Medicine and Technology

Follow the Twitter discussion about the Cleveland Clinic #pesummit

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

If you're not in Cleveland, you're missing The 4th Annual Patient Experience: Empathy and Innovation Summit at the Cleveland Clinic.
May 19-21, 2013
Intercontinental Hotel & Conference Center, Cleveland

The Patient Experience: Empathy and Innovation Summit is a three-day, multidisciplinary conference devoted to exploring patient experience as a key differentiator essential to the future of healthcare delivery.

On Twitter, you can follow the discussion by following the Twitter hashtag #pesummit
There are some very interesting tweets coming out of this conference. For example:

Time spent on mobile apps exceeds the time spent browsing the web and will soon exceed TV watching - @smartpatientceo #PESummit #hcsm
— Cleveland Clinic (@ClevelandClinic) May 19, 2013

Patients that viewed Emmi had better HCAHPS scores.@ Cleveland Clinic #PESummit twitter.com/EmmiSolutions/…
— Emmi Solutions (@EmmiSolutions) May 20, 2013

Definitely agree "@tmerrick32711 By focusing on patient experience we can change healthcare overall!#PESummit"
— Garry Choy MD (@GarryChoy) May 20, 2013

The Physician's Evolving Role in Healthcare: Lead or Be Led

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Sun, 12 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

This is a guest post by Wen Dombrowski, MD

During medical school and residency I realized that individual physicians can choose to Lead or Be Led. Each of us can try to design and manage the systems of care we would like to see (whether care models or technology that enables them), or physicians can be victims of what others decide we should do (such as administrators, sales reps, or well-intended developers without user experience insight).

I recall over a decade ago there were critics who lamented the rise of HMOs and Pay For Performance would end the Practice Of Medicine as we know it. Various medical organizations encouraged physicians to run away from these changes so they could continue business as usual. But while many physicians had their head in the sand and academic faculty were often shielded from practice management realities, the business world continued to evolve with new budgets, rules, and technology.

There are parallels to then and now : physicians are facing unprecedented changes -- some embrace or at least reluctantly accept change as inevitable, but many physicians have told me "I don't understand what any of that ACA/ACO/PCMH/MU/ABCDEFG is about, so I'm just going to ignore it and just be a doctor." Then they are surprised when their hospital, state, and federal policies don’t reflect what they would want.
Read more »

Hospitals Slow to Go Paperless Despite Benefits

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Guest Post: Hospitals Slow to Go Paperless Despite Benefits

If you are walking into an ER, you better have a reliable memory of your last doctor's visit, the medications you have taken, and any x-rays you've had in the last year. Unless you are walking into one of the very few hospitals in the United States that has gone paperless, your wait could be very long. This is because hospitals are still using an outdated method of managing information: paper.

Healthcare is far behind other industries when it comes to information technology and document management. Hospitals and patients could greatly benefit from the conveniences an upgraded IT system could provide. This isn’t wishful thinking or guesswork. The benefits for hospitals and patients have been proven.

In 2009, Johns Hopkins released a now famous statewide study that demonstrated the benefits of hospitals using paperless technologies. The study included over 40 hospitals and 160,000 patients and found a correlation between computerizing records and overall hospital safety and effectiveness.

The hospitals with the top paperless technologies in the state showed a 15% decrease in the odds of patients dying while hospitalized. Imagine if we could see this kind of decrease throughout the rest of the healthcare industry. Assuming this decrease would hold true for all US hospitals, going paperless across the country could save more than 100,000 lives every year.
Read more »

RP-VITA telemedicine robot may be coming to your hospital

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The next time you go to the hospital, you may run into a telemedicine robot like the RP-VITA. At ATA 2013, InTouch Health & iRobot announced the first hospitals and medical centers that will be using the RP-VITA telemedicine robot. Here's a snippet from their press release:

Austin, TX (May 6, 2013) -- Top academic medical centers and leading healthcare systems across North America are now introducing their patients to RP-VITATM, the first FDA-cleared telemedicine robot that combines state-of-the-art telecommunications and AutoDrive technology. InTouch Health, the leader in acute care telemedicine, today announced at the 18th Annual American Telemedicine Association’s International Conference the first hospitals to integrate this new telemedicine platform into their TeleStroke, TeleICU, TelePsych, and TelePediatric programs. RP-VITA, jointly developed by InTouch Health and iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in delivering robotic technology-based solutions, is a class apart from any other telemedicine device available, providing a new level of ease of use and independence that frees doctors and nurses to focus solely on patient care and to forget the technology.

