The adoption of healthcare information technology is key to hospital viability in the future, The Joint Commission stressed in a report released Thursday.

Hospitals must respond in new ways as escalating healthcare costs hit record highs and the conditions and care needs of hospitalized patients grow more complex, the authors say.

The report is the work of an expert panel comprising hospital executives and clinical leaders, as well as experts in technology, healthcare economics, hospital design and patient safety. The roundtable analyzed how socio-economic trends, technology, the physical hospital environment, patient-centered care values and staffing challenges will impact the hospital of the future.

Health Care at the Crossroads: Guiding Principles for the Development of the Hospital of the Future urges hospitals to take steps to meet what the commission calls "the daunting challenges" of older and sicker patients, patient safety and quality of care, economics and the work force.

The report asserts that information technology plays a major role in improving healthcare quality and safety and can help support the migration of hospital-based care into the community and even the home.

The technological transformation of healthcare also invites the redefinition of the hospital, according to the report. To address technology in the hospital of the future, the expert roundtable suggests the following:

• Make the business case and sustainable funding to support the widespread adoption of health information technology.
• Redesign business and care processes in tandem with health information technology adoption.
• Use digital technology to support patient-centered hospital care and extend that care beyond the hospital walls.
• Establish reliable authorities to provide technology assessment and technology investment guidance for hospitals.
• Adopt technologies that save labor and integrate across the hospital.