Technology Timeline

  • 1920s Medical records were used to document patient care.

  • 1960s Discussions about the use of computers strengthening the practice of modern medicine.

  • 1970s The advancement of technology in computers led to the development of healthcare management systems.

  • 1980s The introduction of the desktop computer pushed the way for modern health information technology.

  • 1980s The Master Patient Index (MPI) was introduced to track medical data.

  • 1990s The World Wide Web was established which led the way for shareable health information.

  • 1994 The World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the ICD-10 coding standard.

  • 2000s The push for computerized health records was implemented by President Bush.

  • 2000s The Heath Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) was signed by President Obama. This was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to adopt electronic health records by 2014.

  • 2000s Electronic Health Records (EHR) become mainstream in healthcare.

  • 2015 The adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) double in seven years. 96% of hospitals and 87% of physician offices are using EHRs.

  • Today - EHRs still need work. Some of the interfaces are confusing and take more time to navigate. - Healthcare organizations are going to cloud based computing. - Most of the healthcare billing is now automated.