All providers want to deliver the highest
quality care possible, just as all patients want to receive
the best treatment available for their conditions. But at
what cost? Across the country, many hospitals still worry
that undertaking new I.T. quality initiatives may not be
feasible in the midst of a shaky economy.
However, HCA's Chief Medical Officer and Clinical Services
President Jonathan Perlin, MD, believes there is nothing to
fear in pursuing care excellence, even during times of fiscal
strife. In his experience with the health care network, as
well as in his prior role as the Chief Executive Officer of
the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), he's found that
using electronic health records for quality improvement is
not only safer for patients, but also a solid financial
strategy for hospitals.
"Economic pressures will continue for hospitals well
after this recession is over," says Dr. Perlin. "That's
why it's so important for us to shift our focus toward value-based
health care, which certainly includes information
technologies. There are many paths to health and payment
reform, but the bottom line is, good quality and great safety
are always the best business case."
Necessary
Tools for a Challenging Future
One of the biggest problems with the U.S. health care
industry today, according to Dr. Perlin, is that there is
little relation between the money which is spent on care
delivery, and eventual patient outcomes. "Our industry
is unlike many others, in that a great deal of inefficiency
and errors are still tolerated," he says.
"You are far more likely to have a physician who doesn't
practice proper hand-washing, than to lose luggage during
airline travel. Many hospitals are in the same position that
the VHA was in when I was there—they need to change
their ways, or risk going out of business."
Hospital acquired infections is one particular area where Dr.
Perlin sees I.T. not only potentially saving lives, but also
saving revenue for cash-strapped facilities. "We're
currently seeing 1.7 million unreimbursable hospital
infections per year, contributing to approximately 99,000
deaths. In addition, one out of five Medicare patients are
readmitted less than 24 hours after a hospital stay," he
says.
"Providers need patient information to flow with these
challenges to patients' safety, and provide better continuity
and preventative services. Besides being good for the
community, this will inevitably help the hospital's bottom
line as well. Using I.T. tools for performance measurement,
it's possible to save millions of dollars each year, just for
avoiding unnecessary pneumonia hospitalizations."
Chronic disease is another area where information
technologies could have a substantial financial impact,
particularly ailments which stem from obesity. "Over 64
percent of adults in the U.S. are either overweight or obese,
which is a real health crisis in the making," he says.
"If we are to avoid the tremendous costs associated with
diabetes and heart disease, we need to start being proactive,
by using I.T. to identify and track the progress of those at
the highest risk. Electronic health records make it possible
for us to monitor patients across multiple episodes of care,
to keep their conditions under control and out of the
Emergency Room. Any caregiver who does not use these
technologies will be at a competitive disadvantage over the
long haul."
Good Quality
= Good Business
By pursuing value-based health care strategies and using a
solid I.T. system, Dr. Perlin believes that hospitals will be
able to create a virtual network and span across traditional
silos, making critical patient information more accessible
and useful for addressing current health concerns. "We're
no longer in the Industrial Age, where more equals better. In
our Information Age, better actually equals more," he
says.
"To survive in these times, we need to continually
improve and change if we hope to keep up. HCA has seen good
quality lead to good business, and I expect we'll see that
trend for other prospering organizations in the years ahead."
MEDITECH
Medical
Information Technology, Inc.
MEDITECH Circle
Westwood, MA 02090
781-821-3000
www.meditech.com