Health information technology (IT) has great potential to transform health care and inform population health goals in clinical research, quality measurement, and public safety. To fully realize the benefits of health IT for population health, we must focus on new models that maximize efficiency, encourage rapid learning, and protect patients' privacy. In this paper we explore the advantages of a networked model for analyzing population health information, providing several examples. Although broadening the use of networked models is challenging, the societal benefits of a networked model merit continued exploration and the development of workable solutions. [Health Affairs 28, no. 2 (2009) T h e r e i s g r e at p o t e n t i a l f o r health information technology (IT) to aid in achieving population health goals in the areas of clinical research, quality measurement, and public safety. 1 The need to improve health IT is driven by several factors: rising health care costs; well-documented gaps in quality; concern about safety and efficiency; a need for improved accountability; an increased awareness of bioterrorism as a possible threat; a need to monitor the safety and outcomes of drugs and treatments; and a call for studies of the comparative effectiveness of procedures for diagnosis and treatment. 2 IT can facilitate data collection and analysis across data sources and support the sharing of information in near real time across institutions, scientific disciplines, and geographic boundaries.

The fragmentation of our health care system, our need to accommodate the diversity of existing health information exchanges, the lack of consistent implementation of clinical information standards, and the need to protect patients' privacy and maintain trust are all challenges to overcome in achieving broad-scale interoperable health information exchange. We propose several steps to coordinate information sharing among regional and other networks through universal adherence to a basic framework of policies and standards. The critical policy action is the identification of a "common framework" of standards and policies, maintained by a new Standards and Policy Entity that reflects both public- and private-sector participation.

One of the biggest obstacles to expanding the use of information technology (IT) in health care may be the current narrow focus on how to stimulate its adoption. The challenge of thinking of IT as a tool to improve quality requires serious attention to transforming the U.S. health care system as a whole, rather than simply computerizing the current setup. Proponents of health IT must resist "magical thinking," such as the notion that technology will transform our broken system, absent integrated work on policy or incentives. The alternative route to transforming the system sets all of its sights on the destination. [Health Affairs 27,no. 5

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