Due to increased funding for health IT, healthcare organizations are currently more motivated to use technology to do which of the following?

• A. Manage information
• B. Survey patient satisfaction
• C. Improve quality and patient safety
• D. Decrease cost

Answer: (C)

The focus of increased health IT funding is to use technology to improve patient outcomes, particularly quality and patient safety. When organizations have more funds, they invest in systems and features that directly impact care quality—such as electronic health records with clinical decision support, real-time alerts to prevent harm, standardized workflows, interoperability across care sites, and data analytics to track performance and adverse events. These capabilities help clinicians make safer decisions, follow evidence-based guidelines, and coordinate care more effectively, which lifts overall quality and safety.

Surveys of patient satisfaction or simply managing information are important tasks, but they aren’t the primary reason funding is pushed in health IT programs. While cost reductions can result from more efficient processes, the main goal tied to this funding is to improve the quality of care and patient safety, with cost savings often as a secondary benefit.