Strategies for Addressing Today’s – and Tomorrow’s – Health IT Issues

 

More than 50 Federal and information technology (IT) experts who work in many areas of health care attended the debut Issue Briefing hosted by JBS International on March 11, 2009. “Strategies for Addressing Today’s – and Tomorrow’s – Health IT Issues” was presented by Karen Bell, MD, MMS. Dr. Bell is the former Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Health Information Technology Adoption and was an advisor to the Obama transition team on health IT policy. She is Senior Vice President of Health Information Technology Services at Masspro, a Massachusetts quality improvement organization.

 

Dr. Bell’s presentation addressed the Federal government’s goals for health information technology (HIT), the current state of HIT in the United States, and what it will take to realize the vision for HIT. She also spoke at length about the stimulus package. Title XIII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17, 2009, provides, among many other things, funding and incentives for the development, adoption, and upgrade of HIT.

 

Dr. Bell noted that the state of HIT, like the state of health care delivery, is currently fragmented. HIT goals include coordinating safer, more effective, and timely patient care; communicating with and caring for patients regardless of whether they live in rural, suburban, or urban areas; enabling individuals to better manage their own health; and supporting community health efforts through enhanced research opportunities.

 

Given the current status of HIT adoption by physicians, these goals are a long way from being met. In 2008, only 17 percent of U.S. physicians used electronic note keeping and lab and medical orders and had the ability to obtain lab results electronically, according to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Bell noted. The number of physicians using HIT varied greatly depending on the size of their practices; only 9 percent of doctors practicing alone had these capabilities.

 

Jeff Hunter, a principal and founder of J.A. Hunter & Co., LLC, who attended the briefing commented that he frequently asks his physician why he doesn’t adopt HIT. The answer? It’s too costly to purchase and install the right software, take the time and resources necessary to change business systems, and train workers.

 

But Mr. Hunter said he remains hopeful that the United States can reach the HIT goals outlined. “I think we have to get there. It will be a matter of competition in the global economy that will make us go there,” he said.

 

Other presenters at the briefing included Gene Ginther, who discussed some of the HIT initiatives JBS is involved in, such as a federal adverse event reporting portal. Mr. Ginther is the Chief Operating Officer of JBS’ Stellar Division and an expert in HIT standards development.

 

 Christina Currier, of the Government Project Office, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, pointed out that widespread adoption of HIT faces challenges, including safeguarding personal privacy and uncertainty surrounding the federal stimulus package.

 

“These presentations were very informative and comprehensive. They provided me with a good foundation of the types of issues that need to be considered when planning for HIT initiatives,” she said.

 

The presentation was the first in a series of JBS Issue Briefings featuring invited experts who discuss their perspectives on current and emerging public policy challenges.

 

For more information, please contact JBS by telephone at 301-495-1080 or by e-mail at MarComm@jbsinternational.com.