With much of the contentious healthcare reform fight over, companies within the health information technology sector both nationally and locally are set for tremendous growth. The industry was already growing from last year's stimulus cash infusion and looks to be big winners from passage of the healthcare reform bill.
Scott Storrer, President and CEO of MEDecision said that the $20 billion allotment from last year's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act " is motivating and mobilizing the entire industry in a way it hasn't been motivated or mobilized before." In a statement released after the recent Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference held in Atlanta, Storrer said, "healthcare IT companies are going to be the cogs that turn the wheels that make it happen."
Georgia is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this growth as it is ranked 7th nationally for its bio and life-sciences industry which has an estimated value of $7billion and employs more than 30,000 workers. In addition to this, the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDED) says the healthcare IT(health informatics) industry in Georgia is ranked in the top four nationwide with $4 billion generated annually from the industry.
Health information technology is one of many sectors looking to cash in on the recent reforms and play a vital role in transforming America's healthcare system. Many in the biotechnology field believe the bill will spur new breakthroughs in research through an infusion of cash into this sector.
"The bill also includes a critical provision that will provide some financial relief to research-intensive, small biotechnology companies that continue to suffer from tight credit markets," said Jim Greenwood, President and CEO of Washington based, Biotechnology Industry Organization, the nations largest biotechnology umbrella organization.
Event the language in the reform bill points to the crucial role that technology will play in the transformation of the US health care landscape. In an article earlier this week, BNET journalist Erik Sherman covered many of the individual IT references listed throughout the reform bill.
Some of the highlights included the creation of an "Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology." Additionally, a review panel entitled the "National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics" would also be created to review presumed benchmarks on the standards and practices of national healthcare delivery.
In addition to the creation of these offices, the bill pushes for standardization, review and maintenance of quality in information records and utilization of IT wherever possible.
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