The first hospitals that will get RP-VITA include:

Dignity Health
Sacramento, CA

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Orange County, CA

Instituto de Salud del Estado de México
Mexico City, Mexico

Ohio State Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, OH

Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
Burbank, CA

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA

St. Mary’s Medical Center
Huntington, WV

Big Data & Healthcare Analytics Forum

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Don't miss the Big Data & Healthcare Analytics Forum
June 4-5, 2013
Washington DC

Healthcare IT News and HIMSS Media, the industry’s leading sources for news and leadership in healthcare information technology, have joined forces to present the Big Data & Healthcare Analytics Forum. This two-day event in the nation’s capital will gather leading providers, industry experts, solutions suppliers and key government officials.

As reimbursement shrinks and risk sharing grows, analyzing data to improve decision-making may well determine the winners and losers in this new healthcare landscape. That’s where the forum comes in. Through interviews with hospital CIOs and other providers, we know that questions abound about how to deploy analytics in a fashion that meets an organization’s business and clinical goals. With that in mind, we have designed the Big Data and Healthcare Analytics Forum to provide answers to those questions. Sessions will focus on peer-to-peer learning, case studies and best practices—practical, actionable information that can be taken home and put to use.

http://www.bigdatahitforum.com/

Pediatrics 2040: Trends And Innovations for the Next 25 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Fri, 03 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

Don't miss this exciting event this fall:

Pediatrics 2040: Trends And Innovations for the Next 25 Years
October 3 - 5, 2013

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
Anaheim, CA

The current myriad of challenges such as cost containment, care fragmentation, healthcare reform, access to subspecialists, escalating costs and knowledge escalation face today’s pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists as well as hospital administrative leadership.

The emerging medical and technological advances as well as trends in the care of children in the coming era is covered in a comprehensive three-day academic program for all involved in the care of children for the next 25 years.

Learn more about this conference here.

ONC is hosting the Million Hearts Webinar on May 7

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:00:00 +0000

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is hosting the Million Hearts® Webinar on May 7th in honor of National High Blood Pressure Education and Stroke Awareness months. Leading experts will discuss how they are using the latest health IT tools to standardize and improve the delivery of care to reduce the number of people with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, both leading causes of heart disease and stroke.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM EDT

Jawbone Acquires BodyMedia

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Wed, 01 May 2013 23:00:00 +0000

I have a BodyMedia arm band. I also have an original Fitbit, along with several traditional pedometers. I don't have a Jawbone Up or a Nike + FuelBand, but those items are on my Amazon wishlist and I'm waiting for the 2nd or 3rd generation devices before I make a purchase.

Jawbone is making a serious move into the Quantified Self (QS) movement of self-tracking gadgets and they are acquiring BodyMedia for over $100 million. BodyMedia has had more than 80 patents issued, so it's a valuable company because of its technology and its people.

Do you wear a fitness gadget or use a fitness tracking app? If you do, then stay tuned because a host of new gadgets like the Misfit Wearables SHINE and many other new gadgets will be coming in 2013.

My photo with George Takei in NYC (taken by @KentBottles)

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:00:00 +0000

I was in NYC over the weekend attending the 2013 ACPE conference and I was having lunch with Kent Bottles at McCormick & Schmick's. Before I realized it, I saw Star Trek's George Takei having lunch right next to us! So, I patiently waited until he was finished with his lunch and then I did what any other MIT alum would do. I got a photo with him and sent it via Twitter. (special thanks to Kent Bottles for taking the photo). There's just something about MIT and Star Trek.

The new Star Trek movie is coming out in a few weeks and I'm sure we'll see some interesting futuristic medical concepts that go beyond the tricorder.

Don't miss the iHT2 Health IT Summits

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:00:00 +0000

iHT2 has a series of Health IT Summits throughout the country, so don't miss the next one coming to your region.

