Anticlue

What would solve the technology chasm in healthcare?

Ah what a question, this morning, I read the following blogsphere entries, and I think it really brings to light the intangible reason for the gap between where we want to be, and where we really are in healthcare IT.

High tech in health care IT? Not exactly. by Roy Johnson
Guest article from Nurse Janus – From the Hospital to the Vendor world

A wide gap arises. That vaporware application may be the best thing since sliced bread, but is it worth the organizational risk?

From my experience working in healthcare, the need for IT to be a strategic partner with business can not be understated. The repercussions and fallouts are throughout, and they do not change with just a change in IT leadership or vendor solutions.

Our problem as an industry is not to be government mandated to be brought into the new technology arrangements. Our problem as an industry will not be solved by leaping from one frying pan as vendor provided apps to another skillet of the open-source bandwagon. Our problem is that we have to intelligently use our limited resources to have the most effectiveness where it is needed the most. That is a hard road to travel, especially since we are coming out of the financial period where resources were stretched as long as possible. So several items need to be revamped and updated, as we proceed down the road less traveled.

A fact is that a hospital, SNF, or practice office does not have unlimited amounts of resources, ie the term non-profit. However on the other side of the coin, the vendors financial structure is completely different, and they need to justify their finances to the board or stockholders. The other fact is that renewing and changing vendors or IT leadership is only two thirds of the tripod. The tripod is the business partner, IT leadership, and the vendor. With this mix the final fact is that all need each other to be complete, and they can not stand on their own without the other. Until that realization occurs the ship will never be able to sail the course, because we as a whole will not be able to execute a project.