Healthcare information technology is at a crossroads today. As legacy data systems converge with bleeding edge technologies, the technology environments of today's hospitals and clinics are evolving rapidly, producing new care delivery models. As a result, we need to reassess how information technology education is meeting the needs of healthcare practitioners and institutions. The recent push to adopt Health Information Technology (HIT) with financial incentives and penalties attached was a bold move, but establishing policies is easier to pen than implement. The challenge faced by many healthcare organizations is the lack of technical and organizational infrastructure, as well as skilled man power. This special issue seeks to bring new approaches to the IT classroom, particularly with HIT curriculum, training, and education. Students entering the workforce or completing professional programs will have more career options with an understanding of how to leverage enabling technologies. Those in a healthcare management and leadership capacities will also benefit from this special edition as each of the articles presented address strategic level issues and the need for IT leadership in the planning and implementation of enterprise level systems, to ensure the safety, privacy and security off all patients are protected. The authors of this special issue offer interdisciplinary perspectives on key topics shaping HIT around the world. As members of academia, curriculum is at the heart of the matter and our authors offer justification and case studies on areas where academia needs to continue its growth to serve the healthcare industry.