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Key Topics

In an effort to ensure that stakeholders are on the same page when talking about health IT, we have developed a series of key topic articles. Each article includes beginner-level background information on the topic, a description of current activities in this part of the field, and lessons emerging from the array of projects sponsored by AHRQ. These articles also include recommended tools and resources for individuals engaged in health IT projects.

Computerized Provider Order Entry Clinical application that allows clinicians to order and process lab tests, medications, clinical procedures, and other services electronically...	Health Information Exchange Health Information Exchange (HIE) enables clinical staff to access more information about a patient when it is needed...	Health Information Exchange Policy Issues Newly released set of tools to assist communities that participate in health information exchange. Provides guidance on contractual, policy, and technical issues.
Electronic Medical Record Systems A basic component of an health IT system, electronic medical record systems have the potential to provide substantial benefits...	Computerized Disease Registries Tools for tracking clinical care and outcomes within a defined patient population...	Electronic Prescribing The use of computing devices to enter, modify, review, and output or communicate drug prescriptions...
Clinical Decision Support Given the exponential growth in our knowledge of medicine it is impossible for any clinician to know everything he or she needs to know...	Consumer Health IT Applications Consumer health information technology applications allow patients to manage, share, and control their health information electronically and assume a more active role in the management of their health...	Telehealth Geographic disparities in access to care can be addressed partially using technologies that allow for remote audio, visual, and haptic communication between caregivers and specialists or patients...
Health IT in Small and Rural Communities Despite progress in the last few years, adoption rates remain low, particularly in small and rural communities...	Architecture of Health IT The field of health information technology involves many technologies, and each one comes with an acronym...	Standards Various clinical systems represent and communicate data in different ways, so standards are necessary to ensure interoperability...
Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel An effort initiated by HHS to advance the goals of interoperability and privacy/security of health information by fostering dialogue between the various health care information standards organizations...	Interface Engines Sharing clinical data necessitates the translation of one data format into another so that disparate systems can talk to each other...	HL7 A messaging standard for exchanging clinical and administrative data between health information systems...
SNOMED CT A comprehensive coding standard used often to represent clinical concepts in electronic medical records (EMRs)...	LOINC A widely accepted coding standard for results, such as laboratory tests or vital signs, for clinical care, outcomes management, and research...	NDC Classification system used for reporting drugs and biological products in pharmacy transactions, prescription drug claims processing, and clinical information systems...
DICOM A messaging standard for exchanging medical images between medical equipment and information systems...	NCPDP The standard used in electronic prescribing and pharmacy benefits/claims transactions...	CPT A standard vocabulary used to describe procedures performed by medical professionals...
ICD The WHO international standard for classifying diseases and clinical diagnoses...

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