What Will Save Health Care?
By Josh Seidman | Popularity: 35%The cost, access, and quality crisis that is American health care has many people searching for silver bullets. We have heard (to address two examples) about how ubiquitous, interconnected electronic health records (EHRs) will create great efficiencies in care delivery and how reimbursement reform–such as the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model–will rejuvenate our struggling primary care system.
It’s not that there’s no truth to these arguments but rather that they need to be more specific. As Steve Downs wrote on RWJF’s Pioneer Blog a month ago, Gordon Moore points out in an RWJF-funded white paper that much of the EHR advancement has missed the point or failed to maximize HIT’s potential. Moore is right that the focus of EHR systems should be more about clinician workflow and creating better continuity of care as care delivery passes through a series of steps. I would add that greater focus on creating connections for the patient/consumer is just as important.
There’s no doubt that advocates of the PCMH model are correct that we need to place greater emphasis on both primary care and a more holistic approach to care management. To promote effective ongoing care management, reimbursement needs to encourage more than just trips to the doctor’s office. But for it to work, PCMH must be truly patient-centered and the existing official principles are somewhat vague as to how to meet patients’ needs.
The 7th Annual Ix Conference, “WIxRED: Next-Generation Patient-Centered Care” will explore both of these topics in great detail: How can we ensure that we maximize the potential of these important developments? What are the keys to addressing consumers’ real needs? How can they help to reform a broken health care delivery system?
Join us to help answer these questions on June 12-13 at the Newseum in Washington, DC.
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