HIMSS 2011 Asks: What’s Next in Healthcare IT?
Every year, a major theme seems to pop out of the HIMSS Conference & Exhibition. And far after the show ends, it’s that theme that impacts the whole healthcare IT field, from the federal government to community hospitals to vendors. Before heading into the show, I catch up on what the healthcare IT influencers are saying to get a feel for what that powerful theme could be for the industry. And what better way to start than by getting into David Blumenthal’s head? His most recent blog post on the HealthITBuzz blog covered a lot. But what resonated with me was how it kept coming back to empowering healthcare providers with information. One excerpt stuck out the most: “In health care, as in so many industries, information plays a vital role. From diagnosis and treatment of an individual, to the allocation of health organization resources, and even real-time response to public health needs, decisions are guided by the available information…Effective patient care takes more than a good doctor—it takes coordination and a critical mass of data. Health IT provides the infrastructure to support those goals at a new level.” What? “Critical mass of data?” “Available information?” Whatever happened to meaningful use of information?