In a Huffington Post opinion piece, Steven Schiff -- medical director of invasive cardiology and chair of medical informatics at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in California -- writes that physicians' "adoption of critical health care IT will not only improve in-house productivity, it will also enable patients to become more active participants in the care process."
Schiff writes, "I have experienced firsthand the benefits and challenges that come with taking what is a 'leap of faith' and completely changing not only the documentation of care, but the very mechanisms by which care is provided and communicated." He continues, "Ultimately, however, the future of care is dependent upon these challenges."
Schiff writes, "It's only by joining electronic health record technology with voice recognition that we can ensure patients are able to fully understand and participate in the digital care process" (Schiff, Huffington Post, 2/1).