Intelligent Healthcare Information Integration 3/3/10

While the Gettin’s Good

Here I sit, 6:10 AM, leaving the 2010 HIMSS conference, riding the shuttle toward Gate D25 here in ATL. (Typing that, I feel like Kenny Tarmac; respects to “The Bob & Tom Show.”) As I write this, I realize how freakin’ psychic I am, planning to leave just after one day of show. Not because of anything related to the HIMSS event; rather, because the last time Atlanta had a half an inch of snow, I was speaking to a friend there who was just about in a panic, as was pretty much the rest of lovely Atlanta, at the sight of frozen water. Wouldn’t you know, after arriving back at the hotel last night after a phenomenal HIStalk reception and excellent Eclipsys party with the still-spectacular B-52s, the local newscasters were abuzz with the news of, yup, snow.

Two to three inches was being forecast to hit starting just after my departing plane arrives safely away in Charlotte. Now, being from the frigid north, this piddly dusting doesn’t begin to worry me. However, if a half an inch frightens Atlantians into rolling up the sidewalks, I can’t imagine what enough to cover their shoe tops might do.

My post-HIMSS first-to-mind thought? As a mere grunt from the small town trenches, you might think the colossus into which HIMSS has morphed might be overwhelming. Would be, I suppose, if:

a) I hadn’t been watching all this HIT hubbub bubbling away for over a quarter century;

b) I didn’t know a bunch of really good people involved in this work who attend HIMSS who;

c) Keep introducing me to even more really good people.

Speaking of really good peeps, perhaps the most intriguing – and, perhaps, telling – comment I heard this year came from Pat Downing, one of those nice folks met via another nice folk. Pat, originally from Maryland, has now lived for over ten years in Thailand – Bangkok, to be specific. He’s the original brain behind what has since become Microsoft Amalga. Not being daily immersed in the U.S. HIT world, he notes how his infrequent visits allow a unique perspective upon what’s the haps here when he does make the rounds at HIMSS. This year, his take was disturbing, if not downright ominous.

To wit (paraphrased): I always find that walking the periphery of the HIMSS exhibit hall(s) gives me a view for the new, the innovators, always positioned around the outskirts of the show, those small guys who are bringing along the next big “pops.” This year, though, nothing popped.

Maybe it’s the scramble to address “meaningful use” (whatever that truly is.) Maybe it’s the ARRA funds which seem to have stalled – at least temporarily – the EHR purchase decisions of many potential adopters. Maybe we’re just out of idea men and women who can even pretend to wrap their minds around this ginormous, dysfunctional beast we call healthcare here in America.

But, maybe, just maybe, it’s the lull before the next great storm of disruption which will actually engage the masses of healthcare providers into actualizing the real horsepower of IT. Not technology for technology’s sake, nor technology for the sake of a carrot or the threat of a stick, but technology uptake based upon technology which excites and enthralls, technology which needs no incentives other than its own inherent value. Sort of like my palm Pre. (OK, sort of like the iPhone for the rest of you.)

The fun of the HIStalk reception still lingers, so I’m going with the latter, glass half full possibility.

Best of luck with the “blizzard,” y’all.

(On my way back to where I’m) From the trenches…

“The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds and the pessimist fears this is true” – James Branch Cabell

Dr. Gregg Alexander, a grunt in the trenches pediatrician, directs the “Pediatric Office of the Future” exhibit for the American Academy of Pediatrics and is a member of the Professional Advisory Council for ModernMedicine.com. More of his blather…er, writings…can be found at his blog, practice web site or directly from doc@madisonpediatric.com.

News 3/4/10

I’m back at home after an exhausting, fun, and educational few days at HIMSS. I have a ridiculous number of e-mails to wade through, but as far as I can tell, there were no earth-shattering announcements, such as company mergers or the like. However, many new product releases, new partnerships, and client success stories were shared. Over the next few days I will digest it all a bit and post more highlights.

In terms of offerings of interest to physicians, I had the chance to look at a few of the EMR vendors. The big name vendors had heavy traffic the whole time, but I have to wonder if the HIMSS experience is worth it if you are a small vendor in one of the small booths and low traffic areas. A lot of those folks looked lonely.

I got a quick peek at SRS and I finally understand its appeal. It does not offer every bell and whistle that you might find in a NextGen or Allscripts product. However, it’s very intuitive, the screen is not cluttered, and navigation is simple. If you want to chart the complete note at the point of care, this is not the product for you. But if you want something that gets your charts electronic, it’s not a bad option. It’s not the option if you want to do complicated data searches since it relies heavily on scanning and transcription. There are limited discrete fields, which also means you don’t have a whole lot of point and click in the documentation process. I knew the product had these limitations before seeing it, but it is strong enough in its design to be an attractive alternative for certain types of providers (especially specialists).

I didn’t see the Sage product in great depth, but it looks like one of the more comprehensive EMRs in terms of its ability to be customized and to accommodate a totally paperless workflow. However, it is not the prettiest EMR out there and a little window dressing might improve its appeal.

If you are a smaller start-up vendor, here’s a recommendation: hire an industry veteran to help you define what is different and unique about your product. This is 2010 and there is no need for a vendor to begin a pitch saying that what makes his EMR great is that it makes patient information available from anywhere and saves on transcription costs and reduces paper. I’m pretty sure that just every HIMSS attendee is aware of that every EMR has that same potential.  When a vendor starts telling their story in this fashion, their credibility is blown and their lack of experience in HIT is exposed.

Here is what seems to be a hot trend: products that can be bolted on to core practice management and EMR programs. The hospital world has been doing this for years, but not so much the ambulatory space. Of course there have long been claims clearinghouse that work with PM solutions, but now vendors are offering easy-to-use and customizable front-end solutions (like Salar) to work with EMRs, all sorts of RCM tools (RelayHealth is big in this area), and business intelligence tools to help doctors with PQRI reporting and the like.

Despite this not so pretty picture, VisualDX was a  pretty sexy product and one of dozens of applications that are newly available for use on a smartphone. VisualDX includes a database of images so a provider trying to identify a particular skin rash, for example, could search through a library of thousands (with pretty precise search options.) A consumer version is also available for all those nervous moms.

For me, the HIStalk party was the ultimate highlight. If you were there, thanks for attending. And endless thanks to Encore, Evolvent, and Symantec, our gracious hosts. If you missed it, I hope we’ll see you next year!

Short post tonight as I get caught up on life! I’m be sharing more, so keep reading.

E-mail Inga.