Last week, President Obama held a town hall meeting at Facebook Headquarters. One curious individual asked the President about the rising cost of health care in the United States and what the President is doing to slow the growth rate. President Obama provided an excellent example that underscores the importance of health information technology within this context.
The President discussed the issue of care coordination in a health care system where records are paper-based. He described a fragmented patient experience wrought with duplicative tests and appointments that is commonplace in health care, but would be considered unacceptable in nearly any other industry.
Health IT is President Obama’s first line response to this lack of care coordination. He envisions a future that utilizes technology to improve care coordination and sets the stage for payment reform (ACOs) that pay for quality rather than quantity of services.
The President makes a good point that the benefits of health IT stretch beyond those experienced by the doctor and affect all elements of the health care system, yet providers are expected to make the capital investment in EHRs and hardware. This was the impetus for the HITECH Act and EHR Incentive Program. This was also part of the reasoning behind Practice Fusion’s pricing strategy. Free changes everything in the EHR world and Practice Fusion is fully aligned with President Obama’s belief that providers shouldn’t bear the financial burden of health IT that will benefit every piece of the system.
It is exciting to be so well-aligned with the government’s efforts to improve health care in the US and to be a strong voice for providers across the country.
