The New Hampshire Health Care IT Summit Panel 1: Benefits, Barriers and the Role of Government in He

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The New Hampshire Health Care IT SummitPanel
1 Benefits, Barriers and the Role of Government
in Health Care IT Doug JohnstonDirector of
ResearchNew England Healthcare
InstituteOctober 17, 2005
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NEHIs Research Series
To Enable Innovation
in emerging devices, therapies and care delivery
in our regional health care economy
across the health care system
in health care information technology
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Whats the Value of Information Technology to
Health Care?

• National Projections of Health Care IT Value

January 2005
Source Walker, et al. The Value of Health
Information Exchange and Interoperability, Health
Affairs, Web Exclusives, 19 January 2005.
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NEHIs Information Technology Series
Advanced Technologies to Lower Health Care Costs
and Improve Quality (2003)
There are advanced technologies which can
dramatically lower health care costs and improve
quality. The technologies are proven. The
associated benefits are known. But there are
barriers in the system which impede their
implementation. We can change that. Mitchell
Adams - Executive Director, Massachusetts
Technology Collaborative
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NEHIs Information Technology Series
Treatment Plan High Tech Transfusion Case
Statement for Implementation of CPOE in all
Massachusetts Hospitals (2004)
If CPOE systems were operating in all acute care
hospitals in Massachusetts, patient safety and
the quality of patient care could be greatly
improved, and costs could be substantially
reduced. Yet now, in 2004, 70 percent of all
Massachusetts hospitals 46 institutions do
not have this essential technology. MTC and NEHI
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The Massachusetts Hospital CPOE Initiative

• MTC and NEHI have launched an initiative to
  implement inpatient CPOE across Massachusetts
• Goal 100 of Massachusetts hospitals adopt CPOE
  within four years

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Patient Dies of Sedative Overdose
September 12, 2005 BOSTON --An elderly man at
Brockton Hospital died after he was given 60
times the recommended dose of a sedative
according to a report. State investigators say
even after a nurse discovered the error, the
hospital mistakenly gave the patient, who was not
identified, other sedatives and antidepressants
for two days as the man's blood pressure dropped.
Nurses also administered two doses of antibiotics
more than six hours late. The man, who was alert
when he entered the hospital on April 9, died
four days later on April 13.
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Common Barriers to Health Care IT Adoption

• Lack of Data about Costs and Benefits
• Purchase and Implementation Costs
• Benefits Do Not Accrue to Buyers of Systems
• Lack of Performance Standards
• Cultural Resistance and Inertia
• Immaturity of Products
• Legal and Regulatory Issues
• Lack of Infrastructure and Standards

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Questions to Frame a Balanced Discussion

• Has your organization had any bad outcomes from
  health care IT?
• Increased errors?
• Decreased revenues?
• Poor acceptance?
• What barriers did your organization face in
  adopting health care IT?

• What benefits has your organization accrued from
  health care IT?
• Better quality?
• Lower costs?
• More efficiency?
• What challenges specific to NH might health care
  IT help address?

• What should the role of government be in health
  care IT adoption?

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Todays Panelists

• John Janas, MD
• CEO, Clinical Content Consultants
• Roxanne Kate
• Executive Director, Community Health Access
  Network
• Paul Spiess
• Special Advisor to the Governor for Healthcare
  and Insurance