The 21st century has brought tremendous changes along with it in virtually every field possible. Some fields have seen more changes than others, and the medical field is one where rapid growth has taken place. The techniques of healthcare informatics and analytics help to expedite the transfer of information between doctors and medical practices, and that is a necessary tool for the 21st century. Medical practices that are unable to electronically transfer information are often at a disadvantage. They are wasting time and money by constantly having to purchase paper and send over information through fax. Furthermore, the use of all this paper is not particularly eco-friendly, and concern for the environment is currently experiencing a major high point.

Using healthcare informatics is also important for the 21st-century patient. People who are coming of age now grew up in a time where the transfer of information was instantaneous. Some people say those expectations represent entitlement; others recognize that those expectations simply represent how the world is right now. When medical practices fail to use Healthcare informatics and population health, they may very well have the ability to retain patients who have visited the practice for years; however, they may struggle to pique the interest of young adults. As their inability to use technology grows, their number of patients may substantially decrease. Also to the general patience of today's world, people are also busier than ever before.

Many individuals have multiple jobs. Gone are the days where everyone worked from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. When patients receive a referral from their primary care physician, they want to make an appointment as soon as possible. They don't want to wait days for their paperwork to arrive at the specialist's office. With informatics in healthcare, their information can arrive with just a few clicks of the button, providing the patients with more efficient care.

Also, many doctors are juggling more patients than they have in the past. When patients ask that records are sent over, they sometimes find that their requests go unanswered because someone forgot to put the paperwork together. This issue is more easily resolved when employees at medical practices can simply log into a system and send the necessary files. Clearly, the field of informatics is a very important one, and its importance is increasing as the 21st century and its demands continue to expand, grow, and develop.