CommonWell Health Alliance – Big Stride or Baby Steps?

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baby-steps1You’ve all heard my thoughts on mobility as the critical lynchpin for healthcare to achieve true clinical transformation. And, that one of the longest standing and most stubborn barriers to mobility is the lack of true interoperability across systems and devices from multiple vendors in any health system.

So during HIMSS13 back in March, I was interested to hear that some EMR vendors were joining together in the CommonWell Health Alliance to integrate their systems. It was encouraging to see these EMR vendors talk about opening up and becoming more compatible with each other – something that health systems have demanded, but that vendors’ proprietary attitudes and competition for market share have prevented. Like most of the industry, I’ve been curious to see how the Alliance would unfold and if the outcome could be experienced immediately since healthcare organizations cannot afford to wait. The need for action is NOW. Continue reading →

Is Technology Turning Hospitals Into MD Machines?

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doctor-ipadMany of my fellow clinicians see the ongoing health IT movement as a hindrance to the quality of care they are able to provide their patients. When they hear all this talk about “automation,” “streamlining efficiency,” and “mobilizing data,” it can seem that technology is replacing the human side of compassionate patient care with an assembly line that churns out procedures. Some clinicians see mobile technologies pulling them away from the bedside and turning patients into data points. But, if a hospital takes the right approach to this process change, that’s simply not the case. In fact, clinicians should find the exact opposite to be true as these solutions fulfill the promise of becoming a true mobile assistant – always there to improve workflow anytime, anywhere.

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Getting at the Heart of Readmissions

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heartbeat-thumb-550xauto-83375I will always stay true to my belief that health systems need to take an enterprise-wide approach to mobility. But at the same time, I’m often asked by hospitals CEOs and CIOs how they should prioritize mobility when it comes to different care areas. My first answer is to look at your current challenges and strategic initiatives, and then ask how mobility can help you to get there.  While I always emphasize the benefit of mobility across all departments, cardiology is where I see the potential for mobility to make the most immediate impact – especially when it comes to improving outcomes and reducing readmissions. Continue reading →

Dignity Health Guest Post: The Provider View of Mobile Interoperability

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dignityDignity Health is one of the five largest health systems in the U.S., with a presence in 17 states and expertise and services around a number of key specialties. In the Arizona service area, we’re widely known for our work in neurology and neurosurgery. And it’s been just within the last year or so that I’ve come to understand how mobile technology has the ability to improve and extend care so that more patients across our system can benefit from our services.

While Dignity Health offers its clinicians a range of useful IT solutions, we made it our goal to remove the gap that existed between where clinical data resides and how to deliver that data to the right clinician when they need it most. By doing so, we were able to eliminate a host of challenges for clinicians – most notably, the frustration around delays in getting the information we need to diagnose, treat and spend more time with patients. I’ve seen how a mobile-based solution that can pull data from any system can easily dissolve that gap, so physicians can make better decisions and ultimately provide better care wherever they are. Continue reading →

My Wish List: FDA Mobile Medical App Regulation

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iPhone_FDAThe House Energy and Commerce Committee’s recent questions to FDA are seeking much-needed clarification of the agency’s policy of regulating certain mobile medical apps as medical devices. I’m very pleased to see the FDA responding to attempts to clarify the “gray area” of the guidance it issued in July 2011. Following three days of hearings last week on rules for these products – including the impact of FDA oversight and the potential for new taxes – I hope the FDA will take the following patient safety issues into consideration: Continue reading →

Lessons in Healthcare IT from Military Medicine

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Navy_Medicine_sealThe U.S. military has long been a pioneer in the use of cutting-edge health technologies that provide real benefit to clinicians and patients. Not only does it provide the ideal location to create and implement such technologies, but it’s also a key testing ground for a range of new solutions that can and should be implemented in hospitals and health networks across the U.S.

As a Navy physician deployed with the Marines in the Helmand Province, Afghanistan, I was able to witness and experience firsthand the impact of new electronic health technologies. Despite the inhospitable environment and lack of existing infrastructure, we had wireless monitoring devices to measure vital signs, X-ray machines that provided digital images, and often the ability to access a ‘light’ version of the military’s electronic medical records system. We could also send pictures and clinical summaries via secure email to specialists for expedited consultations.   Continue reading →

Making it Real: A Physician’s Pathway to Clinical Transformation

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PathwayEveryone in the industry would likely agree that “clinical” or “care transformation” has been a popular buzz-term for the past several years. Most also agree that interoperability barriers and data silos need to be broken down to achieve it. But there are several issues that are critical to improve the way physicians work before hospitals and health systems will see the kind of transformational change that’s necessary to make the most of technology enhancers while preserving the human element of patient care. Continue reading →