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NAVIGATING THE NATIONAL HEALTH INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
The explosive growth of information technology during the last few decades has left few facets of society untouched by its reach. Health care is, of course, no exception, and the coming decade promises continued integration of health information systems to improve patient care and public health.

Scheduled for completion in 2015, the National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) will be a communications system comparable to a network of highways, roads and pathways on which all health information will travel. Its purpose is to enable patients’ electronic health records to be accessed and added to by all health care providers electronically (with patients’ authorization), virtually anywhere in the country, via the network. For dentists, this means the ability to improve clinical decision making through the use of complete medical records, test results and radiographs at chairside.

In an effort to keep ADA members informed about how NHII will affect their practices and what the Association is doing to advocate for dentists on health information technology issues, the ADA commenced coverage of the topic with the Jan. 22 issue of ADA News. This coverage will continue throughout the year, with articles on NHII appearing regularly in ADA News and updates being dispatched in the ADA’s e-mail publications.

This information and additional resources are available through an online repository of NHII materials on ADA.org. Visit "www.ada.org/goto/nhii" to learn more about NHII, how it will affect your practice and how the ADA can help.

THE QUEST FOR HEALTH INFORMATION
In 2006, some 113 million Americans went online to search for health information, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

What kinds of health information did they search for? Dental health was among 17 health topics identified by Pew, along with specific medical conditions, diet, fitness, health insurance, prescription drugs and other topics. Of the Internet users surveyed, 15 percent said they had searched for dental health information online in 2006.

According to the survey, some 8 million American adults look online for health information on a typical day, making health-related searches about as popular as paying bills online, reading a "blog" or looking up a telephone number or address.

The quest for health information generally starts with a search engine, includes multiple sites and often is undertaken on behalf of someone besides the person doing the searching, according to Pew. More than one-half of those surveyed said the information they found affected the way they care for themselves or for someone else.

While the majority of health searchers indicated the information they found online was reassuring and gave them the confidence to discuss new questions or concerns with their health care providers, some three-quarters said they do not consistently check the source or date of the health information they consult.

To learn more about the findings of Pew’s survey of online health information usage, visit "www.pewinternet.org".

Reported by Joe Hoyle, electronic media editor, "hoylej{at}ada.org".

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