Healthcare IT News - March 2008 - (Page 8)

8 Healthcare IT News mY tWO CeNts ■ March 2008 www.HealthcareITNews.com Isn’t it time to give consumers what they want? President Bush first mentioned the critical need for electronic health records as the way to take healthcare out of what he called the ‘horse-and-buggy era,’ there was a lot of talk within the healthcare It industry about consumer clout. consumers would demand this or that, you’d hear. they won’t stand for the morass of paperwork that attends their medical care. they are used to handling their financial affairs electronically and they will insist on the same level of service they’ve come to expect from their banks – and even when purchasing a sweater online. Well, I wasn’t buying it. I may have done some christmas shopping that year that involved buying a sweater online. and, it’s true that I had not stepped foot in my bank for several years – handling all transactions online or sometimes via the banks IVr (interactive voice response system). But, I couldn’t get all that worked up over my medical records, and it was hard for me to imagine that other consumers would, and would care enough to make demands that would effect change. I could not have been more wrong. Fast-forward a few years. consumers do care and they are making their wishes heard. though I’m not sure physicians are listening – yet. check out the results of the most recent consumer survey published last month by the Deloitte center for Health Solutions. Deloitte polled more than 3,000 americans between the ages of 18 and 75. the survey suggests that physicians and hospitals are lagging behind what patients want and expect when it comes to information and also how they avail themselves of healthcare. they want price and information quality online. they want to make appointments online, sometimes same-day appointments. they want to be able to see their tests and lab results online. consumers want an integrated medical record. egads, they even want to e-mail their doctor! one in four consumers indicated they Ack in 2004 When would even pay extra for this option. Good luck with that. It’s tough to even get to speak to the doctor’s assistant. there’s a lot of phone-tag going on. Lots of voice mail messages. Physicians may Bernie Monegain, Editor be reluctant to start emailing their patients. Besides the attending security issues, they may be worried about being sucked into an e-mail vortex with no way out. Some of us might understand that concern. then, of course, there is still the quaint practice – despite e-prescribing advances – of handing the patient a paper prescription to take to the pharmacy. It will take 20 minutes to be filled, or perhaps you might want to return the next day to pick it up. “In general, consumers want access to more information, are looking for better service, and believe their physicians should make better use of information technologies,” the Deloitte report notes. “more than anything, the findings con- www.HealthcareITNews.com Published in partnership with I’m a convert to consumer clout in healthcare as in other areas of daily living. I now believe consumers will get what they want. It’s only a matter of time. vince us that americans no longer see themselves only as patients, but as consumers who want to take greater control of their health care,” said Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte center for Health Solutions “consumers will redefine our health care market, but how they do it is the most important strategic question the healthcare industry must answer.” Indeed. I’m a convert to consumer clout in healthcare as in other areas of daily living. I now believe informed consumers who advocate for their cause will get what they want. the market will listen and respond. It’s only a matter of time. n More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: MoNeGaiN 0308 71 Pineland Drive, Suite 203 New Gloucester, ME 04260 T (207) 688-6270 F (207) 688-6273 Neil Rouda neil.rouda@medtechpublishing.com MedTech Publishing Company PUBLISHER EDITORIAL Jack Beaudoin, Editorial Director jack.beaudoin@medtechpublishing.com Patty Enrado, Contributing Editor patty.enrado@medtechpublishing.com Diana Manos, Senior Editor diana.manos@medtechpublishing.com Molly Merrill, Associate Editor molly.merrill@medtechpublishing.com Bernie Monegain, Editor bernie.monegain@medtechpublishing.com Richard Pizzi, Associate Editor richard.pizzi@medtechpublishing.com Eric Wicklund, Managing Editor eric.wicklund@medtechpublishing.com Nancy Vitucci, nvitucci@himss.org For advertising contacts, see page 85 or visit http://www.healthcareitnews.com/ page.cms?pageId=3 Karen Diekmann, Production Manager karen.diekmann@medtechpublishing.com Danielle Hartley, Director, Marketing danielle.hartley@medtechpublishing.com EDITOR, HIMSS INSIDER EDITORIAL STAFF ● ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MARKETING READER SERVICES T (978) 671-0449 or cs-hitn@e-circ.net F (978)671-0460 Online: www.myHITN.com Postal mail: PO Box 9369 Lowell, MA 01853 Nicole Carter nicole.carter@medtechpublishing.com SUBSCRIPTION FULFILLMENT MANAGER CIRCULATION MANAGER CUSTOMER SERVICE Peggy Tashjian cs-hitn@e-circ.net REPRINTS The YGS Group T (717) 399-1900, ext. 139 HITN@theygsgroup.com John Glaser, vice president, CIO, Partners HealthCare, Boston Denni McColm, CIO, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, Bolivar, Mo. Jane Olds, COO, Louisiana Health Network, New Orleans Wes Rishel, vice president, Gartner, Inc. William Spooner, senior vice president, CIO, Sharp Healthcare, San Diego Paul Tang, vice president, CMIO, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, California Steven Waldren, director, Center for Health IT, American Academy of Family Physicians EDITORIAL BOARD W Don’t be naive about HiPaa and Google of how patient data could be accessed if the patient is unable to give permission to access the data? one of the goals of emr is to have access to medical history at a time when the patient is unable to give that information and other sources are not available. allergies, past illness, surgeries, etc., can make the difference in making a treatment decision. the naive belief that Google is not engaged in any activities that As theRe Any Mention CORReCtIONs Healthcare IT News is published by MedTech Publishing Company, LLC, which is solely responsible for its editorial content. Editors are expected to meet the highest professional standards for accuracy, objectivity, fairness and independence. Errors of fact are corrected as soon as the error is established and corrections are published in the medium in which the error appeared. Inquiries or disputes about the factual accuracy of the record should be directed to the editor. would require HIPaa-related regulation is reckless. Handling patient information in any form requires HIPaa regulation. I wonder if there are any medical advisors working with Google in the development of Google Health. Sally Howell, rn, BSn clinical Development coordinator methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare memphis, tn edItORIal INdePeNdeNCe Healthcare IT News is published in partnership with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). HIMSS members are eligible to receive Healthcare IT News and related publications – both in print and online – as a beneﬁt of membership. With the exception of the HIMSS Insider, which is produced by the staff of HIMSS and appears within the pages of Healthcare IT News every month, HIMSS and its leadership exercise no control over the editorial content of the newspaper and related publications. Neil Rouda VICE PRESIDENTS PRESIDENT “In 2008, information technology is second nature. doctors’ ofﬁces are the last bastion of the paper economy. We can’t live with that any longer.” – Kerry Weems, Acting adminstrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “If we don’t bring the elected ofﬁcials, the business community [and] the entrepreneurs together, it’s not going to happen.” – Rep. Jon Porter (R-Nev.), (Both speaking at a meeting of the U.S. chamber of commerce on march 11) Jack Beaudoin John D. Payne Neil Rouda PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENTS Jack Beaudoin John D. Payne 2005 JESSE NEAL AWARD WINNER http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8862 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/page.cms?pageId=3 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/page.cms?pageId=3 http://www.myHITN.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8863

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Healthcare IT News - March 2008

Healthcare IT News - March 2008 Contents No. 1 E-prescribing ‘Quite Bright’ Bill Frist on IT Google Connection Poised for P4P ‘Smashing Success’ Tough On Fraud It's Analytics Getting Rid of the Pain Stuck In Neutral

Healthcare IT News - March 2008

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