Expert panel speaks about Hot Topics in Healthcare IT #HITCon13

Here at the HIMSS Southern California Chapter Health IT conference (Twitter hashtag #HITcon13), an expert panel discussed some of the key hot topics in health IT. The panel was moderated by Shadaab Kanwal, MISM, MBA, Executive Director, Research and Quality at Kaiser Permanente. Panelists included:

• Aram Dobalian, JD, MPH, PhD, Director, Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center at Veterans Health Administration speaking about “HIE and EHR as enablers of Disaster Recovery”
• Ralph Oyaga, Esq., MBA, Associate Counsel, LA Care Health Plan speaking about “e-Discovery”
• Dale Sanders, SVP, Health Catalyst; Senior Technology Advisor, Cayman Islands Services Authority speaking about “Big Data and Predictive Analytics in Healthcare Transformation”
• John McCawley, MS, CEO, Verecloud speaking about “Healthcare and the Cloud”

Dale reminded us that we are in an era of big data and predictive analytics. Hospitals and health systems are being graded by their level of adoption measured by the HIMSS Healthcare Analytic Adoption Model. We need to have a thorough understanding of these evolving technologies that are transforming healthcare so that we can use them effectively to improve patient care..

John spoke about how cloud computing technologies are rapidly changing the economic model of health IT. Cloud is a distribution model, not a technology. Public cloud. Private cloud. Hybrid cloud. The top 3 concerns regarding the cloud include: security, control, and reliability.

Aram spoke about disaster recovery. When we consider what happens during major disasters, the role of health IT becomes critical because we can't afford to lose access to patient data. We can see this with some examples within the VA Health System. When Hurricane Katrina hit, the New Orleans VA got flooded, damaging all the computer hardware within the hospital. In less than 3 days, all patient data were available and accessible at any VAMC.

Ralph spoke about the concept of e-Discovery in medicolegal cases. Consider all the emails that get transmitted by healthcare employees. Consider all the health records that are now stored in electronic format. We also can't forget the data generated from social media. So, when a medical case is investigated, we now have a wealth of data that is generated during the e-Discovery phase. Sifting and reviewing that data becomes a major challenge because of the volume of information.

You can follow updates from the HIMSS Southern California Chapter Health IT conference on Twitter: #HITcon13

Participate in this poll about Cloud Computing

What do you think about Cloud Computing? Participate in this ReachMD poll about Cloud Computing and then make sure to listen to my segment on ReachMD as I share some of my thoughts:

Let’s discuss the topic of “Cloud Computing.” We’ve all heard this buzzword used in health care, but how well do you understand the concept? 

Let’s start with the metaphor of the cloud. The cloud is the Internet. When you’re computing in the cloud, you can open your applications through an Internet browser like Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari. Now think about this: One of the first things you do when you buy a new computer is install applications like Microsoft Office or your electronic health record software. What if you didn’t have to? Cloud Computing lets you access those applications through a single web browser.

Your files and data get stored on remote servers instead of on your computer. This has advantages and disadvantages. As long as you’re using a computer that’s connected to the Internet, you can access your files. If you lose your laptop, you haven’t lost any of your data. It’s all stored remotely, in the Cloud.

One of the pitfalls of Cloud Computing is that you’ll always need to be connected to the Internet. Another challenge revolves around the privacy and data security standards that are constantly evolving in the world of health IT. Some argue that your data is safer when it’s stored remotely.

There are pros and cons to storing your data locally versus remotely. You have to weigh what’s right for you and your practice.

There’s much more to discuss, but we’ve run out of time. For more on data security, health IT, and Cloud Computing, please visit my blog, medicine and technology dot-com. I'm Dr. Joseph Kim. Thanks for listening.

Cloud Computing and Healthcare

BusinessWeek has an article about Cloud Computing in the June 15th edition. It calls it Cloud Computing 2.0 and there's a little column in there titled, "A Sharper Eye on Patient Care." It describes how OptumHealth (a UnitedHealth Group Company) is using eSync to gather medical information and alert clinicians and patients if a problem is detected. These types of automated reminders are not difficult to generate as long as you have the right algorithms that are driven by evidence-based practice guidelines. According to this article, 20 million patients will be served by eSync medical technology.

In my former life, I worked for a company that has now been acquired by OptumHealth. There, we employed automated messages that were tailored for individuals who have various types of health conditions. As the world of electronic health record (EHR) soars over the next few years, we will see more employ decision support, automated messages, and more data integration. At the end, will we see improvements in public health? I'm hopeful that we will. Companies (and the government) are counting in reduced healthcare costs.

What is Cloud Computing?

With the recent popularity surge of netbooks and UMPCs, you may have heard the phrase "cloud computing" used in the news, blogs, and other websites. What does this really mean?

To start, you have to understand that the cloud refers to the Internet (it's a metaphor more than anything, but most people have a very difficult time grasping the concept of cyberspace). Next, some basics on software as a service (SaaS) and Web 2.0

Is this getting too complex? Let's make it more simple. Cloud Computing can allow a user to pick up any type of computer (netbook, notebook, tablet, UMPC, desktop, etc.) that has Internet access. Through the Internet, the user can then access specific applications and stay very productive. The computer can be just about anything. Hence, the beauty of the netbook starts to really shine. You don't have to reinstall all your software on every single device if you rely on Cloud Computing since your software lives on a cloud.

Microsoft Office Live Workspace is one such example. Google Docs is another. Have you tried working on the cloud?