In the first non-technical book on the subject, Karen A. Duncan reveals how the problems underlying today's health care crisis can be solved through information technology and how technology can help prevent future crises. She shows health care professionals and decision makers how to take the lead in using information as the basis for envisioning their roles in an evolved health care system. Health care reform first requires that we understand the system's complexity and the forces that created the current crisis. Health Information and Health Reform uses a systems approach to make the vital connection between the problems, the solutions, and the need to move health care into the information age. The books explains why we need a national health information system, and guides the reader through scenarios that lead to an understanding of how a system could evolve and how it could affect health care. Duncan describes how a national health information system would be a positive force for health care if its implementation and use are shaped by the health care professionals it will serve. She concludes that a national health information system is essential for health care reform, and she identifies the critical steps that health care leaders need to take to achieve it.