November 2006

2007 Healthcare Predictions

It's the time of year when consultants and industry analysts make their 2007 predictions on healthcare.

PricewaterhouseCoopers releases their own, calling 2007 a watershed for the health industries as health savings accounts reach a tipping point, states act where the federal government hasn't and pressure on pricing amid demand for transparency forces pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and health plans to rethink their strategies.

PricewaterhouseCoopers' top seven trends:

1. States Take the Initiative:  In the presence of federal gridlock, states are taking the lead on divisive issues such as stem cell research, health insurance coverage for the uninsured and oversight of advertising and promotion by pharmaceutical companies.  Responding to local social and fiscal concerns, states are developing innovative insurance programs, forming public-private partnerships to spur innovation and passing legislation to drive greater accountability and transparency from hospitals, physicians and pharmaceutical manufacturers.  According to PwC, such state-led initiatives will likely expand in 2007, but the risk is a patchwork quilt of local programs and regulations.

2. Transparency Could be Revealing:   The demand for transparency around pricing, quality measures, safety standards and community benefit is being driven by and is supportive of consumer-directed healthcare and pay-for-performance.  In 2007, the health industries will focus on becoming more transparent, but government, insurers and employers need to educate consumers about the availability and use of such information.  Providers will need to dedicate more resources to reporting, a strategic issue that can no longer be delegated down in the organization.

For the other five predictions follow the link...

Continue reading "2007 Healthcare Predictions" »

Posted by Shawn Whalen on November 30, 2006 at 5:34 PM
Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

PHR Event

In December a panel of local experts will discuss personal health records at an event held by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. More information and a registration link follows.

Friday, December 15, 2006
7:30 am registration; 8:00 am panel; 10:00 am networking
UK Trade & Investment, One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA
The Personal Health Record (PHR) is central to consumer centric healthcare. The promise that PHRs offer is to provide the information patients need to understand their health history and clinicians need to make effective treatment recommendations while fostering informed conversations between patients and clinicians. The opportunity is so compelling that we are seeing an explosion of PHRs becoming available to health consumers, whether they are from health content providers like webMD, PHR providers like ActiveHealth Management, providers or payors such as Aetna. The reality is that since health information comes from all of these sources including patients, their providers, and payers, the development of effective PHRs will require close collaboration between health content, technology and health care delivery professionals.

A panel of experts will look at how PHRs can enable a user-friendly experience in healthcare. Also they will explore the technology and infrastructure needed to capture accurate information, integrate it with medical records, and/or claims data, and make it easy to access and use. Join us as we explore issues that arise regarding how the data sources can be integrated (potentially through Regional Health Information Organizations - RHIOs), who controls the information in the PHR and how it all will be secured.

Featuring:

• Dr. Jeremy Nobel, MD, Harvard School of Public Health,
• Stanley Chin, Director, Practice Development, Altarum Institute,
• Dr. David Cochran, MD, Senior VP of Strategic Development at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care,
• Rose Higgins, President, iMetrikus, Inc.,
• Delia Vetter, Director of Benefits, EMC Corporation,
• Dr. Jon Wald, MD, Corporate Manager, Partners

Register Now:
http://function.masstlc.org/programs_new/event_single.cfm?eventid=744

Posted by Shawn Whalen on November 12, 2006 at 3:06 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Oh You Mean That Interoperability

For all the hoopla electronic health record system certification via CCHIT (Certification Commission for Healthcare IT) received, it was surprising to hear Health and Human Services (HHS) head and CCHIT Chair Mark Leavitt describe the interoperability criteria as weak. Apparently the only 2006 interoperability requirement necessary is the ability to electronically receive laboratory test results.

That makes one wonder how poor the grades of the 17 vendors who flunked the recent round of tests were.  CCHIT withheld those names (to protect the innocence of their customers?)

In 2007, the requirement will expand to electronic prescription transmission. Eventually CCHIT will move vendors up to a more comprehensive interoperability requirement.

For a list of the latest 11 vendors to pass CCHIT, read it here:

Continue reading "Oh You Mean That Interoperability" »

Posted by Shawn Whalen on November 8, 2006 at 2:01 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Tech Alone Does Not a RHIO Make

The challenge of creating regional health information exchanges goes well beyond the bits and bytes of making a network run, according to the Oct. 31 AIS Today in E-Health Business. AIS reports this latest finding from a First Consulting Group, which examined the top 10 non-technical challenges of regional health information organizations (RHIOs.)  RHIOs are seen as a building block for exchanging patient records electronically. The report found that successful RHIOs:

1. Have a common vision so that all involved understand the value of such a network;
2. Have an experienced leader who is organized, passionate and trustworthy;
3. Have governance that is consistent with the organization's mission;
4. Have a variety of stakeholders participating in the process;
5. Help organizations that may be direct competitors come to agreement on how to deliver common services that protect all participants;
6. Do not stretch resources too far by attempting to tackle too many initiatives;
7. Be clear that participants will get varying returns on their investment;
8. Collect fees that reflect the value that each participant will receive from the RHIO;
9. Have formal agreements on how to share data; and
10. Have privacy standards and procedures in place for system security.

The paper is available for download at http://www.fcg.com/.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on November 1, 2006 at 11:43 AM
Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)