Healthcare IT News - October 2007 - (Page 36)

36 Healthcare IT News ■ October 2007 www.HealthcareITNews.com Transitions utumn is for me, and I suspect many ing the ‘right’ reformulation of Stark to of you, the favorite season of the year. encourage e-prescribing; the ‘right’ P4P, e.g., While spring brings new diagnostic-related groups; STANDARDS and new present-on-admission promise, autumn provides a sense of satisfaction. Both, of course, coding, so Medicare could are transition seasons in contrast identify the errors for which not to winter and summer’s defining to pay. In addition, these efforts characteristics. Such were my would identify the ‘right’ busiby Ed Larsen reflections as I reviewed the state ness plan for moving AHIC of interoperability standards after a summer of into the private sector. When viewed as final activity. solutions, many stakeholders and vested interThe most striking “insight” is how little we ests see these as of major importance worth focus on planning transitions and how much significant effort to influence and shape. But we emphasize defining final solutions. In a when viewed as transitions, they offer differsense, the injection of Washington-centralized ent “insights.” thinking may be responsible. There are IT In 1962, Everett Rogers in Diffusions of solutions to all problems; there are standards Innovations described a theory to explain the to recognize; there are ambulatory EHR sys- diffusion of technology. He explained the tems to buy; there is a privacy policy to adopt; adoption curve as an approximation of a norand there is a pay-for-performance (P4P) pro- mal distribution of adopters that is plotted as gram that will ensure quality care, if only we a cumulative curve from innovators to lagcould find the right decision-making formula gards. In the mid 1990s, Gartner published its or authority. hype cycle curve to explain IT adoption from Thus, this summer we saw the continuing inflated expectations to plateaus of productivefforts by the Office of the National ity. These models could be viewed as ways of Coordinator and its initiatives to guide us to improving predictions about the future. But the ‘right’ lab message standard, the ‘right’ funny things happen along the way to full ambulatory and inpatient EHR systems, the adoption and plateaus of productivity, things ‘right’ privacy policy, and the ‘right’ pilot for such as new and disruptive technologies and the nationwide health information network changes in science, policy and incentives. No (NHIN). Similarly, we saw the Department of one, even the most laggard among us, adopts Health and Human Services and the Centers information technology from 17 years ago. for Medicare & Medicaid Services determin- Rather, there is actually a series of overlapping, INSIGHT asynchronous curves—wavelet theory, if you will. The models are not very useful for longterm planning, but rather are frameworks for assessing the current status. They are static observations of today about tomorrow. They simply suggest, in trying to model change, that change is the norm. We have little insight today into the right decisions for five or ten years in the future. Thus, efforts to find the ‘right’ standard, the ‘right’ EHR system, and the ‘right’ NHIN architecture are useful for those that make decisions now; however, those efforts are hardly useful if viewed as the solution for everyone hence forth. And so how do these observations yield a season of satisfaction? Our summer saw progress made: some standards were adopted, some new EHR systems became certified, and some NHIN pilots were started. What is important is the continued pursuit of longterm goals through short-term actions even when we know they are neither final nor will they ever be fully adopted. And there may be the golden moment when the asynchronous waves of IT and new standards innovation overlap and, for a while, produce a transition in synch. ■ Ed Larsen is an independent strategy consultant who tracks interoperability standards for HIMSS. For the full article, go to Standards Insight on the HIMSS Member start page. Comments or questions can be sent to erlarsen@erlinc.com. PUBLICATIONS STAFF VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS Fran Perveiler MANAGER, PUBLICATIONS Nancy Vitucci CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS MANAGERS Joyce Lofstrom Sharolyn Rosier Hyson SENIOR EDITOR Matt Schlossberg COORDINATOR, COMMUNICATIONS Cari McLean BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR John Wade, FCHIME, FHIMSS Vice President/Chief Information Officer Saint Luke’s Health System VICE CHAIR Victoria Bradley, DNP, RN, FHIMSS Director of Patient Information University of Kentucky HealthCare CHAIR ELECT Charles E. Christian, FCHIME, FHIMSS Director, Information Systems/Chief Information Officer Good Samaritan Hospital VICE CHAIR ELECT Requests for HIT data from Dorenfest Institute grow in FY2007 T he Dorenfest Institute for Health Information Technology Research and Education, managed by the HIMSS Foundation, provides at no charge a variety of detailed historical data, reports, and white papers about IT use in hospitals and integrated healthcare delivery networks to: 1) universities; 2) students under university license; 3) US governments (local, state and federal); and 4) governments of other countries that will be using the data for research purposes. As the quest for credible and current