Just how stimulating will the Obama healthcare plan be?
Health Information Technology, Health Information Standards, Healthcare Enterprise Integration, EHR Technology. What do these words taken directly from Obama's stimulus package mean to healthcare organizations? How will they change healthcare as we know it?
Late last week one of our executives was on a call with the technology columnist of a major US newspaper. He was interested in understanding what we thought the impact of Obama's stimulus package would be to Boston Software Systems. How much would it affect our business and how soon would we see that effect. Tough to know how quickly Congress will be willing to cough up another big (BIG) chunk of change when there's little evidence the last chunk wasn't just used to remodel some executive's bathroom. But, here's what I think:
It is clear that this administration is committed to making changes in the way healthcare organizations do business. Not only is healthcare a specific part of the immediate stimulus package, it has been a high priority for Obama from the get-go. So, no matter when the trigger is pulled, it will get pulled – and the sooner the better.
While it's not terribly sexy, getting the infrastructure of healthcare fixed is going to have a huge affect on patient care - on your doctor's ability to see immediately what your history is – whether you're at your annual checkup or (even more importantly) on vacation in an unfamiliar emergency room. How quickly, how easily can a caregiver access your medical record?
A recent survey done by CSC (Computer Sciences Corp) said that in these tough economic times “’everything is being scrutinized, but critical projects are moving forward”. The most common projects that were being implemented were those related to patient safety or Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Some It projects were even being accelerated, mainly EMR projects or those related to improving revenue.”
So what does that mean to Boston Software Systems? Well, we are in the business of automating workflow - getting all the data that makes up your patient record from all the disparate applications in the hospital and physician’s practice to one place. That includes billing and payment history, lab results, registration detail and a myriad processes from checking insurance eligibility to discharge. It isn't glamorous, but it is what thousands of hospitals are using us to do in one way or another right now. The stimulus of government funding or of regulation means a bright future for Boston Software Systems as healthcare organizations are forced to improve their infrastructures and look for technology tools to help them get the job done. It will mean a bright future for all the technology companies in the healthcare industry but most importantly it means you-the-patient may see better services at your hospital or doctor's office and a bill services that you don't have to call and question!
