributes of the data themselves

Patient engagement tools—Technologies used primarily by patients to help them track, manage, and take part in their own health care

Performance requirements—A set of criteria delineating what a health IT product should achieve

Quality management principles and practices—A set of principles and practices an organization uses to improve performance and quality

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2012. Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13269.
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Safe—Avoiding injuries to patients from the care that is intended to help them (IOM, 2001)

Sociotechnical systems—A construct identifying the interactions between people, processes, technology, organizations, and environment that influence complex systems

Usability—Extent to which a product can be used by specific users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specific context of use (ISO, 1998)

Users—Health professionals, health care organizations, and patients who may actively use health IT products

Vendors—Companies that make, sell, and may provide support for health IT products and homegrown systems

REFERENCES

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). 1990. IEEE standard computer dictionary: A compilation of IEEE standard computer glossaries. New York: IEEE.

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2001. Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

IOM. 2004. Patient safety: Achieving a new standard for care. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization). 1998. International standard 9241 ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals, part 11: Guidance on usability. Geneva, Switzerland: ISO.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2012. Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13269.
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Page 179
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2012. Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13269.
×
Page 180
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 Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care
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IOM's 1999 landmark study To Err is Human estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 lives are lost every year due to medical errors. This call to action has led to a number of efforts to reduce errors and provide safe and effective health care. Information technology (IT) has been identified as a way to enhance the safety and effectiveness of care. In an effort to catalyze its implementation, the U.S. government has invested billions of dollars toward the development and meaningful use of effective health IT.

Designed and properly applied, health IT can be a positive transformative force for delivering safe health care, particularly with computerized prescribing and medication safety. However, if it is designed and applied inappropriately, health IT can add an additional layer of complexity to the already complex delivery of health care. Poorly designed IT can introduce risks that may lead to unsafe conditions, serious injury, or even death. Poor human-computer interactions could result in wrong dosing decisions and wrong diagnoses. Safe implementation of health IT is a complex, dynamic process that requires a shared responsibility between vendors and health care organizations. Health IT and Patient Safety makes recommendations for developing a framework for patient safety and health IT. This book focuses on finding ways to mitigate the risks of health IT-assisted care and identifies areas of concern so that the nation is in a better position to realize the potential benefits of health IT.

Health IT and Patient Safety is both comprehensive and specific in terms of recommended options and opportunities for public and private interventions that may improve the safety of care that incorporates the use of health IT. This book will be of interest to the health IT industry, the federal government, healthcare providers and other users of health IT, and patient advocacy groups.

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