Each year, the Institute for Health Technology Transformation (iHT²) hosts a series of events & programs which promote improvements in the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare through information and information technology. iHT² events are designed to support multi-stakeholder organizations who are navigating through health IT issues, policies and strategies in an attempt to improve care. iHT² events include a variety of guest speakers and keynotes representing many diverse sectors within health care. Speakers provide expert advice, practical recommendations and reactions related to the most pressing issues.

View the calendar of Health IT Summits here.

Who Killed Health Care? Regina Herzlinger speaks at ACPE 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Today, I am in NYC attending the 2013 American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) conference. The afternoon keynote was delivered by Regina Herzlinger, author of "Who Killed Health Care?: America's $2 Trillion Medical Problem - and the Consumer-Driven Cure."

Here is a description of her book:

One of the nation's most respected health care analysts, Regina Herzlinger exposes the motives and methods of those who have crippled America's health care system-figures in the insurance, hospital, employment, governmental, and academic sectors. She proves how our current system, which is organized around payers and providers rather than the needs of its users, is dangerously eroding patient welfare and is pushing costs out of the reach of millions.

Who Killed Health Care? then outlines Herzlinger's bold new plan for a consumer-driven system that will deliver affordable, high-quality care to everyone. By putting insurance money in the hands of patients, removing the middleman in the doctor-patient relationship, and giving employers cost relief, consumers and physicians will be empowered to make the system work the way it should. Herzlinger describes in precise detail how her innovative program will provide

Smaller, disease-focused medical facilities that provide complete care for patients
A national system of medical records that provides privacy with confidential access by approved practitioners
Mandatory performance evaluations of all hospitals and all other medical organizations
Mandatory health insurance with subsidies for those who cannot afford it

MIT professor studying the mechanics of metastasis

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Professor Roger Kamm at MIT was my advisor when I was a mechanical engineering student at MIT.

Roger Kamm, the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Biological and Mechanical Engineering, and his doctoral student Ioannis Zervantonakis are studying the mechanics of metastasis. They are using a 3-D microfluidic device developed in his lab, including a recent study on the effect of flow on tumor-cell migration.

Read more here.

Doctors on Doximity - 2012 Year in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Physician testimonials on Doximity - 2012 Year in Review

Tomotherapy treatment

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This is a guest post by William Blackhurst, MD

Have you ever heard of Tomotherapy treatment? This is a treatment designed for radiation therapy of various cancers. Its name comes from the Greek root for slice. Basically it combines a CT or other type of scan with radiation therapy in such a way that the radiation dose can be altered to match the thickness of the tumor in a given image slice.

Tomotherapy is both intensity modulated and image guided. Intensity modulated radiotherapy or IMRT uses devices called collimators to adjust the amount of radiation delivered in a single dose. Image guided radiotherapy or IGRT, on the other hand, uses a scan (from a CT or another imaging modality) to adjust the dose base on the tumors size and shape.

While tomotherapy may or may not be the best treatment option in a given case, it is good to know that it is an option. It has now been a way to treat cancers for more than 10 years and there are over 300 sites across the US, Canada, Europe and Asia that offer this new kind of cancer treatment.

About the author:

William Blackhurst, MD, after graduating from The Ohio State University College of Medicine, converted from clinical work to medical communications.

Keynote Speakers at ATA 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Don't miss ATA 2013 for the latest updates on telemedicine. This year, the keynote speakers are:

Lynn Britton, President & CEO, Mercy. Mercy, a 31 hospital healthcare system serving hundreds of communities in the Midwest, is transforming the patient experience through comprehensive telemedicine and HIT services. Mercy gives patients online access to doctors and medical records, utilizing telemedicine for a wide array of clinical services, include pediatrics and rural healthcare. Moreover, Mercy SafeWatch is the largest teleICU service in the United States. Under Britton’s leadership, Mercy was named the 2012 “Most Wired” healthcare organization by the American Hospital Organization. Lynn Britton will speak at the ATA 2013 Opening Plenary on Sunday, May 5, 2013.

