May 2006

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking

My wife and I were in Boston last weekend for dinner. We came across a traffic and pedestrian accident that closed a street. An EMT was busy on his PDA. We paused to watch and when he was done and off the accident site I asked him about it. He was using the PDA to check for adverse drug reactions for the treatment of the accident victim and filling out a report to give to the hospital.

The EMT said PDAs are a necessity because you can't carry books or have the Web on hand, and they need to be prepared for patients ranging from children to the elderly. This got me thinking about mobile technology and healthcare.

Just like the rapid proliferation of Blackberries in the corporate world, the growth in mobile technology in healthcare has been similarly swift. According to Gartner, an industry research firm, two in four doctors are using PDAs with medical applications.

Mobile medical technologies, integrated with a hospital's EMR, provide flexible solutions for doctors and nurses at any point of care while cutting down medical errors and administrative work. E-prescribing, charge capture, medical reference content, decision support, imaging, medical records: mobile technology from companies like PatientKeeper, ePocrates, MercuryMD and GE Healthcare are changing healthcare.

Here in Massachusetts, CareGroup's Beth Israel and Deaconess Hospitals give their doctors PDAs to ensure that adequate reference works are available anytime and anywhere. I asked my own doctor about it and he said his PDA has important medical references like Physicians' Desk Reference, Griffith's 5-Minute Clinical Consult, and A to Z Drug Facts. Beats carrying around heavy books. I'd imagine that doctors abroad, be they in Iraq or remote provinces of avian flu-prone China, find such mobile solutions useful.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on May 30, 2006 at 4:45 PM
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Miss EMR

Every year is the year of the EMR at TEPR. Congrats to the winners of this year's beauty contest:

EMR Systems for Small Practices (1 - 5 Physicians)
First Honors: Practice Partner - Patient Records
Second Honors: eClinicalWorks - eClinicalWorks
Third Honors: Medical Communication Systems - mMD.Net EMR

EMR Systems for Medium and Large Practices
First Honors: eClinicalWorks - eClinicalWorks
Second Honors: Allscripts - Touchworks EHR
Third Honors: Practice Partner - Patient Records

Personal Health Record Systems
First Honors: CapMed - Personal Health Key
Second Honors: Medical Communications Systems - mMD.Net PHR
Third Honors: Cerner - IQ Health

Medical Transcription Businesses
First Honors (tie): MedQuist - DoQment Enterprise Platform
First Honors (tie): Spheris

Document Imaging
First Honors: SRS Software - Freedom Chart Manager
Second Honors (tie): e-MDs - Doc Man
Second Honors (tie): Medical Communication Systems mMD.Net DIM

Standalone e-Prescribing Systems
First Honors: Allscripts - Touch Script eRx
Second Honors: Purkinje - ePrescribe
Third Honors: Dr. First - R copia

Hot Products
First Honors: Misys - Homecare PDA Solution
Second Honors: Synamed

Posted by Shawn Whalen on May 25, 2006 at 4:01 PM
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Who Watches the Watchmen?

In this age of media laziness, sensationalism and bias, it's good to have one more set of discerning eyes watching the Fourth Estate. Kudos to Health News Review, a new Web site where people with expertise in health services and medicine review stories, grade them, and explain why they met or fell short of criteria measuring accuracy, balance, and completeness.

The site is suppose to help reporters and editors improve coverage and help others evaluate what to read. I wonder how busy reporters who already do scant research will stop to read Health News Review. Hopefully editors and journalism professors will make these types of sites required reading.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on May 22, 2006 at 3:25 PM
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United We Stand, Together We Fall

After the oil companies, guess what is one of the most profitable companies in America? The answer is UnitedHealth, the biggest HMO in the country. The Wall Street Journal profiled UnitedHealth CEO Dr. William McGuire last month. It chronicled his talented management skills guiding the company to record performance.

The article also raised quite a stir over Dr. McGuire's uncannily timed stock option awards granted while the stock was down. Some may call this insider trading, some may call it just being lucky. After all, many people win the lottery multiple times.

As the country's largest HMO, UnitedHealth does throw its weight around. Many doctors complain about United's denied treatments, unpaid claims, unfair pay-for-performance practices and hardball contract negotiations. Ask Robert Seligson, president of the North Carolina Medical Society, who mildly characterized UnitedHealth's behaviour as "demonstrating the unrestrained greed and arrogance of an organization that has systematically undermined the very health-care system that provides the basis for its wealth." Seligson's state has joined 17 others in a class action lawsuit against UnitedHealth.

On the other hand, many claim the efforts of UnitedHealth and their ilk have helped rein in rising healthcare costs. This is likely so, but at what cost?

In purely economic terms, Dr. McGuire's track record and company performance justify his compensation by the standards of Wall Street. The standards of Wall Street are often whacked to begin with, which is why this justification holds so little water to non-millionaires. It's too bad such overwhelming profits can't be made without angering the medical establishment.

Healthcare is a much more complicated issue than oil. It engenders high emotions from many stakeholders, most of whom probably don't own UnitedHealth stock. Media love to attack the exceptions -- rarely do the everyday stories of care delivered by in-network docs paid for by health plans make the headlines.

Until someone implements a better healthcare system, managed care organizations are a necessary evil (or good). Regardless of how the healthcare system evolves, the HMOs of the future will profit and take arrows for it.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on May 16, 2006 at 11:20 AM
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Wanted: Control Freaks

Part Two in a Continuing Series on Healthcare IT Public Relations

Today's post continues our series on PR tips and tactics for healthcare marketers, drawn from the experts at Schwartz Communications. To get your key messages across, don't be afraid to take control of the media interview. While the interview process should not be antagonistic, driving the direction of the conversation will ensure that you tell your story effectively.

