Health-IT World: IT Bridges Conflicting = Priorities

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Nov. 25, = 2003=20

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I= T=20 Bridges Conflicting Priorities=20

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Brian Reid
Jeff Berman

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IT = Bridges=20 Conflicting Priorities =
by = Herbert=20 Pardes, M.D., President and CEO, = NewYork-Presbyterian=20 Hospital

Two=20 contradictory priorities pull at our national = hospital=20 system.=20

In one, we try to hold down the increasing = costs of=20 care. In the other, we try to improve healthcare = resources by expanding into new treatments, = reducing=20 errors, and preparing our nation's homeland = security to=20 respond to a health-related attack.=20

One tries to curb spending, the other = requires=20 investment.=20

But they do not need to mean a choice between = better=20 healthcare and stagnancy. A better investment in = information technology - something many = hospitals have=20 been hard pressed to make - could put both = priorities=20 within reach.=20

With all the sophisticated technology found = in the=20 modern hospital, the lack of coordination among = hospital=20 systems seems almost primitive. In most = hospitals, data=20 cannot be shared from one computer system to = another,=20 and the long-term goal of sharing medical = information=20 among hospitals remains a distant dream. = Creating a=20 seamless, integrated network of information = could do as=20 much to protect patient safety and improve care = as many=20 other medical breakthroughs.=20

But with many hospitals struggling = financially, the=20 upgrades in technology required to move = hospitals=20 forward and to integrate their information have = been=20 secondary to other priorities. State sources of = funding=20 have fallen victim to budget crises. Federal = sources,=20 however, may soon be available under a seemingly = unusual=20 priority for hospitals: national security.=20

Movement in Congress has taken place on two = bills:=20 one that would foster interoperability and one = that=20 could make money available for hospital = infrastructure=20 improvements. The "National Health Information=20 Infrastructure Act of 2003," H.R. 2915, was = introduced=20 by Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., and creates an = office in=20 the Department of Health and Human Services to=20 concentrate on national health information=20 infrastructure. The "Medication Errors Reduction = Act of=20 2003," S. 1729 and H.R. 3035, was introduced by = Sen.=20 Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Sen. Bob Graham, = D-Fla., and=20 would make grants of $750,000 available to = hospitals,=20 allowing significant system upgrades necessary = to meet=20 interoperability standards.=20

This call for a national upgrade in = technology in=20 hospitals has been around for some time. In the = past two=20 years, however, federal officials have begun to = realize=20 the limits of the public health and hospital = system to=20 recognize outbreaks of infectious diseases = caused by=20 natural means or bioterrorism.=20

To recognize infectious diseases quickly = requires=20 communication between the public health and = hospital=20 systems. In the past, this has involved phone = calls and=20 written reports. To prevent widespread outbreaks = requires quick communications with linked = systems=20 recognizing patterns that may be spread between = several=20 hospitals in a wide area.=20

But linked systems also can link individual=20 departments of a hospital, eliminating much of = what is=20 now written on paper. This can help prevent = medical=20 errors and maintain consistent care throughout = the=20 hospital, which in turn can help minimize the = cost of=20 care now generated by errors.=20

In the long term, the investment in = technology will=20 help hold down medical costs while improving the = quality=20 of care. It also will link medical records to = create a=20 national system ready to respond to infectious = disease=20 and which has the information necessary to treat = any=20 patient anywhere in the country.=20

E-mail: pardesh@nyp.org.=20
[PRINTER=20 FRIENDLY VERSION]=20 =

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