Jeffrey Henley, Chairman, Oracle Corporation. Oracle is helping to transform the economics of healthcare by enabling patient-centered technology for health engagement. Oracle has invested heavily in developing software and IT infrastructure for disease management and health management, as well as accountable care, connected health and public/private insurance exchanges. As Chairman, Henley has been instrumental in this mission, working with leading hardware and healthcare providers to streamline the delivery of medical services. Jeffery Henley will speak at the ATA 2013 Monday Morning Plenary on Monday, May 6, 2013.

Reed Tuckson, MD, Managing Director, Tuckson Health Connections. Reed Tuckson is the immediate past Chief of Medical Affairs for UnitedHealth, the nation’s largest private healthcare insurer, serving approximately 70 million Americans. Under his guidance, UnitedHealth embraced telemedicine, demonstrating compelling advances in data and communication technologies for better, more efficient service and better health for everyone. Reed Tuckson, a former Senior Vice President of the American Medical Association and former Commissioner of Public Health for the District of Columbia, was also instrumental in United Health’s establishment of a national telehealth network aimed at serving rural, difficult to access and underserved patient populations. Reed Tuckson, MD will speak at the ATA 2013 Tuesday Morning Plenary on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

For 18 years, the ATA Annual International Meeting & Exposition has been the premier forum for the fields of telemedicine, telehealth and mHealth. It is one of the fastest growing meetings in the country and ATA 2013 is projected to be ATA’s largest meeting ever, with 500 educational sessions, 300 exhibitors and over 6000 estimated attendees. For more information, visit www.ATA2013.org.

Meningioma treatment

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This is a guest post:

Meningioma are typically benign tumors that originate in the cells and membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. The name of the tumor is derived from the classification name these cells are given by the medical community, meninges. Note that they are not cancerous or malignant tumors but rather benign tumors. However, they cause medical problems from related issues.

The meninges covering the brain and spinal cord exists in three distinct layers. It is the middle layer of the meninges where these tumors originate, grow, and attach themselves to the outermost layer by a tail of tissue.

These tumors account for a significant percentage (up to 25%) of all brain and spinal cord tumors. The medical categories of these tumors are exhaustive but in general, they are put into one of three categories, benign, atypical, and malignant with benign tumors being 90% of all meningiomas. The medical impact of the tumors is to surrounding tissues and does not present itself until the tumor has grown large enough to create problems. This is primarily because the tumor grows so slowly and the body adjusts to the condition up until the time that cranial pressure has increased beyond the point of tolerance or blood veins become compressed and blocked. The other two forms of meningiomas are much more aggressive and symptomatic at an early stage because their growth is rapid and invasive. Spinal meningiomas are rare (less than 10%) and grow mostly on the lower spine between the spinal cord and abdomen. They are usually benign.

Read more »

2013 ACPE Leape Ahead Award

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Familiar with the ACPE Leape Ahead Award? Dr. Lucian Leape MD is a physician and professor at Harvard School of Public Health, who has been very active in trying to improve the medical system to reduce medical error. In 1994 he had an article, "Error in Medicine," published in JAMA.

Pineal Tumor

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 01:00:00 +0000

The following is a guest post:

Pineal tumors are associated with the pineal gland, which is located near mid-brain. The pineal gland is part of the body’s endocrine system and produces a hormone called melatonin, which affects your awake and sleep patterns and how the body adjusts to changes in seasonal climate. The endocrine system consists of organs, which help, in regulation of various functions such as metabolism, growth, and development. Pineal tumors disrupt the production of the hormones this gland produces with the expected results. Sleep patterns are disturbed which can then multiply into other physical problems beyond what the tumor itself causes. The location of this gland tucked deeply between the hemispheres of the brain make it a sensitive and delicate area to reach and remove tumors. These tumors are not common in adults (less than 1% of all pineal tumors) and much more prevalent in children just entering their teen years making this problem more of a childhood disease.

Read more »

Diabetes and your feet

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The following is a guest post:

If you or anyone you know suffers from diabetes, you are well aware of the damage the body endures. When there is too much glucose in the bloodstream for a long period of time, diabetes problems are sure to arise. The high blood glucose (blood sugar) will damage many and often times multiple parts of the body; heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and even feet.