data on health information technology and management systems continues, the Dorenfest Institute received 248 total requests for information database access from July 1, 2006 – July 30, 2007 (HIMSS fiscal year 2007); this represents an increase of 190 percent from the previous fiscal year. Formed in January 2005, the Dorenfest Institute furthers the interest in and benefits associated with ongoing research in HIT. This followed a generous donation of his company and its historical data assets to the HIMSS Foundation by Sheldon I. Dorenfest, former president/CEO of Sheldon I. Dorenfest and Associates, Ltd. in Chicago, to further the interest in and benefits associated with ongoing research in health IT. Of the 248 total requests the Dorenfest Institute received, almost half, or 47 percent, of the approved applicants were associated with a university. All requests were reviewed; they were accepted, if they fell into one of the four categories (listed above). Of the university approved requests, 38 percent were university students; university faculty and university other were each 6 percent. Government totaled 3 percent of the total accepted requests. Of all requests, 85 percent were from the United States; 15 percent from outside the United States. Academic-related requests, which totaled 69 percent of all requests, ranked as the main reason for access to the data. The complete listing of databases, white papers and publications available from the Dorenfest Institute is available at http://www.himss.org/DorenfestInstitute/default.aspx, including an online registration form for access to all of the data. Contact foundation@himss.org for more information on the Dorenfest Institute. ■ Liz Johnson, FHIMSS Vice President, Applied Clinical Informatics Tenet Healthcare Corp. Margret Amatayakul, RHIA, CHPS, FHIMSS President Margaret A. Consulting, LLC Barry Chaiken, MD, FHIMSS Associate Chief Medical Officer BearingPoint Inc. Maj. John H. Daniels, FACHE, CPHIMS, CHPS, FHIMSS Chief Information Officer U.S. Air Force Academy Hospital John Hansmann, FHIMSS Regional Manager, Management Engineering Intermountain Health Care C. Martin Harris, MD, MBA, FHIMSS Chief Information Officer and Chairman Information Technology Division Executive Director eCleveland Clinic The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Joy G. Keeler, MBA Principal Health Information Technology The MITRE Corp. Jay Srini, FHIMSS Vice President, Emerging Technologies University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Jonathan M. Teich, MD, PhD, FHIMSS Chief Medical Informatics Officer Elsevier Health Sciences PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER H. Stephen Lieber, CAE HIMSS ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Steve Fox Partner Pepper Hamilton LLP Miriam Paramore Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Business Development Integra Professional Services HIMSS08 registration and travel available Speakers reflect on role at HIMSS08 at www.himssconference.org; early–bird registration open through Dec. 17 PHOTO COURTESY OF ORLANDO/ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER H is now open at www.himssconference.org/registration, with early– bird registration rates available through Dec. 17. The HIMSS08 Web site also features hotel information. Hotels are expected to fill up quickly, so attendees are encouraged to make hotel reservations early. Hotel reservations can be made through Ambassadors, HIMSS’ official housing and travel bureau, at www.himssconference.org/travel or via phone at 877-517-3038. In addition, Universal Studios, Orlando, Fla. details on booking flights with HIMSS’ two airline partners, Delta and American Airlines—the official carriers of HIMSS08—are available online. ■ IMSS08 REGISTRATION ach year, hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals submit presentation proposals in the hopes they are accepted for the HIMSS Annual Conference. From more than 600 proposals submitted, 125 were selected to be developed into sessions to be presented at the 2008 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition. This year’s accepted speakers were asked two questions upon their acceptance: “What does speaking at HIMSS mean to you?” and “How did you react when you found out you were speaking?”. vide the best possible health and wellness services to a rapidly aging population, with less resources,” he said. “To survive and thrive in the future, we need everyone's input, and HIMSS offers one of the few opportunities each year to come together, in a collaborative forum, to share our thoughts and successes.” Christi Rushnell, VP of HFHP Information Services at Healthfirst, Inc. in Rockledge, Fla., James Albert, CIO at Masonicare in Wallingford, Conn., noted the importance of the collaboration HIMSS facil http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.himss.org/DorenfestInstitute/default.aspx http://www.himssconference.org http://www.himssconference.org/registration http://www.himssconference.org/registration http://www.himssconference.org/travel http://www.himssconference.org/travel

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Healthcare IT News - October 2007 Contents Global Harmony Telegrowth New Rules Keeping Tabs What's Free? PHR of Its Own Intelligent Closing Practice Management Paper Tiger

Healthcare IT News - October 2007

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