Healthcare IT Insights

This year we’re participating in the Midwest HIMSS Fall Technology Conference where the official theme will be centered around Virtual Healthcare as the show title indicates “Virtual Healthcare: Keeping IT Real.“

HIMSS holds particular value for participants looking to gain insight on healthcare information and management systems from reputable experts. I always value the educated attendees HIMSS offers, from both a networking and thought leadership perspective. That alone typically makes it worth my while. 

This year six Midwest area HIMSS chapters are co-hosting the Fall Technology Conference. The conference has expanded with pre-conference events including the 3rd Annual Midwest Nursing Informatics Symposium, CPHIMS Workshop, and CIO Executive Dinner. Also this year, our own Marc Danziger will be co-presenting with our client, Florida Hospital’s David Oakley on the topic of Social Media in healthcare. The presentation title is “Setting Healthcare Strategy in a Web 2.0 World”.

I know, given the current economic conditions, a potentially crucial 2009 is on the minds of all of us in the healthcare industry. Leveraging proven web 2.0 technologies in healthcare “Healthcare 2.0” to cut waste (we know at least 1/3 of all healthcare costs are waste) has never been more crucial, and will no doubt be a thoroughly discussed issue at this year’s Midwest HIMSS event. There will be many healthcare organizations at the conference not only looking to refine their current business practices, but also because they want to figure out how they can leverage these new processes to immediately cut costs. If you are planning on attending you can register for the Midwest HIMSS conference here. Hope to see you there!

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Health Information Exchange (HIE) is a term used to rebrand the collaborative efforts in communities and regions across the country, formerly known as Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIO).   1,2,3… 4 - yes RHIO is a 4 letter word. HIMSS states that there are more than 600 Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) or “RHIO type” projects underway across the country; however, according to a recent eHealth survey, only seven are truly operational.

Why has it taken so long for RHIOs to take off? Think about the challenge of integrating clinical information across your own health system—from owned and affiliated entities with various vendor platforms to the boards of directors and physician practices involved. Now include competitors, payors, pharmacies, commercial labs and individuals. Multiply that challenge by infinity and remove the cogent business case that links the capital investment to realized benefits.

While interoperability is still a future state vision, Health Information Exchange (HIE) is happening now. HIE is easy to understand and apply to your organization because it takes the massive organizational dimension (regional, read multi-entity, inclusive) out of the picture in the near term. Today, proven platforms and vendors exist to assist you in achieving integration of clinical information within your own health system. An HIE solution can make sense for your organization even if you have adopted and implemented a common vendor platform, since HIE solutions serve support clinical information hand offs among independent practices, payors, pharmacies, lab companies and patients.

Technology advances are rapidly affecting the healthcare industry. Mobile technologies are enabling processes with power not long ago reserved for large computers. Better, faster, cheaper and definitely smaller is evident in the amazing technologies being deployed in the medical devices – from smart pumps to implantable defibrillators. Diagnostic equipment too has advanced in capability due to “computer on board”. The technologies of medical devices and information systems are converging.

Convergence in this context creates challenges for those tasked with the maintenance and operations of the technologies. In most organizations, medical devices are maintained by biomedical engineering whereas the computer systems are supported by the information systems department. Who maintains the “computer on board” the new million dollar whatchamacallit? Biomedical professionals are not historically trained to be concerned about interfaces, file back ups and system reliability. Conversely, IT folks don’t like to get too close to things that could harm a patient. I have heard from CIO’s who have been asked to confirm the supportability of a gamma knife (non-invasive surgical instrument used on brain tumors). If the CIO is not the authority, then who is? We’ve come a long way from making sure that payroll got out on Friday.

I’m hearing this issue more and more over the last year: many healthcare organizations spent tens of millions of dollars since Y2K on ERP solutions addressing the needs of “back office” functions such as General Accounting and Finance, H/R, Payroll, and Materials Management. Too often those investments were made in haste to meet the ominous deadline of the new millennium and did not allow time for thoughtful consideration of related process and organizational changes that might have increased the benefits realized from those major investments. Did you consider the advanced capabilities of your system such as Position Control or did you simply celebrate the ability to meet Payroll deadlines in the year 2000? Is your I/T or Finance Department still in the business of generating reports or have you considered what is required to make good information available in a secured environment for self-service?

So now it is 2008 and many organizations are looking at a major upgrade. Staff is spread thin. The end users have not been thrilled with the usability of the system. A system that has now become part of the routine operations. I’m curious, where is the tipping point that causes an organization to consider a renovation in parallel to the next vendor driven upgrade cycle? Any thoughts?

The internet and specifically Web 2.0 has the potential to transform the healthcare industry by reducing traditional barriers associated with time and place. The same technologies that drive popular consumer sites such as Facebook, iGoogle and Amazon are changing the expectations of patients, physicians and even employees in the healthcare industry.  “If I can book air travel, lodging, rental car and even golf from the comfort of my family room sofa, why must I still call back between 8am and 5pm,  Monday through Friday to make an appointment, ask a question about a bill or request a refill on a prescription?”  Evidence suggests that we are already in a state of transition as legacy application vendors promote new “web based” versions while other high end clinical information systems include extensive web based patient portal functionality as part of their packaged offerings.

 Marketing Departments in most healthcare organizations find themselves in the eye of this transformational storm.  Customer and user expectations have rapidly increased while most IT Departments have not adapted to the realities of these technologies – sadly many have not yet recognized that there is an issue.  Web 2.0 is not a silver bullet, but it has great potential to enable organizations to respond rapidly to a wide range of needs. 

What are you thoughts on leveraging web 2.0 technologies in healthcare? It is still largely under utilized from my perspective, but I’m sure the blog-o-sphere has some examples of successful uses.