title: Achieving U.S. Health information technology adoption: the need for a third hand.
abstract: The U.S. health care information technology (HIT) market is broken; broad-scale adoption of HIT is not occurring despite considerable evidence of its impact on the quality of care and patient safety. Although adoption of HIT will not cure all that ails health care, it is an important step toward transformation of the U.S. health care delivery system. In this commentary I describe several critical issues pertaining to the HIT market failure and several ways in which the federal government may act as a deft and gentle "Third Hand" to assist the Invisible Hand of Adam Smith.
authors.affiliation: Partners HealthCare System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. bmiddleton1@partners.org
authors.forename: Blackford
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Middleton
mesh_terms: D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D035082:Federal Government; D018166:Health Care Reform; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States