Health information technology is defined as the electronic systems that both patients and professionals in the health care industry use in order to store, share, and study health information. It has been a constantly evolving throughout the years and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Health IT includes things such as electronic health records, personal health records, electronic prescribing, and privacy/security, all with the purpose of making health information as easy and secure as possible to process, maintain, and transfer. It involves both hardware and software components and varies from institution to institution in the ways that they process and hare information, as there are many ways to do it. As time goes on, there are current and constantly evolving trends in the health IT industry, a marinade of skill requirements, and skills possessed by top performers in many different forms.

Trends in the healthcare IT industry is always changing and evolving at an exponential pace, bringing with it new and fancy inventions and software to expand healthcare IT more every day. If an institution wants to stay relevant in the field, it is imperative that it stays up to date on all the current and upcoming trends and be able to integrate them into their treatments. As of right now, an example of a current trend in this industry is electronic medical records. At first, this might sound like common workplace practice to have all records digitalized, but it wasn’t always like that, and it does wonders for healthcare in general. EMR's provide the ability to have all patient records up and ready for reference right away, rather than having to sift through a stack on physical files and even then, potentially missing crucial information. On top of this, all this information is also readily available to be shared and communicated to others who might need it in an emergency and as such, make better, more knowledgeable decisions about patient care. Another good trend is blockchain technology, which is a method of storing patient information in such a way that it takes up less space than otherwise, allowing more information to be added without risk of losing track of sensitive data, as well being able to allow digital information to be distributed but not explicitly copied. Blockchain can transfer data across different health systems that ERM is unable to do. Due to compatibility issues, EMR's need to be using the same hosting system in order to connect and share information with one another, but this limitation is not an issue for blockchain, allowing for even better ways of sharing healthcare data.

There is also a lot to look forward to in the future for trends for healthcare IT. One big up incoming trend is of course, 3d printing, which is becoming more and more mainstream. 3D printing allows for many different types of experiments to be done and hopefully more tech than ever before for healthcare. 3D printing allows for prototyping, more in depth research, customizations, and many more new implications. Tools, prosthetic limbs, and realistic organs are just a few of the things 3d printing can help healthcare IT with. Its even being used in some professions such as dentistry and orthodontics. Another trend to look forward to is extended reality, with virtual reality being the most common knowledge branch. It can help with training and surgery simulations to prepare professionals for stressful procedures. Going beyond VR, mixed reality is also an exciting implementation, merging the real world and the virtual world together, providing important educational capabilities for professionals and help them understand conditions and sicknesses better. Wearable tech is also already a common thing in todays world, but that doesn’t mean that it can't be expanded upon. Wearable tech is becoming increasingly more sophisticated as the years go on and is sure to influence the healthcare IT field sooner rather than later. Examples include wearable tech that can detect issues within one's body, aside from just steps walked within a day or your current heartbeat. This information can greatly benefit doctors and the like if anything were to happen to a patient, as they would be provided with real time results on what's going on.

With healthcare IT being such a big and evolving industry, there are, of course, skills required in order to preform the job effectively. One of these skills includes interpersonal skills, which is needed even in the usually antisocial IT industry. Interpersonal skills are skills that allow you to interact with others effectively in order to get a job done well. This includes flexibility, empathy, teamwork, good communication, and good conflict resolution skills. Healthcare IT rarely has you working alone, so honing this skill will take you far in the field. Another good skill to have is efficient problem solving, as this will be a never-ending process. Problems arise almost daily, multiple times a day, and it is up to a skilled worker to tackle them head on. These problems come in many different forms, such as clinical challenges, issues with communication, hardware/software issues, or just processes that need to be improved. The list can go on and on. Programming knowledge is also a very essential skill to possess, as it can take you a long way. While not necessarily needed for this industry, it gives you an advantage over competition and widens your horizon. Knowledge on languages like Java, C, Python, etc. may come in handy in situations such as building systems of healthcare institutions or databases. And of course, the most important skill of all is being educated in the healthcare IT industry and knowing what it is composed and can throw your way. The more you know about health data systems and the like, the farther you can progress and the more you can accomplish.

To become a top performer in the healthcare IT, one must be proficient in all these previously stated skills, as well as many others that helped them make their ways to the top. Communication is a key skill to possess for top performers, especially those in the leadership positions. While communication may seem like an easy task at first, it can be a hard one to master well. On the surface, communication simply sounds like being able to speak well with others, but there much more that goes into it, such as being a good listener, being able to mentor, having empathy, and being able to avoid bringing personal feelings into decision making. A good combination of listening and empathy goes a long way when it comes to communication in the industry because it shows engagement and willingness to learn with others within the field. However, while empathy is one thing, a member of leadership should also be proficient in emotion detachment, not dragging in personal drama or letting it affect big decisions. Another good skill that top performers posses is innovation and a creative mindset. Professionals and those in leadership are challenged to think different and in new ways constantly. This involved a combination of the ability to think creatively and uniquely and have a good grasp on functional and technical abilities in order to apply them in all different kinds of ways.

Working in an industry with healthcare IT is challenging work, full of long hours and very focused work involving important information, so there is a lot of pressure riding on your shoulders. However, working through these situations and overcoming them is a very gratifying feeling. This cannot be easily done all by yourself though, as you will be working alongside others that can make your personal success even better and easier, so it is a good idea to always be on good terms with coworkers. I personally am not the most professional person when it comes to healthcare IT, but I do possess a few critical skills that are important to the industry. I have good technical experience, and while it might not be specifically with healthcare IT, I do possess skills that I believe will make it easier for me to learn what is needed for the job. I also possess good communication skills as well as good interpersonal skills and am can follow and give out directions if needed, as well as explain what is going on coherently and effectively. I also have the passion and ability to get results, as well as the drive to learn new information and get the job at hand done. Of course, there are still skills I need to work as well, such as strong problem-solving skills, which I believe will improve once I know more about how everything works. Also, I could improve my leadership skills, since I do hope to move up in the company as time goes on, and this will require better leadership skills than I currently possess, but that will increase along with my confidence in the job.