Saturday, June 27, 2009

Healthcare Informatics

(Pfft Pfft!) Is this mike on?

So here we are in 2009, the country is trying to go EMR... And yet, and yet, there still seems to be so much confusion.

It seems like there's little sweeping organization. Each doc wants custom interfaces, each hospital wants custom interfaces, each vendor wants custom protocols, patients are left with nobody to help organize the sweeping change.

The government wants to organize the sweeping change, but so far, the ARRA/HITECH act has left the industry with more and more questions. And in the confusion, vendors are seeing opportunities to make more money.

The sad part is, that docs are poorly organized. Just as the poor organization of docs led to the sweeping financial changes which are now hurting healthcare, this same lack of organization has led to an antiquated information system in healthcare.

I'm here to help change that. If you're a doc, and passionate about helping patients through better technology, we need to organize. AMIA and HIMSS are good places to start, but the first place to REALLY start is to change your heart. Medical school doesn't prepare you for technology. You embrace it, work as a team, and bring about the changes that no government organization can bring.

Whether you're an older doc or a newer doc, the hill is the same. It's up to you how fast you want to climb it.