We are excited to present this video as part of a series on health information technology (health IT). We’ve talked about personal health records and HIV before, and today we want to share a bit more on what health IT is all about, and what it means for those of us working to respond to HIV. In the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, work related to health IT is coordinated through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). At HIV.gov, we are committed to providing on-going information on health IT because the adoption of health IT can: provide secure and protected patient information; improve the quality of care; reduce care costs; contribute to informed decision-making; improve coordination of care; improve public health activities and early detection; facilitate research; and promote prevention/protection for all Americans including those living with HIV.

I sat down with Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, to learn more about what his office is doing, and what we should know about health IT. You can watch the video and read the transcript below. And we’d love to hear from you — what implications does health IT have for the response to HIV?