Reducing Disparities in Health Care Quality: The Role of Health IT in Underresourced Settings

Health information technology (health IT) and the Internet have tremendous potential to transform health care. The implications of the adoption of health IT within the context of underresourced health care settings have not been adequately evaluated. For this reason, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality sponsored a 2-day invitational expert meeting in October 2009. The theme of the meeting was "Reducing Disparities in Healthcare Quality in Under Resourced Settings Using HIT and Other Quality Improvement Strategies." In preparation for the meeting, five background manuscripts were commissioned, presented, and discussed. Attendees also participated in one of three breakout sessions. Several overarching themes, key recommendations, and research topics emerged across five general categories of (a) the health care delivery setting, (b) research and evaluation methodologies, (c) patients and target populations, (d) technology applications and platforms, and (e) providers and clinicians. This article outlines the process, findings, and key recommendations of this expert workshop.