Weekly round-up: A cult of health IT innovation has been established
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“The past 50 years have seen an explosion in biomedical knowledge, dramatic innovation in therapies and surgical procedures, and management of conditions that were previously fatal, with ever more exciting clinical capabilities on the horizon,” the report read. “Yet American healthcare is falling short on basic dimensions of quality, outcomes, costs and equity. Available knowledge is too rarely applied to improve the care experience, and information generated by the care experience is too rarely applied to improve the knowledge available.”
Almost one year into my stint as a healthcare reporter focusing on innovation and technology, the passion displayed by a core group of health IT enthusiasts is still hard for me to believe. While watching a webcast of the Consumer Health IT Summit from my desk in Providence, I thought at times that Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), was going to start sprinting down the auditorium aisle, high-fiving attendees in his excitement.
But why not get excited? As the IOM report points out, there are now tools available to fix the broken features of healthcare. Telehealth is helping providers reach rural patients, clinical decision support can help reduce racial disparities in healthcare, the Federal Communication Commission is loosening regulations for wireless medical technologies and patients could soon be wearing bracelets that read their health information.
Health IT enthusiasts are now calling on their peers to use these tools. Mostashari issued the ONC Pledge, asking providers and vendors for a committment to participate in the development of a healthcare ecosystem where knowledge is freely exchanged and patients are engaged through health IT. The concept of information exchange is also written into the Meaningful Use Stage 2 rules, which will require providers to engage in the electronic exchange of clinical information to receive incentives.
Some stakeholders are grumbling about their ability to do what the ONC is asking, and health IT enthusiasts freely admit that health IT is not perfect. However, no one is asking for perfection. “Perfect is the enemy of good,” was a common refrain during National Health IT Week. Start with something good enough and allow clinical practice to influence evolution, advised Holly Miller, MD, MBA, chief medical officer of MedAllies, during a Sept. 13 webinar.
A cult of innovation has been established and its membership continues to grow. Their attitude seems to be that the technology is here and there are no more excuses; make healthcare better.
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Luke Gale
Clinical Innovation + Technology Staff Writer
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