Whither Health Information Technology – Seriously?

Is it Really About Quality Improvement?

By Staff ReportersSurgeons

Health information technology (HIT) allows comprehensive management of medical information and its secure exchange between health care consumers and providers. Broad use of HIT has the potential to improve health care quality, prevent medical errors, increase the efficiency of care provision and reduce unnecessary health care costs, increase administrative efficiencies, decrease paperwork, expand access to affordable care, and improve population health.

Improving Patient Care

  • Interoperable HIT can improve individual patient care in numerous ways, including:
  • Complete, accurate, and searchable health information, available at the point of diagnosis and care, allowing for more informed decision-making to enhance the quality and reliability of health care delivery.
  • More efficient and convenient delivery of care, without having to wait for the exchange of records or paperwork, and without requiring unnecessary or repetitive tests or procedures.
  • Earlier diagnosis and characterization of disease, with the potential to thereby improve outcomes and reduce costs.
  • Reductions in adverse events through an improved understanding of each patient’s particular medical history, potential for drug-drug interactions, or (eventually) enhanced understanding of a patient’s metabolism or even genetic profile and likelihood of a positive or potentially harmful response to a course of treatment.
  • Increased efficiencies related to administrative tasks, allowing for more interaction with and transfer of information to patients, caregivers, and clinical care coordinators and monitoring of patient care.

Assessment

Link: http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=1327&parentname=CommunityPage&parentid=112&mode=2&in_hi_userid=11113&cached=true A Letter from David Blumenthal, MD.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Is HIT really about medical quality improvement? Is Dr. Dave Blumenthal correct? Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com 

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Stockholder Suit Targets Troubled Mental Health Chain

Psychiatric Solutions, Inc

By Robin Fields, ProPublica – September 22, 2009 5:01 pm EDTCaduceus

Psychiatric Solutions Inc. the nation’s leading provider of inpatient mental health care is being sued by stockholders who claim the company issued “false and misleading statements” about troubles at one of its hospitals.

The Lawsuit

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Tennessee, alleges that PSI violated securities laws by downplaying problems at Riveredge Hospital near Chicago and waiting too long to tell shareholders how they had affected the company’s bottom line.

The Investigations

Investigations last year by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica detailed violence, sexual abuse and neglect at PSI facilities from coast to coast, including Riveredge. In several instances, PSI facilities were cited for not reporting patient deaths and injuries as required, federal and state records showed. In response to the reports, the Justice Department opened an investigation and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services froze admissions of foster children to Riveredge.

The Allegations

The lawsuit alleges that PSI’s statements – particularly those indicating the admissions hold would end soon and that other regulatory deficiencies had been fixed – inflated the company’s stock price, helping company leaders reap millions from insider sales. In early 2009, PSI announced that its 2008 results had fallen short of estimates. Its share price dropped about 35 percent on the news.

Assessment

Through a spokesman, PSI called the lawsuit “wholly without merit.” “We have at all times operated, and will continue to operate in full compliance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission,” John Van Mol said in a written statement.

Note: Robin Fields is a reporter for the ProPublica news service, which first published this article.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthcareFinancialsthePostForcxos

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com 

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Our Other Print Books and Related Information Sources:

Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=23759

Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790

Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com