There are two main problems that are caused from too much glucose in your blood to focus on which will cause harm to your feet; nerve damage and poor blood flow. With damaged nerves in your legs and feet, one may not be able to feel pain, heat, or even cold in the leg and feet region. Diabetic neuropathy, which is basically the lack of feeling caused by nerve damage, may cause one to have cuts or sores on the feet which may get worse and infected because its presence isn’t known. Secondly, another common foot concern occurs when not enough blood actually flows to the legs and feet. Slow/poor blood flow makes it extremely difficult for a sore to heal, which can eventually and sometimes rapidly, lead to a severe infection. PVD (peripheral vascular disease) is the general term that is used to describe this problem. In short, it is extremely important to pay attention to your feet, especially if you are suffering from diabetes.

There are many preventatives that can be made to help reduce the chances of affecting ones health in concern with the feet; washing feet with warm water every day, file calluses gently, cut toe nails straight across, rub lotion on your feet but never in between toes, look at your feet every day to check for cuts, sores, etc., always wear slippers/shoes to protect feet from injuries, always wear socks to avoid blisters, and always wear proper shoes. That may look like a lot of steps to take, but your feet and your health will thank you. If you need to get the proper shoes or inserts to help prevent and future health problems, a great site to check out some really comfy shoes and foot accessories is http://drcomfort.com.

ADHD: What exactly is it?

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The following is a guest post:

Everyone has heard the term, whether it was on a TV commercial, in a magazine headline or the topic of a local news health update. Some people might even use the term to describe themselves in moments of frustration of not remembering a phone number or being unable to concentrate on a friend’s meandering story telling.

But just because someone might have occasional moments of forgetfulness or inattention, doesn’t mean he or she is clinically ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (commonly known as ADHD) has an early onset, typically appearing in childhood or adolescence. It is estimated that anywhere from 5% to 10% of children are affected by the disorder, some suffering into adulthood. It is marked by three main categories of symptoms.

Read more »

GE Healthcare AgileTrac RTLS tracking hand washing in hospitals

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) aren't just being used to track hospital beds and wheelchairs. RTLS is being used to track hand washing in hospitals. Using sensors in the ID badges of medical personnel along with sensors on sinks/soap dispensers, GE is now able to provide hospitals with the ability to track all hospital employees and their hand hygiene; ensuring doctors, nurses, and more wash their hands as they enter a patient room and as they leave.

Here's a snippet from a recent press release about this:

GE Healthcare and HCA’s Summerville Medical Center have collaborated to develop and deploy a data driven technology solution that tracks hand washing data as it relates to patient care through the use of small sensor tags. The new GE Healthcare AgileTrac RTLS (Real-Time Location System) solution provides a more complete picture of clinicians’ hand-washing behaviors than traditional manual programs, which by nature aren’t able to capture as many data points on a daily basis. The automated system collects up to 5,000 data points a day vs. 700 per year with manual observation.

You can learn more here.

Here we go with bird flu again

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Every few years, a strain of bird flu becomes deadly to us. This year, the strain is H7N9 and it's already taking lives in China. Forgive my skepticism, but China may report only 13 deaths, but the true death toll could be higher. I suspect that it's higher.

So, what do we know about this bird flu?

I'd recommend the influenza A H7N9 resource page on the New England Journal of Medicine:
http://www.nejm.org/page/influenza

Of course, the CDC is also maintaining a page on Avian Flu.

This year, I suspect that social media monitoring/analytics may provide some valuable insights if this flu strain spreads globally.

Expert panel speaks about Hot Topics in Healthcare IT #HITCon13

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 17:58:00 +0000

Here at the HIMSS Southern California Chapter Health IT conference (Twitter hashtag #HITcon13), an expert panel discussed some of the key hot topics in health IT. The panel was moderated by Shadaab Kanwal, MISM, MBA, Executive Director, Research and Quality at Kaiser Permanente. Panelists included:

Aram Dobalian, JD, MPH, PhD, Director, Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center at Veterans Health Administration speaking about “HIE and EHR as enablers of Disaster Recovery”
Ralph Oyaga, Esq., MBA, Associate Counsel, LA Care Health Plan speaking about “e-Discovery”
Dale Sanders, SVP, Health Catalyst; Senior Technology Advisor, Cayman Islands Services Authority speaking about “Big Data and Predictive Analytics in Healthcare Transformation”
John McCawley, MS, CEO, Verecloud speaking about “Healthcare and the Cloud”

Dale reminded us that we are in an era of big data and predictive analytics. Hospitals and health systems are being graded by their level of adoption measured by the HIMSS Healthcare Analytic Adoption Model. We need to have a thorough understanding of these evolving technologies that are transforming healthcare so that we can use them effectively to improve patient care..

