The quiet health care revolution is starting

AdTech Ad

University of Nevada, Reno

While Congress debates health-care reform, innovators are quietly transforming our health care system. Technology companies, such as IBM, Google and Intel, and large health care systems are working to strengthen the quality and efficiency of our health care system.

The federal stimulus package includes billions to help states and health care providers implement electronic medical records systems and develop area-wide health information exchanges.

Health care data currently is isolated. The X-ray of your recent broken leg sits in a file in one provider's office and cannot be accessed by other providers.

Smart health care data that is interconnected can improve care by facilitating the exchange of information among multiple health care providers, streamlining billing processes, supporting efforts to reduce medical errors, and supporting efforts to identify and implement best practices in health care. While the last benefit might seem vague, it is expected to yield the largest efficiency gains because researchers have documented substantial variation in care patterns across states that cannot be explained by differences in the patient populations.

Instead, these variations reflect differences in physician practice patterns, and the differences are large enough to suggest that identifying and implementing best practices nationwide could generate substantial cost savings. For example, in Las Vegas, the cost per Medicare enrollee is above average, while in Reno, the cost per Medicare enrollee is below average.

Private-sector innovations also are offering new options for patients:

* Individuals can create free personal electronic health records at Google Health.

* Disease-management companies are harnessing Bluetooth technology and artificial intelligence to help individuals manage chronic conditions such as diabetes. Individuals can weigh themselves daily at home on smart scales with computer screens. The computer screen displays a chart showing the new weight in the context of recent weights. If the new weight is higher than expected, the screen presents a series of questions: What did you eat today? How recently? The information is transmitted, via Bluetooth technology, to the disease-management company, where a nurse telephones patients who may need assistance in managing their conditions.

(2 of 2)

* Stores such as Walmart, Target and CVS Pharmacy are responding to cost-conscious patients by opening in-store clinics that provide basic primary-care services that can be handled by nurse practitioners. A 2007 article in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded, 'The clinics provide a compelling value proposition. Care is intended to be quick, inexpensive and convenient: visits and waiting times are short, the charge is usually less than $50 and extended hours are offered along with ample parking."

Advertisement

The value-conscious patients attracted to these clinics also are fueling the new "medical tourism" business, as patients travel outside the U.S. for nonemergency surgeries.

Skeptics voice concerns about important issues concerning electronic health data that must be considered, such as data security, privacy and health literacy. Supporters, however, note that other industries have been transformed in ways that were not fully anticipated at the start. Once the winds of competitive innovation begin blowing, it is difficult to predict the outcome.

Jeanne Wendel is a professor of economics in the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno. She was co-chair of Nevada's committee that developed the framework for the state to apply for stimulus funds for health information technology.

Next PageNext

* 1 |

* 2

PreviousPrevious Page