"RHIO Nation" Quotes
From the February 2006 Health Management Technology magazine article entitled "RHIO Nation."
A fragment:
Patients: The Center of the Universe
"It’s about power," says Mark Frisse, M.D., Accenture Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt Center for BetterHealth, Nashville, and a shift of power from those who provide care to those who receive care. "Until the public is more informed and more insistent about the quality of its healthcare, things won’t change."
Like [Holt] Anderson [North Carolina], Frisse is at the front of a long line of healthcare experts who place patients at the center of the NHIN and RHIO equations. He’s clear—patients are why we are building the national machinery. But he also is realistic and quick to challenge the authenticity of public assumptions.
"Let’s look at the facts. We know the healthcare system doesn’t meet the needs of many, and that the current approach is not sustainable. We know every dollar is spent somewhere, and that large amounts are spent. We know there aren’t enough dollars spent on patient care."
So we must question, he says, whether the transfer of dollars spent on patient care to the means to reach the objective—better patient care—is a correct approach. "Find another industry that spends money in this way," he says.
At the same time, he admits, "How can we not afford to do this?" Frisse doesn’t support challengers who have questioned the vast amounts of funding necessary for an NHIN, and whether the nation wouldn’t be better off conservatively building one or two successful state-level RHIO demonstration projects. "Every state is doing great things," in its own way, he says. "Everyone is teaching us a different part of the answer. As a nation, we have never made great decisions by relegating responsibility to one particular state."
Frisse is especially encouraged by two trends emanating from critical audiences. One is IPA-centered communication and exchange networks........in which hundreds of providers can electronically communicate, request data and exchange information. He agrees with [Tom] Lee [ePocrates]: Inclusion of small practices in large electronic networks that "enable care through information technology" is the last mile, and it needs to be planned for and accommodated. He counts on IPA-based networks to pave the way.
A second trend is increased consumer involvement in personal health records and electronic management of personal health and financial data. Employers that furnish employees with electronic management capability, either as a company benefit or through an employer-sponsored health plan, are moving consumers toward empowerment and, hopefully, activated decision-making.
Similarly, software vendors are venturing into this market segment with products geared to electronic health and health administration management for consumers. It’s like Quicken for allergies and HSAs.
A fragment:
Patients: The Center of the Universe
"It’s about power," says Mark Frisse, M.D., Accenture Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Vanderbilt Center for BetterHealth, Nashville, and a shift of power from those who provide care to those who receive care. "Until the public is more informed and more insistent about the quality of its healthcare, things won’t change."
Like [Holt] Anderson [North Carolina], Frisse is at the front of a long line of healthcare experts who place patients at the center of the NHIN and RHIO equations. He’s clear—patients are why we are building the national machinery. But he also is realistic and quick to challenge the authenticity of public assumptions.
"Let’s look at the facts. We know the healthcare system doesn’t meet the needs of many, and that the current approach is not sustainable. We know every dollar is spent somewhere, and that large amounts are spent. We know there aren’t enough dollars spent on patient care."
So we must question, he says, whether the transfer of dollars spent on patient care to the means to reach the objective—better patient care—is a correct approach. "Find another industry that spends money in this way," he says.
At the same time, he admits, "How can we not afford to do this?" Frisse doesn’t support challengers who have questioned the vast amounts of funding necessary for an NHIN, and whether the nation wouldn’t be better off conservatively building one or two successful state-level RHIO demonstration projects. "Every state is doing great things," in its own way, he says. "Everyone is teaching us a different part of the answer. As a nation, we have never made great decisions by relegating responsibility to one particular state."
Frisse is especially encouraged by two trends emanating from critical audiences. One is IPA-centered communication and exchange networks........in which hundreds of providers can electronically communicate, request data and exchange information. He agrees with [Tom] Lee [ePocrates]: Inclusion of small practices in large electronic networks that "enable care through information technology" is the last mile, and it needs to be planned for and accommodated. He counts on IPA-based networks to pave the way.
A second trend is increased consumer involvement in personal health records and electronic management of personal health and financial data. Employers that furnish employees with electronic management capability, either as a company benefit or through an employer-sponsored health plan, are moving consumers toward empowerment and, hopefully, activated decision-making.
Similarly, software vendors are venturing into this market segment with products geared to electronic health and health administration management for consumers. It’s like Quicken for allergies and HSAs.
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