John spoke about how cloud computing technologies are rapidly changing the economic model of health IT. Cloud is a distribution model, not a technology. Public cloud. Private cloud. Hybrid cloud. The top 3 concerns regarding the cloud include: security, control, and reliability.

Aram spoke about disaster recovery. When we consider what happens during major disasters, the role of health IT becomes critical because we can't afford to lose access to patient data. We can see this with some examples within the VA Health System. When Hurricane Katrina hit, the New Orleans VA got flooded, damaging all the computer hardware within the hospital. In less than 3 days, all patient data were available and accessible at any VAMC.

Ralph spoke about the concept of e-Discovery in medicolegal cases. Consider all the emails that get transmitted by healthcare employees. Consider all the health records that are now stored in electronic format. We also can't forget the data generated from social media. So, when a medical case is investigated, we now have a wealth of data that is generated during the e-Discovery phase. Sifting and reviewing that data becomes a major challenge because of the volume of information.

You can follow updates from the HIMSS Southern California Chapter Health IT conference on Twitter: #HITcon13

Dr. Kizer opening keynote at the HIMSS Southern CA Chapter Healthcare IT Conference #HITCon13

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:50:00 +0000

I'm in Los Angeles at the California Endowment attending the HIMSS Southern California Chapter Annual Healthcare IT Conference today. I was invited to speak on the topic of social media this afternoon, so I'm grateful to be here.

The theme of the conference is around Healthcare Consumerism and the Twitter hashtag is #HITCon13.

The opening keynote was delivered by Kenneth W. Kizer, MD, MPH, Director of the UC Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement (IPHI). He described some innovative programs like the California Health eQuality (CHeQ) Program, a California HIE program. There are other grant programs supporting HIEs in California, so it seems that other states will be able to learn from these models. You can learn more by visiting the IPHI website.

He also addressed the increasing costs of health care and the unsustainable model that currently exists today. Health care is a complex adaptive system, so change occurs when we pull on key change levers like: financing, performance measurement, health IT, consumerism, and regulations.

How do you define healthcare consumerism? Patient centeredness. Patient empowerment. Patient engagement. Patient autonomy. What exactly do these big terms mean? Including big words in a federal grant request may help you get government funding, but if these terms are not adequately understood by health care professionals, then we won't achieve healthcare consumerism. We can distill all of these terms down to the 5 C's (or 7 C's): Choice (control), convenience, collaboration (connected), comfort, and cost. Patients want to share their health information with family members and they want care coordination to get easier. They want to see efficiencies in the healthcare system. When we achieve this for patients, then we will begin understanding healthcare consumerism.

If we look at other industries, we see major transformations that have been driven by technology and consumerism. For instance, traditional bookstores are hurting because of cloud-based businesses like Amazon.

There are many IT tools that are transforming healthcare, but how effectively are they getting incorporated into patient care today? The HIMSS community has a great opportunity to leverage these tools and platforms to improve population health management and to achieve the 5 C's of health care consumerism.

Looking forward to speaking at HIMSS Southern California on Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Joseph Kim, MD, MPH) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I look forward to speaking at the HIMSS Southern California Chapter Annual Healthcare IT Conference on the topic of "Social Media in Healthcare: Promoting Patient Empowerment and Engagement, Healthcare Value, and Patient Centered Care."

HIMSS Southern California (SoCal) Chapter
Annual Healthcare IT Conference
Center for Healthy Communities
April 10, 2013
Los Angeles, CA

I will be speaking on a panel with:

Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA, Founder, Healthin30.com
Christina Thielst, MHA, FACHE, FHIMSS, Vice President, Tower Strategies
Wandia Chiuri, Senior Social Media Enterprise Architect, Reaction Power

If you'll be attending, I look forward to seeing you!