The process starts even before you sit down with the reporter. Get as much background information as you can about the reporter and the story he or she is writing before you talk. Then, at the start of the conversation, take a second to ask some basic questions such as: What is the interview going to be about? How much time do you have? Do you cover this industry or beat regularly? Armed with this information, you can tailor your interview accordingly.

• Stay on message--No matter what direction the interview takes, you should always stay on message. Each question is an opportunity for you to get one of your key corporate messages across. These messages should be thought out well before the first phone calls are made to reporters.
• The tough questions--A reporter may ask a question you don't want to hear or one that will take you off message. Don't let this throw you. Reply "That's a good question, and here's our perspective on the issue..." Supply a brief answer and segue to answer the question you wished they asked, reinforcing your corporate or product messaging.
• Just the facts--Be prepared to recognize and, if necessary, avoid theoretical questions, as they're bound to cause problems. Keep the interview grounded in facts rather than trying to answer a question of what may or may not happen if something else happens. Also, if a reporter misstates a fact, correct them. Otherwise you have tacitly agreed to something that is untrue.
• Silence can be okay--Do not feel the need to fill every void in the conversation, or you may end up saying something you'll regret later. Often a reporter is just using the silence to finish writing notes or look over the last few questions. Sometimes they're figuring out their next question and don't even notice that the pause has lengthened. If you feel compelled to say something, you can simply ask "Is everything I've said so far clear?"
• Open ended openings--Be prepared for an opening question like "What have you got for me today?" This often happens when a reporter is booked for a briefing on upcoming news. This is a golden opportunity to take control of the interview and tell your story your way.

For more articles like this, read our Schwartz Communique newsletters elsewhere on this site. I look forward to your feedback on future topics for this series on healthcare IT PR tips.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on May 12, 2006 at 10:02 AM
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Support Your Local HCIT Events

A quick plug for the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council's Healthcare IT Program. This group brings together local HCIT end users, vendors, thought leaders and interested parties to discuss important issues. The next event, open to the public, is Wednesday, May 17, 7:30am-12:30, at Sun Micro Systems in Burlington, on healthcare technology and robotics. Panelists include executives from Harvard Pilgrim, Boston's Children Hospital, Sun, CIMIT, Foley Hoag and Benemax. Register here.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on May 8, 2006 at 4:04 PM
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Blame It On RHIO

Interesting RHIO survey from HIMSS, from AISHealth.com's Today in E-Health Business a few weeks ago:

In light of the recognition that regional health information organizations (RHIOs) have great potential for improving the quality of care of patients, why are more not being developed? The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) says it knows the answer. According to the April 2006 HIMSS Vantage Point, 46% of 243 health care IT respondents identify the cost of developing RHIOs as the biggest barrier to implementation. HIMSS adds that the second most frequently cited hurdle -- with 25% of respondents -- was the lack of organizational leadership. Respondents also pointed to the lack of clinical nomenclature and concerns about data security as two other barriers to RHIO implementation, according to HIMSS. But one thing is for sure: Most respondents agree on potential RHIO benefits. An overwhelming 86% report that the biggest potential benefit RHIOs afford is improved quality of care through better access to medical information. At a distant second with 7% was the reduction of health care costs.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on May 5, 2006 at 5:15 PM
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Healthcare IT Industry Analyst Webinar

IDC's Health Industry Insights is offering a complimentary Webinar on Thursday, May 4, 2006, 12:00-1:00 EST. Click this to register.

Analysts Lynne Dunbrack and Marc Holland will discuss U.S. consumer attitudes toward Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) and the privacy of health information. Topics that will be discussed:

- Consumer awareness of the Federal initiative to make EHRs available to all citizens by 2014;
- Consumer thoughts regarding the value of EMR systems used by primary care physicians, specialists, emergency rooms and hospitals;
- Consumer willingness (or lack thereof) to share their personal health information;
- Implications for regional health information organization (RHIO) stakeholders formulating privacy policies;
- Current and expected future use by consumers of personal health records(PHRs) and related market opportunity for vendors.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on May 2, 2006 at 1:30 PM
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Windows Open; Brailer Exits; A Stark Reality

The company everyone loves to hate announced its panacea for the managed care industry. Microsoft unveiled it's Knowledge Driven Health Plans at the recent World Health Congress. The solution set, usually customized for managed care via partners, is comprised of the .NET framework, BizTalk Server, Windows Servers and Communications, SQL Server and of course MS Office.

Scuttlebutt among the cynical at the conference was that Microsoft was following its usual strategy of setting forth a borrowed vision, solution set, partner list and demonstration of momentum that makes its "leadership" position only natural. This is news to the payor IT leaders who own the market -- Amisys Synertech, EDS, DST Health, Perot Systems and TriZetto Group -- none of whom appeared in Microsoft's partnership press release.

But you can't argue with success, and no one has been more successful in technology than Microsoft. Their formal entry into the managed care market comes as Federal healthcare IT czar Dr. David Brailer resigns. Microsoft will help bring further attention and technology to help connect islands of information in healthcare. This is one of Brailer's chief concerns in his resignation speech, as reported in eWeek.

"Everybody's connected but nobody is sharing," says Brailer. "That's the natural consequence without federal intervention." Brailer's other big worry: Smaller healthcare providers will be left behind (see my Plight of the Small Doc post).

Those worries aside, Microsoft, other vendors and hospitals are still wondering about the Stark and anti-kickback legislation that has hindered health IT adoption. These laws prevent hospitals and vendors from donating technology or services to doctors. Congress proposed some exceptions, but the issue remains. Time will tell if Brailer's replacement has the cure.

Posted by Shawn Whalen on May 1, 2006 at 1:00 PM
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