Healthcare reform requires a foundation of healthcare IT in order to be successful including:
*Universal adoption of EHRs
*Frictionless exchange of healthcare information with patient consent
*Widespread use of Personal Health Records
*Analytics to support quality and cost measurement
*Decision Support to deliver the right care at the right time
The SCOTUS decision to uphold the healthcare reform law ensures that these foundational components will still have urgency, since every provider organization will be motivated to implement them in order thrive in the healthcare marketplace of the future.
Agree with you completely, one thing to add is all of the above has to be supplemented with various Training options to be successfully implemented. Working on the training side of things, we see that a lot of providers are for the implementation, but lack of computer proficiency prevents implementation. Offering training options is one of the possible solutions for quicker implementation.
ReplyDeleteL
I don't mean to contradict...I'm a huge fan of your blog and talks...but my understanding is that the benefits that you mentioned above are contained in HITECH, which is part of ARRA, passed in 2009, not the PPACA, which was passed in 2010 and is commonly known as Obamacare, and which was upheld by the SCOTUS.
ReplyDeleteAFAIK, PPACA is almost entirely about healthcare insurance coverage, and has very little to do with quality of healthcare.
I would say that many of the provisions within the HITECH Act actually help support some of the pieces of PPACA. There are initiatives, like Accountable Care Organizations, that are covered under PPACA that require things like interoperable health records in order to to be functional.
ReplyDeleteSee the below fact sheet for general information on ACO's
http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2011/03/accountablecare03312011a.html
For more information and links also see :
http://innovations.cms.gov/initiatives/ACO/index.html