Diabetes prevention, health information technology, and meaningful use: challenges and opportunities

The U.S. health system has historically been poorly equipped to confront the growing impact of diabetes on the nation's health. The Affordable Care Act legislates a number of new strategies--such as innovative payment and delivery models and increased public health funding--intended to improve diabetes prevention and care quality. Health information technology (IT) is often cited as a critical part of these strategies. Through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, the federal government has been supporting the rapid adoption of health IT, and more specifically of electronic health records (EHRs) through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) EHR Incentive Program. Health IT has the potential to contribute to diabetes prevention and improved quality of care, but the evidence supporting its benefits is mixed. This article provides a brief overview of the CMS EHR Incentive Program and meaningful-use criteria. Then it examines health IT strategies for diabetes prevention in the context of current evidence and identifies areas of needed research and innovation.