Big Players At HIMSS16: Interoperability, HIT, Value-Based Models
By Ryan Marsh, Product Marketing Manager, Curaspan
With HIMSS16 over and enough time passed to gain clarity, it’s time to reflect on and highlight some thought-provoking sessions, news, and sound bites still resonating. With more than 42,000 healthcare experts in attendance, we may have just scratched the surface, but here goes.
Interoperability Hits A Major High Note
The conference started with big news affecting many throughout the healthcare space as Sylvia M. Burwell, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced an industry-wide pledge for interoperability. Key industry figures, including Epic and Cerner, signed the pledge, demonstrating just how critical this need for connected health systems is. In addition, 90 percent of the nation’s EHR vendors, five of the largest health systems, and industry organizations also signed the pledge.
Further cultivating the strong spirit of collaboration, Andy Slavitt, the Acting Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and Karen DeSalvo, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS, previewed CMS’ interoperability initiative which enables states to request 90 percent enhanced matching funds to help other healthcare providers purchase interoperable technology. This initiative will bridge the Medicaid information-sharing gap and will help sustain health information exchanges that lead to increased connectivity among Medicaid providers.
John Damgaard, president of MatrixCare, discussed interoperability saying, “The model should be more like a cell phone where the user selects the features they like, but the ring tone is the same for everyone.”
HIT At HIMSS16
Of the many care coordination and population health education sessions at the event, most focused on a specific topic: patient engagement. Whether through mHealth, remote monitoring, or connected health tools, effectively engaging patients post-discharge is imperative to patient-centered clinical practice functions like care coordination, population management, and post-acute care.
The potential impact of connected health tools for providers lies primarily in the care coordination space. The goal of coordinated care is to ensure patients receive the right care at the right time while avoiding unnecessary services and errors and remaining fiscally sound. As caregivers increasingly attempt to navigate their care coordination efforts beyond traditional care settings such as hospitals and physician practices, the use of connected health tools will take on greater significance.
Most Organizations Are Unprepared For New Payment Models
CMS’ shift to value-based care has many organizations scrambling to understand how to participate in these new models, which now include accepting and sharing patient risk. In a survey conducted at HIMSS, only 3 percent of respondents said they believe their organization is prepared for the transition to value-based care from the current fee-for-service approach. Many providers hope to figure things out along the way, hoping to establish risk-sharing processes, healthcare costs, and better data sharing across episodes of care.
Providers are looking for tools and solutions to share and track quality and financial information between settings, regardless of the payer. The fear is that similar to the meaningful use program, the technology is not yet widely available even though the push for the model continues to be mandated.
About The Author
As Product Marketing Manager, Ryan brings over a decade of market research and product strategy experience to Curaspan. Prior to joining the company, Ryan led research and marketing efforts at Innerscope Research and DigitasLBi US. He holds a B.S. in Human Development from Boston College.