Technology Timeline

  • First Programmable Computer

    First Programmable Computer
    The first functional modern computer was made by a German man named Konrad Zuse in his parent's living room. The Z1 considered to be the first programmable computer.
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    Growth of Computers

    Throughout the 1950's computer systems began to grow even more advanced.
  • First Computer Program

    At the University of Manchester the first computer program ran on a digital, electronic, stored-program computer.
  • HIMSS was Founded

    HIMSS was Founded
    The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, formerly Hospital Management Systems Society, was founded.
  • First Electronic Health Records

    In 1965 Medicare and Medicaid emerged, pushing for the need of health information systems. During this time around 75 hospitals were using electronic medical records.
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    Emergence of Health Information Systems

    During the 1970's, because of the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid, many health information systems were developing.
  • COSTAR Developed

    Massachusetts General Hospital collaborated with Harvard University to create the Computer Stored Ambulatory Record.
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    Federal Interest in Health Information Systems

    During the 1980's the federal government began to implement the Decentralized Hospital Computer Program, later changed to Veterans Health Information System and Technology Architecture (VistA). This started the federal governments interest in HIT systems, which began as ideas in the early 1970's.
  • MS-DOS Released

    Microsoft releases MS-DOS, which made available affordable computing systems in clinical settings.
  • HL7 Founded

    HL7 Founded
    HL7 was founded in 1987, this was a non-profit standards organization that dealt with providing framework and related standards in the exchange of electronic health information.
  • Bluetooth

    Bluetooth
    Johan Ullman files his patent for "short-link" radio technology, which eventually becomes widely known as Bluetooth, which is now used in many internet enabled medical and wearable devices.
  • Computers become Commonplace

    By the 1990's personal desktop computers and Window's became more widespread. They also started to become frequent in physician practices.
  • World Wide Web

    The World Wide Web was established.
  • IOM Reports

    In 1991 the Institute of Medicine released reports that discussed the benefits of EHR, the studies began in the late 80's.
  • Web Browser Mosaic 0.5

    In 1993 the first commercial web browser Mosaic 0.5 was released, leading to a rise in the use and ease of access to the internet for users.
  • ICD-10

    The WHO adopted the ICD-10 coding standard.
  • PDA's

    In 1999 Personal Health Technologies Corporation and Phase Forward introduce the use of Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) in the remote collection of patient data.
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    The Push for EHR

    In the early 2000's the government was beginning to realize the need for commonplace EHRs.
  • Barcoding Becomes Mandatory

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled to make barcodes mandatory on the labels of thousands of human medications and biological products by the year 2006.
  • Mobile Devices become Commonplace

    Mobile Devices become Commonplace
    The first iPhone ships and starts the era of widely used mobile computing.
  • HITECH

    In 2009 President Barack Obama signed the HITECH Act which promoted the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology, it also addressed security concerns regarding electronic transmission of data.
  • Complete Switch to EHRs

    By 2015 the EHR adoption has doubled because of HITECH and advanced tech. Nearly 97% of hospitals and 87% of physician practices are now using electronic health records.
  • Wearable Devices becoming Commonplace

    An estimate of 50% of US Consumers own a wearable device.
  • Cloud Based Computing

    Many health care facilities are starting to switch to a cloud based storage and computing system over the traditional data centers. This is because of the lowered cost and enhanced ability of data sharing.
  • IoT Health Care Devices

    Internet of Things devices are starting to become more widely used in healthcare settings. These interconnected devices are helping with real-time data availability and sharing.