Austin (1988) finds that the use of IT can influence hospital efficiency through its ability to automate,
informate, and transform. According to this perspective, when IT is used to automate existing manual
tasks and procedures such as management of financial, clinical, and other administrative transactions, it
can help reduce processing time and costs as well as increase accuracy. The data created by the
automating systems can thus be expanded and distributed throughout the hospitals by the informating
ability of IT. This more convenient access to information can improve hospital performance by changing
or eliminating unnecessary activities previously needed to perform the tasks. The use of advanced IT can
change the way hospital personnel communicate and work and thus transform the way hospitals operate.
The use of video-conferencing and telesensing technology, for example, enables specialists to interview
and examine patients who may be hundreds of miles away (PITAC, 1999).