Back in 2005, President George W. Bush declared a national goal of universal electronic medical records for all U.S. citizens by 2015. It was a bold prediction then and, while it’s increasingly unlikely that the goal will be fully met in the remaining three years, the healthcare industry is slowly, carefully moving into a high tech world that many other industries have long since adopted.
There are many reasons for the slow adoption of technology. In the case of electronic medical records, commonly referred to as “EMR,” physicians cite “usability” and “password controls” as the prime reasons for their reluctance. In other words, they can scrawl notes faster using pen and paper than it takes to bootup, login and type.
Other nations, most notably Japan, appear to be moving faster than the U.S. in technology adoption. In a number of hospitals and clinics in Japan, it’s not unusual to see physicians moving through the hospitals on their daily rounds with tablet computers in hand to make notes and show x-ray images to their patients. And a number of Japan’s larger hospitals have created centralized databases where a vast network of smaller clinics and even local pharmacies share patient files.
On a recent trip to Japan, Alan Channing, President and CEO of the Sinai Health System in Chicago, got a firsthand view of IT usage in the country’s healthcare system. “I was impressed by one Japanese hospital’s use of a sophisticated scheduling system for patients and the advanced state of their computer networks, “ said Channing.
Channing, whose own organization received the American Hospital Association’s prestigious NOVA award for its community efforts, would like to see U.S. technology play a more significant role as a remote communications tool for patient monitoring and healthcare reminders.
The use of technology for patient monitoring and follow-up is beginning to gain some traction as various companies seek to offer new products to fill some of the communications “gaps.” Once such company is HealthLoop, a Silicon Valley startup, which uses a software program to engage patients with their doctor while recovering from a procedure or illness. Doctors who use HealthLoop get a “dashboard” that enables them to see how patients are doing between physical visits.
HealthLoop’s alpha product was recently tested with a dozen medical offices nationwide and more than 700 patients had their recovery or condition monitored. Physician and patient feedback has been positive, and the company plans to launch its “beta” application next month.
Federal incentives to improve that nation’s healthcare technology have ignited a minor “gold rush” in Silicon Valley as startups move boldly into the space and bigger companies seeking to capitalize on the opportunity gobble them up. In just the last year, McKesson and Aetna purchased an insurance software supplier and a health information exchange company for a combined total of nearly $600 million. Eclipsys, a technology provider to hospitals, was acquired for a cool $1.3 billion.
President Bush’s goal may not be fully realized by 2015, but it’s a safe bet that by then, doctors and hospitals will be floating on a sea of new technology, and hopefully we’ll all be better for it.
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