When judged by statistics and comparative health data, health care in the United States is exceptional---exceptionally bad. Our nation faces enormous challenges: unsustainable cost increases, uneven access and quality, and the implementation of health care reform. Policymakers and the greater health care community, including consumers of health care, look to technology as a means of overcoming these challenges by increasing efficiency in health administration, delivery of services, and information management. Health Care IT: The Essential Lawyer's Guide to Health Care Information Technology and the Law, introduces lawyers, health care professionals, and members of the general public to the many facets of the use of technology in health care and its federal regulatory framework.