“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Albert Einstein
by Vince Kuraitis JD, MBA and David C. Kibbe MD, MBA
If you’re like many folks we talk with, you understand the importance of the HITECH Act legislation — yet feel overwhelmed by the complexity and details.
This series of blog posts is for you. We address the question “Is HITECH working?” with seven straightforward observations. We’ve worked hard to boil down the complexity and make it understandable to the casual industry observer.
Is HITECH Working? Summarizing the Seven Observations
Our 7 Observations are:
- Hospitals are grumbling but are playing in the game; success is not guaranteed.
- Key physicians will sit on the sidelines (at least for now).
- ONC got it right on the 3 major policy issues: Meaningful Use, Certification, Standards
- While most attention has been focused on demand side incentives (will doctors and hospitals buy EHRs?), the supply (vendor) side of health IT is already transforming.
- “Gimme my damn data!” The stage is being set to enable patient-driven disruptive innovation.
- Health care reform legislation and HITECH are synergistic.
- Where’s Plan B? Congress and ONC need to address major flaws in HITECH.
We’ll post separate essays on each of these observations over the next week or two.
Our Perspective
We’d like to address our unique perspectives on the question.
First, we bring a broad, cross-industry perspective. We’ve been talking with dozens of colleagues, reading about a thousand pages of legislation and rules, and reading hundreds of different perspectives on HITECH — it’s a popular topic. There is a cacophony of voices providing data and commentary. If you have an opinion or POV, someone out there shares it — so you can find evidence to support just about any perspective.
Lest you suspect that this series of articles is simply a compilation of evidence to support a POV, let us address that suspicion right away. You’re 100% correct…and we hope to be persuasive in compiling perspectives and data to support our conclusions. If you disagree, please bring your own perspectives and data to support your conclusions. In each post, we’ll reference what we’ve found to be the most helpful and/or insightful references and analyses.
Second, we’re biased. There have been two major schools of thought about how best to spend HITECH dollars — the incumbent (cat) and innovator (dog) points of view. If you’ve read any of our previous writings (for example here and here) you know that we believe strongly that U.S. health care needs a strong dose of innovation. We’re big fans of Clayton Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation as an explanation and roadmap of how to create disruptive, innovative change that is beneficial to customers — in this case primary care physicians, medical practices, and the patients they serve.
Third, this is a progress report. It’s the top of the third inning in the HITECH game. This is a great time to pause and reflect on progress — the first phase of planning is nearing an end and implementation phases are about to begin in earnest….and there’s a lot of ball yet to play.
Article Series - Is HITECH Working?
- Is HITECH Working? 7 Observations Mom Could Understand
- Is HITECH Working? #1: Hospitals are grumbling but are playing in the game; success is not guaranteed.
- Is HITECH Working? #2: Key physicians will sit on the sidelines (at least for now).
- Is HITECH Working? #3: ONC got it right on the 3 major policy interpretations: Meaningful Use, Certification, Standards
- Is HITECH Working? #4: While most attention has been focused on demand side incentives (will doctors and hospitals buy EHRs?), the supply (vendor) side of HIT is already transforming.
- Is HITECH Working? #5: “Gimme my damn data!” The stage is being set to enable patient-driven disruptive innovation.
- Is HITECH Working? #6: HITECH and Health Reform Objectives are Synergistic
- Is HITECH Working? #7: Where’s Plan B? Congress and ONC need to address major flaws in HITECH.
Can’t wait to read the series…. :-)
I will be very interested in hearing about key physicians sitting on the sidelines.
We see the biggest challenge for HITECh being getting the small covered entities and business associates compliant at a price they can afford and then helping them stay compliant.
I too am a big fan of Clayton Christensen’s disruptive innovation. In his Harvard Business Review article from 2000 “Can Disruptive Innovation Cure Healthcare” a gleaned a morsel that has become my business mantra. He said “Major markets coalesce when product, process, and information technology come together to let less expensive people work in more convenient settings” We have applied that to the old consulting model and by using cloud computing or Software as a Service we deliver a helper and the policy and procedures over the Internet with a built in step by step process.
We perfected this helping small healthcare organizations get accredited with The Joint Commission.
Covered entities need to require proof of compliance from their BAs and we supply that through a Compliance Meter(tm) that displays their current level of compliance.
Disruptive innovation is needed throughout healthcare.
Vince,
As always, you lead the pack in insights and in connecting the dots.
If consumers are to really disrupt, they need to feel empowered as people to take on other people. Calling them patients automatically hoists them into a category that fosters disequilibrium with doctors. If they are all just people, why does one group have to be so inferior to the other?
My new company is about self-management and guess what, we did not invite the docs to the party. There aren’t enough; they are too demanding. Screw ‘em!
On with disrupting. Don’t be a stranger, Vince.