Physician Engagement with Health Information Technology: Implications for Practice and Professionalism

In an era of healthcare reform and health information technology (HIT), physicians' roles in delivering healthcare are rapidly involving. New technologies present exciting opportunities and challenges to physicians to enhance medical practice, reduce costs, and improve patient experiences, as well as opportunities to develop new competencies and standards of professionalism. The Dreyfus model for skills acquisition may provide a helpful framework. Understanding and leveraging motivations and barriers to adoption within the context of competency can promote a learning culture that can more readily evolve to include new HIT. Involving physicians in designing and implementing HIT systems could result in increasing physician satisfaction. Supportive staffing and technical assistance may aid physicians to successfully implement the systems without increasing workload or decreasing professional satisfaction. Understanding the needs of 21st century physicians related to HIT solutions should greatly increase the successful integration of HIT into the 21st century healthcare work place.