Technology

MHE's State of the Industry Survey findings show that 44.6% of those surveyed did not envision using or implementing any advanced technological innovations, such as online physician visits.

Organizations should realize the need for integrating structured IT information and unstructured information, experts say, since the amount of valuable unstructured information is growing exponentially.

The healthcare industry is calling for greater connectivity, or interoperability standards to increase adoption, safety and implementation.

While experts agree that electronic records in any form save time and increase patient safety, how EHRs are implemented and integrated can make all the difference.

E-visits appear to be on the present horizon, but reimbursements are still being worked out.

According to results of Deloitte Consulting's 2008 Survey of Health Care Consumers, nearly 80% of consumers want their physicians to provide online access to medical records and test results. Thus, the cry has gone out for physicians, providers and purchasers to respond quickly. In the travel and banking industries, data moves freely between applications-and that's the current challenge for the healthcare industry.

When Peter Lee stepped down in January from his eight-year tenure as president and CEO of the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH), he chose to stay close to home, taking over the new role of executive director of national health policy for this non-profit organization of large employers and other major purchasers. Although Lee wears a new hat, he is confident that he has left the CEO position in the hands of a competent and experienced healthcare thought leader: David Lansky. The duo has easily blended its expertise-Lansky as the information technology whiz and Lee as the national healthcare policy guru and patient advocate. Both share a passion for data and measurement.

The use of technology to automate simple tasks has been widely adopted. E-mails broadcast information in a fraction of the time it would take a manual process. More complex tasks, however, require a human driver, and those tasks are in higher demand today.

Despite efforts of healthcare payers and providers, the vast majority of daily healthcare discussions have taken place outside of the industry. People talk to family and friends in varied settings - at home, parties, restaurants, health clubs, and religious and community institutions where the industry has no voice.

Realizing economic benefits of eHealth information sharing, forward thinking payers began working years ago to sponsor multi-payer web communications platforms that allow providers to communicate with many sponsors from one access point.

Since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, corporate executives have spent substantial time and money addressing potential security risks and regulatory compliance requirements.

When it comes to information technology, the more things change, the more work the CIO has to do. Once out of sight and out of mind in the basement mainframe rooms of corporate America, chief information officers are now sitting at the table in corporate boardrooms.

Physician peer interaction is only a click away thanks to online networking sites.

Technologies and wireless systems has vastly improved hospital communication, putting critical information in the hands of those caring for patients immediately.

Only a few months ago, efforts to build a national electronic health information system appeared dead in the water. Now there is growing support on Capitol Hill for legislative action, plus strong statements from the Bush administration backing health information technology (HIT).

Employees have been receiving paychecks via direct deposit for almost 40 years. In 2005, there were 4.4 billion direct deposits. Physicians, however, have some catching up to do.

Efforts are now under way by leading health plans and employers to aggregate patient information into personal health records (PHRs). This aggregation of data into a patient-centered and patient-controlled record can empower healthcare consumers.

The World Health Organization's latest version of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) will bring "the good, the bad, and the ugly" for nearly all who use this classification system. However, the biggest asset is that the latest version is much more detailed and organized than ICD-9.

Earlier this year Susan Andrews, MD, evaluated a broken arm for a long-time patient in her family practice. Without leaving her Memphis office, Dr. Andrews conducted a complete history, assessed the injury and arranged a referral to an orthopedist, even though the patient was actually 2,000 miles away vacationing in the Caribbean.

Actor George Clooney was hospitalized recently after a minor motorcycle accident. He cracked a rib, but that wasn't the worst of it. Star-struck hospital employees who weren't involved in his care accessed his medical record, no doubt hoping to find some celebrity gossip.

What if MCO payers could measure providers' costs and outcomes in a single top-down program? What if they could standardize regulations, and immediately test their effectiveness? What if payers could actually help facilities and providers strike a balance between business efficiency and quality patient care-without shutting anyone down?

The benefits of Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) are obvious, and have been for decades. And what better time than now, well into the Information Age, for HIEs to realize their full potential using real-time electronic communications over the Internet? As grant money to fund HIE startups and a national health information network begins to dry up, sustainability has become paramount.

Preventable medication errors are resulting in $3.5 billion in drug-injury related healthcare costs. To address this crisis, the IoM recommends that the entire system move to electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) by 2010.

If we are treating healthcare as a commodity, then why not determine its real value? That might be more easily said than done, but as more and more consumers demand transparency in healthcare, payers, providers and pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) are sharing information on the cost of treatments, screenings and drugs.

Rising use of digital technologies and the Internet in the past decade has led to a dramatic explosion in the collection and use of personal data. While electronic use of information provides numerous benefits, it also poses various risks, such as identity theft and security breaches.