IT as a Strategic Resource
Reprinted with permission from the March 2014 issue of Trustee magazine, vol. 67, no. 3. © 2014 by Health Forum Inc. All rights reserved. Permission granted for digital use only.
By Pam Arlotto
Hospitals, systems and physicians have made significant progress in implementing electronic health records and have received millions of dollars in meaningful use incentive payments. Yet, as executives and boards strategize to build patientcentric systems of care to manage populations and make the transition from volume to value, most realize that they do not have the data they need to reduce costs, improve outcomes and coordinate care.
Physician-led development and use of information technology and analytic tools are essential to harvesting information from EHRs and designing new care practices. That will enable providers to transform the way care is delivered and to achieve the full return on the substantial IT investments hospitals and physician practices have made.