The city's public hospitals now increasingly guide optimal care, have significantly reduced medication errors, and take better care of patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes with the help of easily accessible and current patient data, electronic prescription ordering system and automated reminders for best-practice standards to follow.

HHC's electronic medical record systems also incorporate cutting-edge Picture Archiving and Communications System technology, which digitizes radiology images, sonograms, and EKGs. This information is then immediately available, on demand, at any HHC facility. As an added benefit, this technology also eliminates the need for costly storage space.

Patients at HHC's Hospitals in Queens reap an additional benefit through technology. They now carry Smart Cards in their wallets wherever they go. The card chip is loaded with electronic information about symptoms, medications, drug allergies, and test results.

The ability to read Smart Cards now extends beyond HHC facilities. Elmhurst Hospital Center received a $1.9 million HEAL New York Health Information Technology grant to pilot expansion of its Smart Card program by developing a reader that is now in every hospital emergency room in the borough of Queens. If a patient is rushed to a hospital outside the HHC system, the attending physician will have the ability to access the patient's records using the Smart Card to ensure speedy and effective care that can save lives.