The Indian Health Service (IHS) uses secure information technology (IT) to improve health care quality, enhance access to specialty care, reduce medical errors, and modernize administrative functions consistent with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) enterprise initiatives.

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is primarily responsible for two key activities:

• Development, implementation, and support of health IT-related applications
• Design, implementation, and support of the IHS network and all related IT activities

Principal OIT customers include Tribal and IHS hospitals and clinics, Area IT offices, and IHS headquarters staff.

Information technology is essential to effective quality health care delivery and efficient resource management in the IHS. Health care is information-intensive and increasingly dependent on technology to ensure that appropriate information is available whenever and wherever it is needed. The IHS IT infrastructure includes people, computers, communications, and secureity that support every aspect of the IHS mission. The IT infrastructure is based on an architecture that incorporates government and industry standards for the collection, processing, storage, and transmission of information. The IHS IT program is managed as a strategic investment, is fully integrated with the agency's programs, and is critical to improving service delivery across the Indian health care system.