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Computers were first adopted into healthcare in the 1960's for the belief they may enhance the practice of medicine. However computers were not widely used due to costs at the time.
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Though computers are still considered costly, they have become incorporated in medicine. Now Rules and regulations for health information are being determined.
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The cost of computers are still a significant barrier for physicians. However, computers have expanded throughout the country and adopted by other countries.
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Patient confidentiality became the mantra in health care information technology in America, culminating in the passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). That law provided for the establishment of a National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS). This committee was responsible for advising the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on issues related to confidentiality, security, patient and physician identifiers, and standards for EHR.
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Rules for privacy provisions for HIPAA are finalized.
Software for PDAs that allow clinicians to easily access reference material becomes popular.
SNOMED-CT is released. -
Microsoft finally releases VISTA.
PDAs are being used more and more in the clinical area by all healthcare professionals. -
President Obama calls for a national electronic health record system by 2014.